Meditations with Pastor Tom (9/2/2023)

"But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you." - Luke 6:27-28

            Jesus commands us to love our enemies.  Always seemed like a pretty tall order to me.  For most of my life, I thought I should try to do it simply because Jesus told me to.  Much later in life, l learned that the whole point of the Christian life is to love like God loves. Since God loves unconditionally, then I had to love unconditionally.

            Loving unconditionally is not easy business.  I find it terribly easy to find people I don't want to love.  Still, I have come to learn that I don't really understand love until I can love every human being, even those I find horribly distasteful.  Only when we love like that can we be true healers in a badly broken world.  Only then can we be a real force for Godly change in the world.

            More recently I learned (I am a slow learner), that loving one's enemies is the only path to freedom. Hating someone or some group ties me to them.  They have rented space in my head, so to speak.  They are like a virus that eternally connects me to my basest instincts.  I cannot be truly free with hatred in my heart.

            But only recently have I learned another dimension of Jesus' commandment. Surprisingly, love that is restricted only to those you find easy to love can often be divisive and harmful.  It leaves someone (or some group) feeling unloved, or less loved. It means someone (or some group) feels rejected, abandoned, alone.

            Of course, that is sad when it happens at the individual level, but the tragedy multiplies exponentially at the community or world level.  What happens when large groups feel rejected and abandoned, uncared for and unheard? They fight back.  The world is full of examples.

           Love your enemies.  Do good to those who hate you.  Bless those who curse you.  Pray for those who abuse you. They are tough words to heed.  They might even seem naive and unrealistic. But how would we know?  While a few individuals and a few congregations have lived up to Jesus' call, the universal Christian community has never tried.

The Sermon this Sunday: Success or Faithfulness