Readings: 1 Sam. 26:2.7-9.12-13.22-23; Ps. 103; 1Cor.15:45-49; Luke 6:27-38
Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.
SACRIFICIAL LOVE: THE MOST DIFFICULT ASPECT OF CHRISTIAN MISSION
A critical look at what is happening in our world today, it is obvious that the world is in a big crisis. This is because humanity has lost the true meaning of love. For we have abandoned God, who is the source and power of love and created for ourselves a mirage in the name of love.
Today love has become a tool for selfishness, deception, greed and emotional satisfaction. Thus, it is extremely difficult to practice the genuine love of neighbours and talk more of the sacrificial love of our enemies.
But this is the demand Jesus is making of all his disciples in our Gospel passage today when he said: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who treat you badly. To the man who slaps you on one cheek, present the other cheek too; to the man who takes your cloak from you, do not refuse your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and do not ask for your property back from the man who robs you. Treat others as you would like them to treat you. If you love those who love you, what thanks can you expect? Even sinners love those who love them.
So, in this Gospel, Jesus gave us reasons why we must choose love over hatred and forgiveness over vengeance. For he made us know that it is natural and universal for human beings to love those who love them. But what makes his disciples different from other people is the ability to love not just everyone but to love their enemies and not take vengeance or bear grudges against one another. By so doing, they will be imitating God, their heavenly Father, who in his compassionate heart shows equal love to both the good and the bad, not because he is indifferent to morality, but because his love knows no bounds.
Hence, we are called to love and to be loving in all things, for that is the essence of our Christian faith. We cannot be true Christians unless we are willing to love sacrificially in our actions and interactions, in all situations and to everyone, without exception. We must learn to bear with one another and forgive each other as soon as a quarrel begins. The Lord has forgiven us; now we must do the same.
This is exactly what David demonstrated in our first reading today when he chose to spare the life of King Saul. David could have killed Saul since God had placed his enemy in his mercy. Yet, as we heard, David did not. He even rebuked his fellow men and told them that they could not touch Saul or his men. Although Saul might have fallen from grace and sinned against God, he was anointed by God.
So, it was not right to kill God’s anointed regardless of the circumstances. Instead, David, even at the risk of his life, spared the life of Saul, for he could have killed him and taken over his throne since he, too, had been anointed to be King. What a magnanimity of heart. Here, David showed not just Saul but all of us what it means to love sacrificially, just like Jesus has instructed us today, who also demonstrated the same thing on the cross.
Dear friends, how many of us Christians are willing and able to follow these instructions of the Lord? How many of us today are ready to follow the examples of the Lord’s disciples? How many are ready to follow the example of David? But all of us have received the love of God, and we have witnessed the love of God made manifest, and now we are all reminded that we have the obligation to show that same love in our daily activities.
Hence, today we are called to a life of deeper virtue. We are called to a life of sacrificial love. We are called to perfection, we are called to choose love over hatred and forgiveness over vengeance. But when Jesus talks about loving our enemies, he is not telling us to be passive in the face of physical danger or abuse. Rather he wants us to realize that hatred is a dangerous thing and must be handled with great care. Because hatred breeds violence and other things that weaken the human soul.
The truth is that our enemies are not necessarily those who we are at war with, those making life difficult for us or those we think hate us. But, our real enemies are those whom we choose to hate. And the best way to destroy our enemies is to discover how best we can make them become our friends, not by hating or carrying out vengeance.
How I wish humanity would embrace this principle of loving and stretching the hands of friendship and peace to our presumed enemies by investing more resources in things that bring about peace and friendship with one another rather than building a nuclear weapon that breeds more violence and hatred in the world. When this is done, then the world will become more peaceful and loving.
LET US PRAY: Lord God, it is difficult and demanding for us to love our enemies, but this is what you are commanding us to do, give us the grace to bear the sacrificial nature of this demand and so become a true sign of your loving presence to those we encounter in life. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a fruitful Sunday celebration.
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