I wonder if we truly realize the radical nature of this particular section of Gospel. We are 'commanded' to love our enemies and pray for those that hate us, and yet we live in a world that preaches and practices the very opposite. And before we get 'holier than the other bloke' then remember that we are called to love that which we cannot understand; that with which we cannot agree and even those we see hurting others by their words and actions. In other words we are called to love that which we see as 'evil', not just misguided.
So, yes, we are called to love 'the Donald'. What does that mean? Well firstly we pray for him. And secondly we do not let hate carry us away in its grip. We do the radical thing and find 'love' for him. The challenge is to balance the prophet in our faith (that which calls for justice for the marginalised and for a better world) with the call to pray for our enemies. We do not live by an 'eye for an eye' but rather use the Divine creative imagination to pray a new way into being. Jesus was talking about breaking the cycle of hatred and he knew (and practiced) that it is not broken by more hate but only by love. My guess is that what Jesus is saying in this gospel is that, if we allow ourselves to be ruled by hate and competition, then we are not living the Divine way ourselves.
This is not an easy thing to do when we are surrounded by anxiety and disillusionment and 'bad' news, but Jesus' guidance here is that we do not change the despot by hate, but only corrupt ourselves. Am i up to it???? I am still working on it i think.
And also, on reflection, perhaps what Jesus gives here is not so much a commandment as a guide to living a rich and blessed life.
Rev Gordon Bannon
No comments:
Post a Comment