Daily Reflection -9/12/2024
Sacred Scripture
Jesus said to his disciples: “To you who hear I say, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. To the person who strikes you on one cheek, offer the other one as well, and to the person who takes your cloak, do not withhold even your tunic. Give to everyone who asks of you, and to the one who takes what is yours do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you. For if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do the same. If you lend money to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners and get back the same amount. But rather, love your enemies and do good to them, and lend expecting nothing back; then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful, just as also your Father is merciful. Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven. Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap. For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you.” ( Luke 6:27-38)
Reflection
In today’s world, it seems hatred has become a common thread woven into the very fabric of our societies. The rhetoric of hate and retaliation is pervasive and seems to spread into every corner of our society and world.
But what is the true cost of this hatred? And more importantly, how does it affect our spiritual lives and our relationship with God?
Hatred is often described as an intense dislike or animosity towards someone or something. But it goes deeper than that. Hatred is a moral cancer. Just as cancer spreads and ultimately destroys its host, so too does hatred. It slowly affects every thought and every action. It destroys a person, and it destroys a person’s relationship with God.
When someone hates you, you have two choices: to hate back or to refuse to hate. Jesus clearly asks us to refuse to hate, to love our enemies, to do to others as we would have them do to us. That’s His teaching.
The results of returning hate with hate are evident all around us. Look at the newspapers, watch the media, look at the situation in the Middle East, Eastern Europe, or in our own cities’ gang violence. “You hurt us, we’ll hurt you.”
Are you satisfied with the kind of world that emerges when we respond with hate and hurt, when we do to others as they have done to us?
In stark contrast are Jesus’ words in today’s scripture about loving our enemies, doing good to those who hate us, blessing those who curse us, and praying for those who mistreat us, It is one of the most challenging teachings to follow.
What makes Christians different and what makes Christianity distinct from any other religion? It is grace – treating others, not as they deserve, but as God wishes them to be treated – with loving-kindness and mercy. God is good to the unjust as well as the just. His love embraces saint and sinner alike. God seeks our highest good and teaches us to seek the greatest good of others, even those who hate and abuse us. Our love for others, even those who are ungrateful and selfish towards us, must be marked by the same kindness and mercy which God has shown to us.
Jesus’ teaching is not easy. We would all like another option. But there are only two options on the table. If you are satisfied with the kind of world that results from returning hate with hate, getting even, and treating others as they have treated you, then reject Jesus’ teaching as misguided. But if that kind of world of increasing violence and hatred sickens you, then maybe it is time to follow what the Lord commands. Maybe it is time to love our enemy, to forgive the one who hurts us, and to do to others as we would have them do to us.
By choosing love over hate, we can begin to heal the moral cancer that threatens to destroy us from within. We can restore our relationship with God and with each other.
Prayer of The Day
“Lord Jesus, increase my hunger for you and show me the way that leads to everlasting happiness and peace. May I desire you above all else and find perfect joy in doing your will.”
Daily Note
How can one possibly find happiness in poverty, hunger, mourning, and persecution? If we want to be filled with the joy and happiness of heaven, then we must empty ourselves of all that would shut God out of our hearts. Poverty of spirit finds ample room and joy in possessing God alone as the greatest treasure possible. Hunger of the spirit seeks nourishment and strength in God’s word and Spirit. Sorrow and mourning over wasted life and sin leads to joyful freedom from the burden of guilt and oppression.
