Loving One's Enemy: Path to Perfection

 Reflection on Today's Readings, Saturday, 1st Week of Lent, February 27th, 2021
Texts: Deut. 26:16-19; Ps. 119:1-2.4-5.7-8; Mtt. 5:43-48
Today, we have to ask ourselves the question: how am I different from those who not know God? The question can also be put this way: what makes me different from those who do not know God? What makes us different from those who do not know God is the fact that we are  like God, we are born of Him. We are like Him because we are born of Him. Not to be like God and yet claim to be born of Him is to be a bastard. We are truly born of Him when we are like Him. Hence, in today's gospel reading, Jesus Christ says, "But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust." To be sons of God is to be born of Him, and to love both friends and enemies is to be like Him.
Loving our enemies makes us outstanding and different from those who do not know God. The commandment, 'love your neighbour and hate your  enemy', is for those who do not know God, it is not for those who are born of God, those who are children of God.  Living by such commandment is the manifestation of not being truly born of God. Our enemies are also our neighbours that we must love. Jesus' definition of our neighbours is whoever is in need of our kindness, mercy and love, forgiveness, no matter the gender, the colour, the race, the tribe, the ethnicity, the nationality, etc (Lk. 10:25-37). Such definition of neighbour is independent of whether the person loves us or not. To know God is to know and adopt the way He views things. Hence, today, Jesus says, "For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you salute only your brethren, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” We become perfect like our heavenly Father when we love both friends and enemies. Our love, kindness, mercy, forgiveness and goodness is to rise on both friends and enemies alike, as God makes His sun rise on both the evil and the good, sends rain on both the just and the unjust.
Today's first reading shows that choosing to be sons and daughters of God  is choosing to do His statutes and ordinances, choosing to walk in His ways, choosing to keep His commandments, choosing to obey His voice. We claim to be sons and daughters of God when we follow the path He sets for us, and to do otherwise makes us disobedient children.
The reading goes further to tell us that God makes us outstanding when we do His statutes and ordinances, keep His commandments and obey His voice, and walk in His ways. This reminds us once again that love is the summary of the law of God, since Jesus says it is by loving both friends and enemies we become outstanding and different from those who do not know God.

Lord Jesus, help us to love You and to love our neighbours in truth, not minding whether they love us or not. Amen.

Fr. Andrew Olowomuke