The reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Luke. (6:31-36)

Our Lord Jesus Christ, the lover of mankind, gives us beautiful words today.  He focuses on one word “love”.  This word is one of the most overused and misused words in all of our common day to day language.  But the Son of God, who is love incarnate, instructs and teaches His people so that they will not be in the dark but will have the light of life, the light of His teachings.

He says “As you wish men to do to you, do so to them.”  It’s a very simple saying, in fact we teach this rule to children.  We call it the golden rule “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”  We know of course that loving one’s neighbor is among the very highest of the commandments and in this teaching of the golden rule it becomes more clear and concrete for us.  If you would not like someone to do something particular to you, then don’t do that thing to them.  Put yourself in their shoes.  Put yourself in their place and you can begin to see their perspective.  The Christian who cannot see things from anyone else’s perspective, is not yet a child of God.  He sees through human eyes and not through the eyes of Christ, the eyes of God.

We know that this is true because the Lord Jesus Christ is going to push us far past our comfort level regarding this often used word “love”.  The Lord is going to show us that what He means by love is something far different from our concept of love.  We often think of love as a feeling.  It is often emotional, even hormonal.  But that is not love according to the Lord.  He has to push us beyond our human understanding.  Beyond what is even rational.  Because if it is rational it will be according to human wisdom and not according to the mind of God.

So the Lord challenges His listeners “If you love those who love you, what credit is that you?  Even sinners love those who love them.”  He says that effectively it means nothing if you love those who act kindly towards you.  He says that if you only reciprocate love when others show love to you then that is not a sign that you are virtuous or holy, for “even sinners love those who love them.” So how will God push us past the point of comfort and raise our minds and hearts to Him?  How will God show us what we are missing in our understanding of this powerful word “love”?  He will attach this word to the people it will be most difficult to love…to our very own enemies.

Christ says “love your enemies.”  But it is very difficult, if not humanly impossible.  Man left to his own devices, will destroy his enemies and he will justify their destruction.  Some of you here have even been overheard saying that certain groups of people should die or be eradicated.  Make no mistake, that is not the way that the children of God should speak and with love I tell you that it is a sign that we are still very far from the kingdom.  

We can and sometimes we should hate what people stand for, we can hate false teaching and ideologies, we can hate evil practices and evil policies.  Yet, we love the human person and never reduce the person to their sins or their political party or their religion or their ideology.  If we do, then we are just like them, not like our Father who has graciously opened the doors to us and adopted each of us into His family.  And speaking of family, do you know who your enemy is?  It is your brother or your sister.  We are related to everyone.  We are created in the image of God.  Even those whom we despise are created in God’s image, difficult as that may be for us to consider.  

So how do we gain love for our enemies?  Well, some of the saints say that this is a gift.  That it comes by the grace of God.  That means that our task is to be acquiring God’s grace as much as possible, because God desires to give this gift to us. What are some of the means available to acquiring God’s grace?  Well, certainly there are the means such as the liturgy and fasting and the reading of Scripture.  But we can go further.  We can look at the power of confession.  Humility unlocks grace and there is nothing that demonstrates humility more than someone who comes and bares their soul during confession.  We can look at almsgiving.  When someone gives sacrificially for the sake of others, that is a great way to prepare the heart to receive God’s grace.  When someone accepts an insult or is mistreated and accepts it silently, that is a way that they acquire this grace richly through humility.  When we think of others, especially those whom we dislike, as better than ourselves, that is a powerful way to acquire humility and to attract the grace of God.

St. Silouan of Mt. Athos wrote on this topic of love often.  Let me share some of his words. He says, “If we are incapable [of loving our enemies] and if we are without love, let us turn with ardent prayers to the Lord, to His Most Pure Mother, and to all the Saints, and the Lord will help us with everything, He whose love for us knows no bounds.”  He goes one saying, “I continuously beg the Lord to give me the love of enemies. . . . Day and night I ask the Lord for this love. The Lord gives me tears and I weep for the whole world.”

These are not simply suggestions, they should become a law for our lives because St. Silouan also says something terrifying: “Whoever will not love his enemies cannot know the Lord and the sweetness of the Holy Spirit.”  May we be numbered among those who know the Lord and His love.  AMEN.

Source: Sermons