Tuesday, June 16, 2026

 

Tuesday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time

(I Kings 21:17-29; Matthew 5:43-48)

Biblical theologian John Meier found Jesus’ command, “Love your enemy,” unique.  He examined all extant Jewish and pagan literature before and during Jesus’ lifetime without locating any equivalent saying.  For Meier this indicated that the words come directly from Jesus.  That is, he was convinced that the command could not have been borrowed from another source and attributed to Jesus as “the kind of thing he would say.”  “Love your enemy” may be jarring to those who hear it for the first time, but it is not the only statement of today’s gospel that wakes one from slumber.

Jesus tells his disciples to “’be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.’”  This statement sounds almost neurotic.  Conventional wisdom states that “perfection is the enemy of the good.”  Mothers advise their children that only God is perfect and that humans must accept their fallibility.  But Jesus remains unsparing in his command.  His disciples are to become like God in their relations with others; that is, they must treat everyone justly.

Before putting aside Jesus’ command as impossible, impractical, or self-destructive, we need to consider something.  These dictates come with grace of the Holy Spirit.  He is the very presence of God who does not merely help but transforms us.  We are no longer crippled by sin but walk as God’s children. As Bach’s children wrote music approaching the glory of their father’s work so too can our virtue resemble the perfection of our heavenly Father’s.

Tuesday, June 18, 2024

 Tuesday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time

(I Kings 21:17-29; Matthew 5:43-48)

Enemy love is a hallmark of Christianity.  As an old hymn says, “They will know we are Christians by our love.”  But what constitutes enemy love?  What does Jesus mean when he insinuates that our love must resemble that of our heavenly Father?

Loving like God loves not mean acceptance of another’s sinful behavior.  God is tolerant as Jesus implies when he says that He sends rain and shine on both bad and good.  But God has sent Jesus to call sinners to reform, not to keep sinning.  This should be characteristic of Christian love as well.  Christians should help enemies to change immoral ways by example if nothing else.

We may find it difficult to treat kindly those who show no interest in reciprocating.  But surely Jesus does not ask too much by requiring it.  We have, as St. Paul famously says, his example of dying for us “while we were still sinners.”  Furthermore, we have the Holy Spirit to inspire and strengthen us to love truly.

 

Tuesday, June 15, 2021

 Tuesday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time

(II Corinthians 8:1-9; Matthew 5:43-48)

Biblical theologian John Meier finds Jesus’ command, “Love your enemy,” unique.  He examines all Jewish and pagan literature before and during Jesus’ lifetime without locating any equivalent saying.  For Meier this indicates that the words come directly from Jesus.  That is, he is convinced that the command could not have been borrowed from another source and attributed to Jesus as “the kind of thing he would say.”  “Love your enemy” may be jarring to those who hear it for the first time but perhaps not as much so as the last command in today’s passage.

Jesus tells his disciples to “’be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.’”  This sounds almost neurotic.  Conventional wisdom states that perfection is the enemy of the good.  And mothers warn their children that only God is perfect and that humans have to accept themselves as fallible.  But Jesus remains unsparing in his command.  His disciples are to become like God in their relations with others; that is, they must be good to everyone.

Before putting aside Jesus’ command as impossible, impractical, or self-destructive, we need to consider something.  These dictates come with the Holy Spirit.  He is the very presence of God who does not merely help us but transforms us.  We are no longer crippled by sin but walk as God’s children. As Bach’s children wrote music approaching the glory of their father’s work so too can our goodness approach the perfection of our heavenly Father’s.

Tuesday, June 18, 2019

Tuesday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time

(II Corinthians 8:1-9; Matthew 5:43-48)

The gifts of the Holy Spirit allow their bearers to see the world as God sees it.   The gift of piety well exemplifies what this means.  Piety may conjure the image of attending church devotions, but its true meaning runs much deeper. With piety a person recognizes every human as a child of God.  Doing this it is perfectly aligned with today’s gospel reading.

Jesus gives his disciples the hefty commandment to love their enemies.  He uses his heavenly Father as an example.  God provides rain for the wicked farmer as well as for the virtuous one because both are His children.  Likewise, disciples should treat both the bad and the good as brothers or sisters.  The commandment does not require one to expose herself to danger, but it does demand of her respect and fairness.

When we regard the unlovable as brothers and sisters, we will go out to greet them.  If there has been animosity between us and them, we will dispose ourselves to forgive them.  These actions will bring us satisfaction as well as the world more peace.

Tuesday, June 20, 2017

Tuesday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary time

(II Corinthians 8:1-9; Matthew 5:43-48)

A long time ago a protégé of Reinhold Niebuhr commented on the difference between him and the great twentieth-century American theologian.  He said that where Niebuhr strove for perfection, he just wanted “to be a little bit better.”  The statement indicates the faulty human condition at the heart of today’s gospel passage.  It also helps clarify what Jesus means by “perfection.”

Jesus reverses the wisdom of the ages when he tells his followers that they must love their enemies.  They may not hate them, but pride makes them want to appear as better than all rivals.   Jesus demands that such competition cease.  He deems perfection not in achieving “all A’s” or in besting all opponents but in loving those who would do one harm.  This kind of love, he says, makes one truly like God, the Father.

We should not underestimate the great challenge in loving one who would do us wrong.  Achieving perfect grades or a perfect score might be a neurotic pursuit, but loving an enemy is no easy task.  It takes prayer as much as effort.  We pray for the spirit to makes us so meek that our predominant goal is always to please our heavenly Father.

Tuesday, June 14, 2016

Tuesday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time

(I Kings 21:17-29; Matthew 5:43-48)

Often anthropologists will explain human behavior by speculating what life was like on the plain of east Africa where Homo sapiens supposedly emerged.  They say things like the fight or flight reaction that humans feel today originated there perhaps a two hundred thousand years ago as ways of survival when confronting ferocious animals.  Another such response Jesus proposes in today’s gospel.

Jesus is in the midst of the Sermon on the Mount.  He is making one of six antitheses to show how God’s ways differ from human ways.  He tells his disciples that humans love their neighbors and hate their enemies.  Love for neighbors will assure them of allies when they face danger.  Hatred of enemies will move them to not naively spare someone who would have you dead.  The behavior makes sense in life on earth, but Jesus is introducing a new way of life – that of the Kingdom of God.

Enemy love stretches our limits.  If we do not want to kill our enemies, we want to avoid them.  Jesus is telling us to reconcile with them.  We pray for them.  We make an effort to speak with them.  We reach out to them with kindness.  As Jesus says, this is God’s way that we, His children, are to follow.

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Tuesday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time

(I Kings 21:17-29; Matthew 5:43-48)

Biblical theologian John Meier finds Jesus’ command, “Love your enemy,” as unique. He examines all Jewish and pagan literature before and during Jesus’ lifetime without locating any equivalent saying. For Meier this indicates that the words come directly from Jesus. That is, he is convinced that the command could not have been borrowed from another source and attributed to Jesus as “the kind of thing he would say.” The phrase may be jarring to many who hear it for the first time but perhaps not as much so as the last command in today’s passage is to many contemporary Christians.

Jesus tells his disciples to “’be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.’” Now wise men have opined that perfection is the enemy of the good. And mothers warn their children that only God is perfect and that humans have to accept themselves as given to error. But Jesus remains unsparing in his command. His disciples are to become like God in their relations with others; that is they must be kind to everyone.

Before putting aside Jesus’ command as impossible, impractical, or self-detrimental, we need to consider what Jesus is offering with these dictates. He sends us the Holy Spirit which does not merely help us but transforms us. We are no longer crippled by sin but walk as God’s children capable of emulating His goodness much like Bach’s children wrote music approaching the glory of their father’s work.