Wednesday, September 9, 2015

Homily for 10 Sep 2015

10 Sep 2015

When Jesus says, “Love your enemies,” we have to ask: “Who is my enemy?”  It sounds very black-and-white: “Love your enemies.”  It sounds like we’re the good guys and they’re the bad guys . . . whoever “they” is.  But, as we know, it’s a lot grayer than that.  None of us is entirely “good,” and none of us is entirely “bad.”  And so, who is my enemy?  Well, sometimes we can be our own worst enemy. 

“Love your enemies,” Jesus says.  And this could just be another way he’s trying to teach the “Golden Rule” or the second Great Commandment: “Do unto others what you would have them do to you.  And love your neighbor as yourself.”  We love our “enemies” because, sometimes, we can be an “enemy” to them.

If we’re ever too judgmental of someone—even justifiably so—we withhold God’s mercy from them.  If we’re condescending or prideful, we can be an unintentional enemy of love and of those we’re called to love.  It isn’t all black-and-white; sometimes we’re the enemy of love; though, most of the time we are not.

“Love your enemies,” Jesus says.  Be merciful to those who sin against us, just as we hope they will be merciful to us when we sin against them.  Love your enemies; love your neighbor as yourself.    

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