Love your enemies

Basilica of San Vitale, Ravenna, Italy, 6th century

 "You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.'  But I tell you not to resist an evil person.  But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.  If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also.  And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two.  Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away.

"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'  But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just on the unjust.  For if you love those who love you, what reward have you?  Do not even the tax collectors do the same?  And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others?  Do not even the tax collectors do so?  Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect."

- Matthew 5:38-48

We are currently reading through the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew chapters 5 - 7).  In yesterday's reading, Jesus taught:  "You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not commit adultery.'  But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.  If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.  And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.  Furthermore it has been said, 'Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.'  But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery.  Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.'  But I say to you, do not swear at all:  neither by heaven, for it is God's throne; nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.  Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black.  But let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No.'  For whatever is more than these is from the evil one."

 "You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.'  But I tell you not to resist an evil person.  But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.  If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also.  And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two.  Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away."  My study bible says that Christ's preaching here contrasts with certain sayings in the Old Testament; namely Exodus 21:24, Leviticus 24:20, Deuteronomy 19:21).   These statements in the Old Testament prescribed an equal response to violence; but Jesus warns not to resist violence with more violence.  It's important to remember that these statements in the Old Testament were actually seeking to limit levels of reciprocal violence (see Genesis 4:23-24).  An ancient anonymous patristic comment on this passage cites that the fear of losing an eye or limb was meant to deter such violence altogether.  So Christ's earlier statements about righteousness and the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets are effectively continuing through this teaching.  Christ teaches, in the words of my study bible, that evil can only be overcome by good.  This keeps us free from compromise with the devil, and it also can bring our enemy under the yoke of God's love.  It cites a story of the desert monks, in which a monk found his hut being looted of its few possessions.  He knelt in a corner praying for the bandits.  When they left, he saw they had not taken his walking stick.  He pursued them for many days until he could give them his walking stick also.  Viewing his humility, they returned everything to him and were converted to Christ.   While we may not all be in a position to emulate the monk, to immediately turn to God in inward prayer when we are confronted with any form of violence or harm to ourselves or others is something we can always choose to do -- and to seek first God's wisdom, guidance, and protection for our conduct in response and continually afterward.  Let us note that this teaching is not simply about violence but also about other forms of trespass or unjust demands.  All are met within the same framework.

"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'  But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just on the unjust.  For if you love those who love you, what reward have you?  Do not even the tax collectors do the same?  And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others?  Do not even the tax collectors do so?"   My study bible comments that if we are freed from hate, sadness, and anger, then we are able to receive the greatest virtue, which is perfect love.    Love of enemies is not simply an emotion.  It denotes decision and action.  Christ's words encourage us once again to a prayerful attitude to all that comes our way.  Seeking to forgive ("let go") may be understood as giving all things up to God, and seeking God's will for ourselves in and through all things.  With such an attitude, we may find a kind of peace in remembering where it is we truly stand, and placing all things under that God's umbrella --- a fitting metaphor for sun and rain.

"Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect."  My study bible says that this is the summary statement of all that has preceded  We may grow in the perfection of the Father (Ephesians 4:13), shown by imitation of God's love and mercy.  In Luke 6:36, Jesus teaches, "Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful."  Whatever the true meaning of this statement, it calls us to act in accordance with God's will to the best of our capacities; we seek that will always through prayer and through the "giving up" of all circumstances to God for guidance, wisdom, reconciliation, and peace within ourselves if at all possible.   Let it be understood, as well, that this command easily denotes an ongoing process, even of change and personal transformation, and without time limit.

So how can we be perfect like God is perfect?  The early patristic writers were greatly concerned, in their comments on these passages, with how to limit evil.  That is, how do we promote the good?   For the most part, there is a great deal of commentary on saving the good.  By participating in revenge and retribution, even the good may find itself becoming a part of what is evil, perpetuating and participating the things that bring pain and destruction to community, to relationships.  An unjust suit, a slander, claiming things that belong to others for oneself, and varied forms of violence against another are all evil.  But our response has to have a higher consideration than simply retribution, which may resolve nothing, and simply make the problem grow.  To give things up to God -- that is, to put all things under the yoke of God -- is to give consideration to the understanding that we live in response first to our relationship with God, and seek to put all of our lives under that perspective.  In the next chapter of Matthew, Jesus will give us the "Our Father," known as the Lord's Prayer.  In it, He will teach us to pray, "Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors."  This word for forgive is to let go, exactly the same language one would employ in letting go of a financial or material debt.  We are given a formula for releasing to God the injustices that evil imposes in life, and then seeking God's way for us as response.  This does not teach us that we are simply subject to any abuse, or that any and all suffering is simply acceptable.  Neither has it been understood from the early Church that any demand made upon us was acceptable.  Theodore of Heraclea comments that Christ did not command us to give to everyone who asks without exception, for that is impossible.  Neither are we told to give to those with a bad motive -- for that donation will go to evil things.  Nor are we simply to accept any burden imposed upon us.   In chapter 1 of the Didache we read, "Let your alms sweat in your hands, until you know to whom you should give."   It indicates moreover that there is a chance that to give to some may actually harm them in the long run.  These teachings are meant, quite simply, to give us a sense of the pursuit of God's justice and not earthly justice.  That is, we respond to a higher and greater calling, one that is beyond our own capacity to fully grasp or to understand.  We are to "let go" of all things to God, and to rely on God's justice -- even if that means a justice deferred to the greater reconciliation of the fullness of time -- as we seek to participate in something for the greater good, for the ultimate good, which concerns far more than merely ourselves and our immediate circumstances.  It, in all ways, takes us away from selfishness as sole consideration for our lives. We will all have forms of injustice in our lives.  What Christ asks us for is not perfection in the sense of perfect justice, but perfection in the sense of imitation of God our Father.  Through His Passion, suffering and death, and Resurrection, Christ gives us a sense in which we, also, may participate -- through our own injustices in life -- in His life.  We do as He did, we give all the elements of our lives up to God, and seek God's will and God's justice, even when that may be hard to understand or explain.  Christ gives meaning to suffering through His life, death, and Resurrection -- and so we are to follow and do the same.  In effect, He transfigures suffering.  When we bear a cross in life, as did He, we might find life doesn't return to the same, but we look toward Resurrection nevertheless.  In the long run, what may seem like injustice is, after all, the mercy of God giving to us quite generously, a part of the treasure we may come to count as our own, more precious than gold and worldly things.  Jesus teaches us that we are not simply slaves to the world, locked in endless retribution of evil for evil.  We have a capacity for something better, with a far greater horizon.  Let us find what He offers to us, a better justice, a deeper richness and peace.   We remember that love is an action, a choice -- a way of living in imitation of God.  Love is not merely indulgence; it upholds something, it teaches something, it gives something greater than our own perspective.  Ultimately, to love our enemies is also to pray for their salvation in His light, that they may find what is best for their lives as well.