Transcript 'Amate i vostri nemici, fate del bene a quelli che vi

Word
of
Life
Settembre 2008
“Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those
who curse you, pray for those who abuse you" (Lk 6, 27-28).
“Love your enemies". This really is a powerful thing to say!
This really is something that completely overturns our way
of thinking, making us switch direction in our lives!
Let’s face it. We all have some enemies of one
kind or another.
My enemy may be next door, in that unpleasant, meddlesome
woman I try to avoid meeting in the lift...
My enemy could be that relative who
mistreated my father thirty years ago
and who I’ve not spoken to since...
It could be that classmate you’ve
refused to look at ever since he
got you into trouble with the
teacher…
It could be the girlfriend who dropped you
to go out with someone else.
It could be the salesman who cheated you...
Our enemies are those in politics who don’t see
things as we do...
Il cardinale Van Thuan
Just as there are
those, and they
always exist, who
see the clergy as
enemies and hate
the Church.
Well then, all of
these, and many,
many others we call
enemies, are to be
loved.
Loved? Yes. They are to be loved! And don’t think
it’s enough merely to change the feeling of hatred
into something kinder. We have to do much more
than that.
Listen to what Jesus says:
“Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse
you, pray for those who abuse you" (Lk 6, 27-28).
Do you see? Jesus wants us to overcome evil with good. He
wants a love that is turned into action. We find ourselves
asking: why does Jesus give such a command?
The fact is he wants to model our conduct on that of God, his
Father, who “makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good,
and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous”.
This is the point. We
are not alone in the
world: we have a Father
and we should be like
him.
Not only this, but
God has the right
to make such a
demand because
while we
were his enemies,
while we were still in
darkness, he first
loved us by sending
his Son who died in
such a terrible way
for each one of us.
“Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you,
pray for those who abuse you" (Lk 6, 27-28).
Jerry, a young black
boy from
Washington, has
already learned to
live these words.
Because of his
I.Q., he had been
admitted to a
special class
together with many
white children. But
intelligence alone
was not enough to
win him acceptance.
Everyone disliked
him because he was
black.
Then Christmas
came. The other
children
exchanged gifts,
but Jerry was
left out. This
made him cry,
understandably!
But when he
arrived home, he
remembered
Jesus: “Love your
enemies.”
So, with his
mother’s
permission, he
bought presents
which he gave
with love to all
his “white
brothers and
sisters”.
“Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you,
pray for those who abuse you" (Lk 6, 27-28).
Elizabeth, a young girl from
Florence, was climbing the
steps of a church to go to
Mass when a group of
youngsters her own age
started to make fun of her!
It really upset her. She
wanted to react, but
instead she smiled, went
into church and prayed very
much for them.
As she was leaving,
they came up and asked
her why she had
behaved like that. She
explained that she was
a Christian and so she
had to love all the
time. She said this with
great conviction. Her
witness bore fruit.
When she got to the
church next Sunday the
very same group was
sitting attentively in
the first pew.
This is how
children take God’s
word seriously.
This is why they
are big in his
eyes.
Perhaps we too
should take steps to
remedy certain situations in
our own lives, all the more
so since we will be judged
by the way we judge
others. We are the ones
who give God the measure
by which he will measure
us. Don’t we often pray,
“forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those who
trespass against us”? So
let’s love our enemies! Only
by doing this can we heal
disunity, break down
barriers and build the
Christian community.
Is it difficult? Painful? Does the mere thought
of it keep us awake at night? Take courage. It
is not the end of the world after all. It takes
just a little effort on our part, and then God
will do the remaining ninety-nine percent...
And in our hearts there will be a flood of joy.
“Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you,
pray for those who abuse you" (Lk 6, 27-28).
Graphic design by Anna Lollo in collaboration with Fr Placido D’Omina
(Sicily - Italy)