There is something about us as human beings, whether you are a Christian or any other religion. We can call it a universal problem: that is, the hatred we feel for other people, hatred that wells up inside us and propels us in the direction of destructive actions toward people who might have harmed us in some way. Nevertheless, these are fellow human beings who we must live with in society or community.
Try to imagine for yourself, an individual you hate or just can’t stand, someone who irritates you to no end, who you resent and feel bitterness towards. I am sure most of us have someone like that, in many cases multiple people in our lives who cause us anger or hatred or at least resentment, for something they have, or they keep doing to us.
In today’s Gospel Jesus invites us to do the hardest and radical thing. “Love your enemy”, “Pray for them”. Jesus is talking about people we really dislike, in any way. Maybe someone who has disrespected you, betrayed you, harassed you or discriminates against you, for those kinds of situations in most cases we find ourselves brooding with anger and ressentiment. These don’t need to be strangers but even people we hold dear to us, parents, spouses or loved ones, coworkers.
Why should we love our enemies? Tell this to people in conflict zones who have watched their loved ones killed or murdered in cold blood. How would they bring themselves to love those who have committed those atrocities? This isn’t an easy thing to reflect on much less living it out. Prayer heals and has the power to transform situations from calamities into blessings. Holding anger in is destructive; inwardly it eats us up, while outwardly might cause us to do things that are unpleasant, and shameful.
Removing that anger from within makes us happy and at peace with ourselves. Loving as a grace from God softens our stony hearts and moves us from reacting with vengeance to responding with Christ-like mercy. Loving enemies is a fruit of prayer. When we pray for our enemies, it changes how we see them. It makes it incredibly difficult to harbor bitterness when actively asking God’s blessings upon oneself. Prayer empowers us to love unconditionally, not expecting anything in return other than transformation of hearts.
We do need the grace and humility to be perfect as our heavenly Father, perfect here is being able to mature in God’s love so that our love can encompass everyone much like God does. Our love for others, even those who are ungrateful and selfish towards us, must be marked by the same kindness and mercy which God has shown us.