There are two things that I would like to highlight from this week's Gospel. Why should we love our enemies and what does it mean to judge others?
Loving Our Enemies
The love of one's enemy seems to be less complicated to many of us today thanks to the the world becoming smaller. This has led to more personal interaction with people that we would normally distance ourselves from with that having more of an influence on our perspective than say media messages as well as old cultural influences. These personal interactions also allow us to see the person rather than the image that is being sold and in doing that, we have a better chance to see the reasons for one's behavior.
Today we live in a world where many seek to find the root cause of a person's actions rather than just a reason to condemn them. While this is a gift of what many call a smaller world we know that we still have a long way to go because there is still the challenge of finding a way to interact with this person when they remain uncooperative. Still, our patience is worth it in the long run because that could be the love that helps the other person feel secure enough to share their burdens that have led to act in this way, thus, giving them the chance to trust the opportunity to move on to something better.
There are still those moments when we can become territorial because we too have our own burdens to carry. There is a part of our being that knows that we are worthy of being loved so when someone fails to love us it hurts. But we must remind ourselves that we have also done such things to others and throughout those times God was still with us as He is for those who also find themselves on either end of the conflict. He is not going to show preference to one group of people, which also means that He wants all of us to see each other as one human family. This was most apparent in what Jesus taught how often we are to forgive others (Matthew 18:21-22) while also showing us who to love when he praised the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:29-37) while also reaching out the the woman at the well who was also a Samaritan (John 4:4-42). In the context of the time period, we could only imagine how challenging that must have been for His own followers who had to forgive with exception while also being commanded to love all people.
Another thing that allows us to do this is having an understanding of the burden that is lifted once we forgive others. Many speak on the effort it takes to love another, which is true because of the sacrifices we need to make along with having to show such affection for another when they are behaving in a way that is undeserving. That would also mean that it takes effort to carry a grudge in one way or another, which is why many of us admit after forgiving another that we had grown tired of resenting them. But if we forgive as often as Jesus tells us to we must remember that He is there to give us the graces to have the strength to live in this way. All we have to do is trust Him (Matthew 11:28-30).
Judging Others
Is there such a thing as right and wrong? What is most interesting about that question is that many who lean more towards a relativistic worldview still take exception to many things that people say or do. When teaching lessons on relativism I ask my students, "If it truly is, to each their own, is it possible to be offended?" After all, regardless of what it is, should our response more or less be, hey, that's your thing.
My students rarely agree with such an idea and if they do there is also an admission that it's not that simple due to the fact that people do in fact get offended.
Yes, people do sense a right and a wrong because we all have a conscience. That is easiest when we see one act in a way that hurts others with us also at times seeing that the person getting hurt is the one acting out. Many times people even attempt to redirect Jesus' statement on not judging in a way that more or less tells one's neighbor that they are not allowed to say anything critical. The key to this entire passage is the following:
For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you.
There is no guarantee that the person being corrected is going to react in a positive way. Many people are proud and stubborn and self-reflection can be very uncomfortable. However, even at moments of judging others, God is watching us and expects us to act in a loving way. If we make sure to love our neighbor, even at a moment of correcting them, our Heavenly Father will see that and bless us for acting as He would. Our preferred blessing would be for the other person to accept our words and make a commitment to change. However, the blessing could be the peace that Christ gives us for doing the right thing.
Lord, teach us to love like You.
Carlos Solorzano
BA & MA in Religious Studies from Cal State Long Beach
Certified through the Theology of the Body Institute
Theology Instructor at St. Augustine Catholic High School
