The Old Testament reads: “You shall not hate your brother in your heart. You shall surely rebuke your neighbour…” (Lev 19:17-18) Jesus explains why we should love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us: “…that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brethren (friends) only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the pagans (tax collectors) do so? Be perfect, therefore, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.” (v.45-48)

Why should we love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us? That we may 1) be sons of our Father in heaven and 2) be perfect, just as our Father in heaven is perfect. The key to this perfection is to do the will of God! If we are to do so, we need to know what the will of God is this day and at this moment. Therefore we must stop and pray and ask the Lord to show us what His will is. In case of a serious decision, in addition to prayer we need to seek advice from those who can give us wise counsel. In case of trivial things, we only need to make a short act of faith before the decision. If we know what the will of God is for us, we also need the strength to fulfil it. This is an art of life – to redeem the time, to collect treasures in heaven where thieves do not steal them. The key to it is to be in union with Jesus, though many times during the day only passively; however, in certain moments we need to unite to Jesus actively, especially when confronted with a cross or a problem. These are crossroads in our life when you should realize at least for a few moments that God sees you, that you are in Christ and He is in you, and give Him the problem. Ask Him for the light and strength, ask Him to show you the solution and to help you do it. If you are crucified, powerless together with Him, or, in other words, if you unite your powerlessness with the crucified Jesus by faith, Jesus can live in you and manifest Himself – He whose food is to do the will of the Father. He is perfect, just as the Father is perfect. I will never be so perfect by my own efforts because of sin in me, my innate imperfection. Jesus shows the key to perfection, and that is to love our enemies and to pray for those who persecute us. Through this prayer and love, our mind is purified of egoism.

An example of love for enemies is the saints and martyrs, and especially our Lord Jesus Himself. He was not naively friendly. Love must be connected with the truth rather than silliness. Jesus loved the Pharisees by calling them whitewashed tombs and a brood of vipers. In response to it, the Pharisees said about Him that He was demon-possessed and out of His mind, and they sought to kill Him.

Love your enemies…

If a Christian tries to live in peace with the people around him – neighbours, colleagues or classmates – they let him be and he thinks that he has no enemies. However, as soon as he starts to preach the Gospel to them and to show them the way of salvation in Christ Jesus, those who reject conversion display hostility. We should rejoice when we suffer humiliation or mockery for the sake of Jesus. Jesus died out of love for all people, but not all will be saved! We read in the lives of the holy martyrs that many of the torturers were converted, while others persisted in obstinacy and hatred. The suffering and forgiveness of the martyrs brought a blessing and the grace of conversion to the torturers as well as to others, and purified the martyrs’ souls. In the moment of the greatest suffering, they experienced that Jesus was with them and gave them the strength to suffer and to forgive.

Ask yourself: Who is my enemy? Pray for him. And ask the Lord for the light how you should love him. What step to make? To say a word of praise? To apologize? To do something good for him? The main incentive is the fact that God loves him, that Jesus shed His blood for him and does not want him to be eternally condemned. Be aware that you likewise used to walk in a false light, wandering in error and doing evil to others, though unknowingly.

Try to put this word of life into practice during the following two weeks. You will gain experience which you will be able to pass on to others. Of course, this love involves the basic condition which Jesus speaks about in other places of the Scripture, and that is forgiveness.

Download: Reflection on Mt 5:43-44