Today's Gospel from Luke 6 (Feb. 23, 2025; 7th Sunday, Ordinary Time) is a "direct order" from Jesus:
- love your enemy
- do good to those who hate you
- bless those who curse you
- pray for those who mistreat you
He says that when we love our enemies and do good to them, our reward will be great and we will be children of God. I think that last part is good enough. It seems to be what I want most--to be God's child. But when it comes down to being nice to people who aren't nice, that's when the challenge of Christianity becomes real.
In his first letter to the Corinthians, Saint Paul explains that we are humans from our human ancestor, (the First Adam) and we are also spiritual beings from our spiritual Ancestor, Jesus. Our Church goes on to explain that God our Father wants us to be both. What is imperfect in our human nature will one day be made perfect in Christ.
Scripture invites us to take on the values of Christ, who loved the poor, weak, grieving, fearful and confused. We meet them every day. And the good news is that in spite of our human weakness God wants us to participate in his love.
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