you, so that you may be children of your Father in Heaven. For he makes his sun rise on both
the wicked and the good; and he gives rain to both the just and the unjust. If you love those who
love you, what is special about that? Do not even tax collectors do as much? And if you are friendly
only to your friends, what is so exceptional about that? Do not even the pagans do as much?
As for you, be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Reflect

“Love your enemies.” In the Gospel for today is one of the most challenging teachings in the
Sermon on the Mount: to love not only one’s neighbors (cf. Lev. 19:18) but also one’s enemies.
Jesus is teaching us Christians how to relate with our enemies should we aspire to become
children of our heavenly Father: We must love our enemies. We should pray for those who
persecute us. Today’s Gospel ends by way of exhorting us that we must be perfect as our
heavenly Father is perfect (cf. Greek teleioi). Jesus demands of his followers the perfection
which implies wholeness. Nevertheless, the sense of perfection in this context does is not
merely about flawlessness but one that provides us the possibility to acknowledge our own flaws
so that we may eventually come to terms with people who have wronged us. Becoming whole is
a process which entails a challenge of loving even the undeserving. To cite, in the concrete, it is
when we can already pray for the wellbeing of those who have caused us the deepest of pain
that we become more complete. In the process, we truly become the children of
the heavenly Father.

© Copyright Bible Diary 2024