The art of love.

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Gospel: Matthew 5: 43-48

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 only,
what is unusual about that?
Do not the pagans do the same?
So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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If you have ever played a video game, 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’ve mastered the game.

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If Christianity were likened to a video game, then today’s Gospel would be the final level: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. 

If you can freely do this, then you’ve mastered Christianity. 

Or, you might say, the art of love. 

Have I mastered the art of love?

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Most of us likely have not. There are some mountains too tall for us to climb, humanly speaking. Forgiving those who’ve hurt us or praying for our enemies can be one of them. 

This can be particularly true in our most intimate relationships.

But anything is possible since, “the love of God has been poured into our hearts” (Romans 5:5). By grace, the impossible becomes possible as we allow Christ to control our hearts.

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This is how the game is mastered, so to speak, by surrendering to God until we can admit humbly, “it is no longer I who live, but Christ living in me” (Galatians 2:20).

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Image credits: (1) Aleteia (2) Sermon on the Mount, Carl Bloch (3) weak Christian, WordPress