Love Your Enemies

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There’s a statement of Jesus that’s been rolling around in my mind these past few

weeks. It’s from Jesus’ most famous sermon, the so-called “Sermon on the Mount.”

Here’s what he said:

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’”

(Matthew 5:43). Even though nowhere in the scripture are we ever commanded to hate

our enemies; that was simply apparently what was being taught and modeled by the

leadership in Jesus’ day.

“But I say to you,” Jesus goes on to say, “Love your enemies, and pray for those who

persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven.” Luke’s version of

Jesus’ words in this sermon are even more detailed and demanding: “Love your

enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those

who abuse you” (Luke 6:27-28). Jesus’ words cut against our natural inclinations, our

team loyalties and tribal orientations.

But Jesus goes on to remind us that God “makes his sun rise on the evil and on the

good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. For if you love those who

love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if

you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not

even the Gentiles do the same? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is

perfect” (Matthew 5:45-48).

Perfect? That can seem like too tall an order, out of reach for mere mortals. But the

word doesn’t mean sinless or flawless. It means mature. Not childish, but grown-up.

Adult. More like our heavenly parent.

I wonder, after witnessing some of the ugly chants and meanness of the fans at the

Ryder Cup golf competition this past weekend, what it would look like to take Jesus’

words to heart and love our opponents, pray for them, act for their well-being? As I write

these words, our government is still in a shut down. What would it look like for people on

opposing sides of the political aisle to pray for the other, to seek to bless them rather

than curse them? And with the big Baylor-McCallie football game coming up this

Friday…well, it just might be the “perfect” time to practice the kind of radical love Jesus

commends.