You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.
We tend to find it easy to love those who are supportive of us but more difficult to muster compassion for our oppressors. Even though many of us are not being actively oppressed ourselves we readily join the hostility of others against their oppressors. Indeed we seem to seek define ourselves in terms of our enemies, and feel left out if we can't identify in this way. It seems that only the oppressed are actually allowed to feel entitled to anything. Therefore if we have anything and are not among any of those groups it can't rightfully be ours and must be surrendered. We desire the sense of identity and entitlement that comes from having an enemy. But this is not how we are meant to define ourselves. Think about how easy it would have been for first century Jews to define themselves in terms of their opposition to the Roman occupation. They were rightfully desirous of freedom, of Israel fulfilling its destiny to be a light to the nations. But this destiny could not be fulfilled in fact if they harbored a hatred for those nations in their hearts.
But I say to you, love your enemies
and pray for those who persecute you
Christians are called to love our enemies. What we are not called to love are the ways in which we or any group find ourselves to be oppressed. But we are at least called to recognize that hatred won't end oppression. It can't. It can only result in a vicious cycle, a downward cycle leading to ever greater hostility. We are not called to stop heretics by burning them or by launching some new inquisition, but rather by loving them enough to pray for them. We are called to offer the sun of truth and the rain of spiritual life to all regardless of their qualifications or their criminal record.
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?
Christians might have a hard time paying attention to this Gospel, thinking that we are not the ones guilty of hating our enemies. We accuse others of defining themselves in terms of their oppression but imagine ourselves to be different. And yet, though we claim to have this abstract love for all men, it doesn't seem to make any practical impact. The greatest signal that this is the case is the fact that we, as much as anyone, seem to be defined by our in group, by our tribe. There is of course our societal mask that makes us appear to be courteous and kind. Or at least hopefully we act this way and haven't yet succumbed to the worldly tendency toward verbal vitriol. But it is clear that our behavior with our tribe is one thing and our attitude toward the proponents of opposing political candidates is another. What would it look like if our love was truly indifferent? What if we were less worried about how our group might be harmed or what we hope to get for ourselves or our tribe and more invested in what we can do to bring others, regardless of their current proximity, nearer to the heavenly Father?
Then the LORD said to Elijah the Tishbite,
"Have you seen that Ahab has humbled himself before me?
Since he has humbled himself before me,
I will not bring the evil in his time.
One thing that all of scripture assures us is that it is never too late to repent. If we have given ourselves to a tribal mentality, or if we, in our quest for justice have also accepted hatred as an acceptable means, it is not too late to change out trajectory and humble ourselves before the Lord.
Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness;
in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense.
Thoroughly wash me from my guilt
and of my sin cleanse me.
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