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Gospel: Luke 6:27-38
Jesus said to his disciples:
“To you who hear I say, love your enemies,
do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you,
pray for those who mistreat you.
To the person who strikes you on one cheek,
offer the other one as well,
and from the person who takes your cloak,
do not withhold even your tunic.
Give to everyone who asks of you,
and from the one who takes what is yours do not demand it back.
Do to others as you would have them do to you.
For if you love those who love you,
what credit is that to you?
Even sinners love those who love them.
And if you do good to those who do good to you,
what credit is that to you?
Even sinners do the same.
If you lend money to those from whom you expect repayment,
what credit is that to you?
Even sinners lend to sinners,
and get back the same amount.
But rather, love your enemies and do good to them,
and lend expecting nothing back;
then your reward will be great
and you will be children of the Most High,
for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.
Be merciful, just as also your Father is merciful.
“Stop judging and you will not be judged.
Stop condemning and you will not be condemned.
Forgive and you will be forgiven.
Give and gifts will be given to you;
a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing,
will be poured into your lap.
For the measure with which you measure
will in return be measured out to you.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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Have you ever tasted a Sour Patch Kid?
It’s a gummy candy rolled in sugar. When you first taste it, a Sour Patch Kid is incredibly sour like a lemon. But the more you chew it, the sweeter it becomes.
To me, it’s an appropriate image for understanding today’s Gospel – one of Jesus most difficult teachings: “Love your enemies.”
To avoid leaving this as an abstract ideal, the Lord even specifies what, exactly, we are to do:
“Do good to those who hate you; bless those who curse you; pray for those who mistreat you; turn the other cheek; and from the one who takes what is yours, do not demand it back.”
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Understandably, we might ask: Why should we love those who hate us? And how is that possible?
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Perhaps “why” is easier to answer than “how.”
As followers of Christ, we should follow his example. And the Lord tells us plainly, “God himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.”
Studies have also shown that holding onto anger – or worse, hatred – negatively affects our own mental, physical, and emotional health; it’s like drinking poison, then hoping it will kill your enemies.
We love those who hate us, not only because God does, but also because doing so improves our own wellbeing.
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But how do we do this?
Saint Thomas Aquinas once said, “Grace builds upon nature.”
Meaning, God requires an open heart before he pours his grace into it; he will not force himself upon us. But if we open our hearts to the Holy Spirit, then slowly, Christ will make our heart his own.
Ultimately, it is he – not us – who does the loving and forgiving, because God alone turns the sour things sweet.
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Image credits: (1) Tee Public (2) Sour Patch Kids, Amazon.com (3) Pinterest