LIGHT TO ALL THE NATIONS
Loving our enemies may not be the most natural thing for you and me, and in today's world it is a most unexpected thing. Yet, it embodies the love of God
In today's Gospel, we hear Jesus say, "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you" (Mt 5:44). There seems to be no end to His demands! We'd like some limits but we'd also like to draw the line somewhere. Our preference is captured when we hear the familiar expression, the "deserving" poor. Jesus Christ says that our heavenly Father does not distinguish between the deserving and the undeserving, for He "makes His sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust" (Mt 5:45). We're supposed to do the same as He. That's how we share in the "perfection" of the Father - by not discriminating among those whom we love and feel comfortable with and those whom we might consider to be "undeserving". But, this takes a lot of prayer. We cannot do it without the grace of God.
We need to remember what God said to His Chosen People, "I will make you a light to all nations, that My salvation may reach to the ends of the earth" (Is 49:6b). Today's Gospel continues Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. Earlier in the Sermon, Jesus says to His followers, "You are the light of the world" (Mt 5:14). The challenging life that Jesus describes today is how we, as God's People, are called to live as a light shining in a world made dark by favoritism, prejudice, and hatred of others. Loving our enemies may not be the most natural thing for you and me, and in today's world it is a most unexpected thing. Yet, it embodies the love of God Who, St. Paul says, "While we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son" (Rom 5:10). The Sermon on the Mount isn't simply a description of how to live. In it we find the living, dying, and rising love of Jesus, Who makes us a blessing for all people.
In the Responsorial Psalm we acclaim, "Praise the Lord, my soul" (Ps 146:1b), for He "keeps faith forever, secures justice for the oppressed, and gives food to the hungry" (Ps 146:6b-7). He loves and protects us! Our heavenly Father is perfect. The original meaning of "perfect", in Aramaic, is "completeness" or "wholeness" - not lacking in what is essential. This is what it means to be a light to all the nations!