Reflection on Matthew 5:43-48

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Tuesday, June 16, 2020

Today’s Gospel is a continuation of the Sermon on the Mount. Just like Moses, Jesus goes up to a mountain. Moses went to Mount Sinai to receive the Torah from Yahweh. Jesus on the other hand, goes to Mount of Beatitude, not to receive the law but to claim personal authority over the Law (Torah) itself. On the Mount, he gives deeper meanings of the Torah by laying out series of new teachings. It is not a breaking news that throughout Jesus’ public ministry, he speaks and acts like God. His sermon on the Mount may have been on the mind of the Jewish elders and the people who said at his trial, “…he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God” (Jn. 19:7). The unnerving thing is that whenever Jesus speaks and acts, he does so with an unprecedented authority. 

In today’s Gospel, Jesus boldly says, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But (now) 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 the sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust” (Matt. 5:43-45). In the Old Testament, one’s neighbor meant a fellow Israelite. The command to love one’s neighbor in the Old Testament was basically a command to love one’s fellow countrymen and women. But in his sermon on the Mount, Jesus declares that this notion of love and neighbor is limited and insufficient. He therefore removes the boundaries that limit our love. As we already know, Jesus used the story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37), to answer the question, “Who is my neighbor?” With the same story he also reveals the true meaning of love— which is the sheer act of willing the good of the other and doing something about it. 

Sisters and brothers, the Lord enjoins us to love our neighbor, our friends, our enemies, and also to pray for those who persecute us. If you are finding it hard to love your enemy, start praying for them. If you are finding it difficult to forgive your persecutors, start praying for them. I must say here that it is much easier to love one’s friendly neighbor than a nasty and difficulty one. It is much easier to love those of the same faith tradition with you than love let’s say Muslims. It is much easier to love one’s own race and tribe. It is much easier to love those you have blood relationship with you. But here is the problem. If that is how we love, if our love is only limited to those we have some affinity with, we are not going to be called “children of your heavenly Father.” If our love is so limited to those of our households, religion, nation, race, political party, nation, etc. today’s Gospel said we are not any different from tax collectors and pagans who also love their own kind. So, if you only love persons of your kind, your love is insufficient. To be called children of our heavenly Father, we must be prepared to love saints and sinners, friends and enemies, lovers and haters, neighbors and strangers, believers and pagans. Is this easy? No! But we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us (Phil. 4:13).