(Gospel: Jesus said to his disciples: “You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have? Do not the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brothers and sisters only, what is unusual about that? Do not the pagans do the same? So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.”Matthew 5:43-48)
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If you have ever played a video game (like Super Mario!), then you know that there is always a series of levels.
The first level is the easiest, and the final level is the most difficult. Sometimes it takes multiple tries before you succeed in beating that final level… but if you do, then you have mastered the game.
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In a similar way, if Christianity were a video game, then today’s Gospel would be the final level – learning how to love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.
If you are able to accomplish this, then, you have mastered Christianity.
And while incredibly difficult, we should never shy away from trying to put this teaching into practice.
Ironically, the most difficult place to live it out can be within our very own homes. Anyone who hurts us – even our loved ones – can become our enemies, because they frustrate our experience of love. Yet as Christians, we must work for peace – peace in our homes, and peace in our hearts, choosing mercy over anger, love over resentment.
For that is how the game is mastered, so to speak, by repeatedly putting our faith into practice.