These people aren't my enemies. I was just trying to find a picture of people who are not my neighbors.
Uneasy timing!? Sunday's Gospel selection is Matthew 5:38-48 which flies in the face of all that is going on now in our nation. Jesus says, "Offer no resistance to one who is evil....Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." I don't find it hard to love people of every color and of every religion. I do find it hard to love those who don't love people of every color and of every religion. I see such people as the enemy, yet Jesus commands that I love them as well.
Jesus doesn't base this command on the sentimental excuse that deep down they are not so bad or that they mean well. Jesus accepts the category of "enemy" but demands that we love them simply because that is the way the Father acts. With sunshine and raindrops the Father shows equal love towards good and bad, not because God is indifferent to morality but because our Father loves without limit. Jesus calls us to love, not because the other deserves our love, but because the very Source of Love lives within us and expects us to act as His children.
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