Tuesday, June 14, 2016

Matthew 5: 43-48

Jesus said to his disciples:
“You have heard that it was said,
You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.
But I say to you, love your enemies
and pray for those who persecute you,
that you may be children of your heavenly Father,
for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good,
and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.
For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have?
Do not the tax collectors do the same?
And if you greet your brothers only,
what is unusual about that?
Do not the pagans do the same?
So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

God created all people in his image and likeness. Dignity is God’s fingerprint on the human soul. God is perfect. God is love, agape. Jesus teaches that we should be perfect as God is perfect. We are called to be agape, sacrificial love. The Law calls for us to love our neighbor. The fulfillment of the Law calls for us to love everyone.

Have you ever given a gift to someone and had that person tell you that you shouldn’t have? If you had to give a gift it ceases to be a gift and becomes an obligation. A gift is by definition something freely given when it is not required. Love is the same way. Loving someone who deserves our love is an easy task. There is no reward in doing that which is easy. Loving someone who warrants our dislike or even our hate isn’t so easy. What loving those who warrant our hate does is liberate us.

Hate is a powerful poison that kills the soul. It is an all-consuming cancer. If you hate someone who has wronged you that person has power over you without ever doing a thing. If you can forgive that person and let go of the hate you will be liberated from their power. If you can come to love that person, to will the best for that person, you will empower yourself. That is what we are called to do for every person.

It is easy to hate a people when you don’t see the person. It is easy to ignore the homeless or the immigrant or the refugee when you can’t see past the label. Support is what is given to a group. Love is what is given to a person. We are called to love and we can only do that if we see the person first and not their label. When we look at a person the first thing we should see is God’s fingerprint on their soul, their dignity. Human nature is to view the person from the outside in. What group do they belong in? What is the color of their skin? What type of clothing are they wearing? What is the condition of those clothes? Any one of those things will stop us from looking deeper.

Jesus, the living Law fulfilled, teaches us to look at the inside first. See their dignity. See the person. Give them the love they deserve as a creation of the Lord. Respect may be earned but love is deserved. Will the best for the other. Love others as God has loved you.