Posted by The WORD in other words (2006) by Father Frank Mihalic SVD
Tuesday 11th Week in Ordinary Time
Jesus told us that we must love our enemies (cf. Matthew 5:44). At first, this seems impossible. But before we even think about how to do that, we must first ask: who are our enemies? We may be surprised to discover that many of them are imaginary.
What is an enemy? Someone or something that wants to harm us. But how do we know they want to harm us? Perhaps we dislike their looks, size, or color. Perhaps that person does not even know us, has never even heard of us. How then can he or she be our enemy, except in our imagination?
The easiest remedy is to start talking to that supposed enemy. We may be surprised to find they are not an enemy at all. Another point we often forget: when we hate someone, we think it causes them pain. But in reality, they may not even know we hate them. Hatred harms only us; it eats away at our hearts.
We sometimes consider things as enemies: sickness, pain, darkness, earthquakes, temptations. Yet these are not meant to destroy us. Pain, for example, is a warning signal to the body — a helper, not an enemy. Even death is not an enemy; it opens the door to eternal life (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:55–57).
The best way to destroy an enemy is to make him a friend. Just as in a ball game, opponents may seem like enemies, but when the game ends, we shake hands and become friends again. If you think someone is your enemy, do them a favor — and see what happens.
When we change an enemy into a friend, it becomes easy to follow our Lord’s command: “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44). For once the enemy is a friend, loving them is no longer difficult.
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