TUESDAY JUNE 18, 2024
TUESDAY OF THE ELEVENTH WEEK OF THE ORDINARY TIME B
1 Kings 21:17-29
Matthew 5:43-48
LOVING OUR ENEMIES.
Do we actually need to be enemies of others? What qualifies one as our enemies? In order words, who is our enemies? This should be the best question to ask in order to ascertain what love we must show them.
Our enemies can be those who willfully inflict hurts, injury, or discomfort and bring suffering into our lives. They hurt our feelings, never agree with us, plots our downfall, either have willingly inflicted us with serious mental, physical or psychological torture or have the tendency and intention to do such to us. These are persons who are not just jealous or envious of us but have bad will for us.
These are perceived to have the intentions to bring evil upon us or have already brought evil upon us, or have tried to do us harm. In any of these cases, we hold them in contempt on the other hand. Also, We have some sentiments of apprehension, feelings of uncomfortability with such people and either wishing they never come near us, or even staying alife in the world.
So there is a growing mutual suspicion and mistrust existing among us. In the life of Jesus when the scribes and the Pharisees were after the life of Jesus, there seems to be a feeling of mistrust, suspicion, anger and hatred existing in the minds of the these Pharisees and scribes that they oppose all things that Jesus did and tried at all times to set a trap for him.
On the other hand, Jesus perceived their ill feelings towards him and always felt their mistrust but showed great earnestness in attending to them. He corrected them, instructed them, revealed to them their evil intentions and when even they carried it out he forgave them. Even after his crucifixion he forgave them with these words.”Father, forgive them for they know not what they are doing.”
That is the same attitude that Jesus expects from us. Jesus desires that we show love to our enemies, as he did, that we also accommodate them by forgiving them, that we show affection of never holding anything against them. Jesus wants us to be free in behaviour, for by holding something against another, we invariably, imprison ourselves and creates unhappiness around us.
Loving our enemies as God makes the rain to fall for the good and bad is therefore not only a command to live right but a great advise to be at peace with oneself. It is a mark of demonstrating that one has the spirit of God, lives in peace with God and does God’s will.
For us human being, it is a task too difficult, and serious. Love of enemy is not within the realm of human tendencies but in the realm of divine grace. Only in grace can we actually love for our enemies.
In our first reading, God’s intention to punish Ahab for his sins against Naboth was forgiven as Ahab pleaded with fasting and debasing of himself. So, as God forgave Ahab for killing His subject Naboth and taking over his vinyard, so our God expects us to humble ourselves always when we err or go astray from his grace.
We must strive to show love, to be good to others irrespective of their attitude towards us. We must demonstrate that we love God and wish to continue doing his will in our lives. And there should be no boundaries to the love we hold for others.
Heavenly Father, help us to love as you love, to show affection, compassion, forgiveness and generosity of heart to all irrespective of their mindset over us. Even as we seek your protection over lives, we beg you O Lord, give us a forgiving heart towards other, an accommodating heart to spread love and goodness instead of hatred. May we never disappoint you by returning hatred for hatred through Christ Jesus our Lord.
Fr Norbert Uchuno
