Today at Holy Mass we hear in the Gospel of St Matthew Jesus telling his friends something revolutionary….Before Christ no one has ever stated something like this or since for that matter….."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?”…..To a worldly person this statement is completely crazy…And to be very honest with you, even to a deeply religious person, this statement seems impossible…But remember, with God nothing is impossible! - Nothing!…..Let’s first examine why Jesus said this…..The goal of life is to get to heaven - The only goal…..The reason why what Jesus said seems impossible is we do not view our life through the goal of getting to heaven…Because if we do view life in this way…We realize that this life we are given is so very short…And when we are confronted by people who “do us wrong”, ultimately, the perceived victory they seem to gain over us not only will be addressed by God, but could lead them to eternal separation from God - A fate worse then death itself….And because God loves all people, he knows that only love can change a person’s heart - Even the worst of people…When we are faced with someone who does us wrong, when we do not respond in kind, a “confusing message” is communicated to that person…Many times such a person almost wants us to respond in a hateful manner and when we do not, this creates turmoil within their heart - It causes them to question their actions internally…..In order to live like this, we must rely on God’s grace…We must live our lives through a different lens then the rest of the world, seeing all things as willed by God to produce one outcome, which is union with God - This is how God works and this is how we are sanctified in the process….Jesus today asks us to cooperate with him in the sanctification process of both the “good and the bad”…Because that is what a Father does…He loves all his children, both the good and the bad and wants what is best for them all - Heaven
“I will give you thanks with an upright heart, when I have learned your just ordinances. I will keep your statutes; do not utterly forsake me”
Years ago, I was working as an internal auditor for an International Bank…The driving reason why they hired me was addressed and now the bank was trying to “push me out”….This is how Corporate America works for those who have never experienced it - Its not “pretty”…Any way, the Managing Director gave orders to a Vice President who I reported to and was told to “do his dirty work” - And get ride of me….As this individual was “making my life difficult”, we both knew very clearly what was going on…So I confronted him and said, “I know you are trying to do - I will look to leave on my own”….And thanks be to God I did find another role in the bank, which gave me four more years of gainful employment…However, my old boss who was the “hatchet man” for the Managing Director was not so lucky…In about a years time, the Managing Director turned on him and fired him…..Since that time, I maintained a relationship with this man who was trying to get me fired…He was Catholic and so was I, I also knew him to be a good person deep down…..So as he was in the process of getting “pushed out” himself, he called me for advice and we spoke over coffee….He was about to lose his job and he had a wife and three children, he was very concerned…And I did my best to help him…Remember, this was the same man who tried to get me fired and now he was asking me for help - The "tables had turned" - The same thing was about to happen to him - He was being "pushed out"…I could have laughed in his face…But instead I did not…I saw this as an opportunity, to communicate our shared Catholic faith to him without even using words, by just being kind to him…..As God would have it, my old boss was in fact fired but soon there after found another job and everything worked out for him and his family…But a great lesson was learned by all…….To this day, my old boss, who tried to fire me - An “enemy” was turned into my friend…..We still maintain a good relationship to this day…In fact, he reads my daily reflections and so does his wife….Looking back at this event, I can see God’s hand very clearly, working not only on me but on my old boss who tried to get ride of me….God has a plan and today at Mass in the Gospel Jesus asks us to cooperate with him in his plan of salvation for all - “The good and the bad alike”…We may be very surprised if we cooperate with God’s plan and grow to see very clearly just how shrewd Jesus was in telling us today in the Gospel to “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you”…Because the goal is to “win over” your enemy and make your "enemy" a friend…And that believe it or not is possible….If we trust God - And if we dare to become what we profess with our mouth - That Jesus Christ is Lord!
"You have commanded that your precepts be diligently kept. Oh, that I might be firm in the ways of keeping your statutes!"
Today at Mass, Jesus tells us to do something that most people think is impossible - To love your enemies…Well, it is impossible if we view our life through the “eyes of the world” and do not rely on God’s grace, trusting in our own strengthen…But if we try to accomplish this task with and through God’s grace, not only can it be done but we will see as I did when the man who tired to fire me not only became my friend but also learned a valuable lesson himself…....God plays the long game!…We need to learn to live our life through that lens too -And plan the “long game” as well……The name of the “game” is to get to heaven and to bring as many people with us there as possible - Even our “enemies”…We do that by “winning over our enemies”…And it can be done!…..When Jesus was about to get arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane, Peter did what any good friend would do, he defended Jesus…..”Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it, struck the high priest’s slave, and cut off his right ear. The slave’s name was Malchus. Jesus said to Peter, Put your sword into its scabbard. Shall I not drink the cup that the Father gave me?”……………I will bet everyone was impacted by this event in real time, Peter, the slave who had his ear wounded and the soldiers who watched this happen…Scripture tells us that Jesus, repaired the ear of Malchus and then was arrested…..”And one of them struck the high priest’s servant and cut off his right ear. But Jesus said in reply, “Stop, no more of this!” Then he touched the servant’s ear and healed him”….I would bet again that many people were “healed” that day by what Jesus did…And if we do the same, many will be healed through us today…If we attempt to do the “impossible”…Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you”….There are no enemies if you turn your enemies into friends
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