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Gospel of Matthew 5:38-48
“You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.
But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good,
and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust...."
Today is my weekend off from liturgical ministry. I attended Saturday evening mass, so I planned to sleep in this morning. It didn't work out too well. I woke up even earlier than usual due to another one of my sweat inducing dreams. I can't recall the details, but it got me thinking about the power of the imagination. Human imagination is a beautiful gift from God. With the ability to creatively "think out of the box" people make amazing discoveries and inventions everyday. The genius of imagination created comforts we often take for granted such as electricity, automobiles, and even the flushable toilet.
Imagination can bring about so much good. However, imagination can also harm. For every new drug discovery that cures a disease there's also one that leads to addiction. For every precious gemstone unearthed for a woman to proudly wear on her finger someone dies for the blood money. (I think of mining in African countries.) For every Internet broadband connection unleashed to areas of the world as a way of enhancing communication it opens a portal to child predation and identity theft. The examples go on and on.....
In today's beautiful gospel reading, Jesus reminds us we should love our enemies and pray for those who persecute. This is extremely difficult at times, especially if it involves people who harm others like drug dealers, murderers, and computer hackers.
Oftentimes, we may think we are up against an enemy when we really aren't. We butt our heads against an imaginary enemy. How can this be? This may sound strange but often our greatest enemy lies in the form of fear and anxiety. We allow unnecessary fear to create make-believe situations that cause us to overreact. I think of the traffic accident when the highway suddenly stops. Drivers can't see what is ahead so they immediately think some idiot is the cause. This can result in frustration, anger, and road rage. Another example may be when we go to the doctor for a medical test. Out of fear, we already assume we're diseased. Our minds begin passing on the blame: I should never have slept with that loser who gave me HIV!...Uh, if I'm pregnant I will make the father pay child support! That horrible man!
Life is too short to waste time and energy constantly worrying about enemies whether real people or imaginary. Turn that hate and resentment into love. Turn that fear and anxiety into something useful and positive. Pray for God to help you overcome negativity. Just think of the amount of stress we can release by lifting up our enemies to God saying: "Dear Lord, here is enemy XYZ. Please provide me with the strength and grace to love instead of hate. Please settle down my fears and anxieties so I'm not quick to overreact. I love you so much! I sincerely want to be able to pass that love to everyone even those people I don't like who make life so difficult. Thank you for your infinite blessings. Amen!"
-J.
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