November 24

Matthew 5.43-48

⁴³ “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵ that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. ⁴⁶ If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? ⁴⁷ And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? ⁴⁸ Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Have you found yourself in that place of Jonah lately, the one we saw a bit yesterday?  Wanting God to be vengeful, even though we know he is gracious and compassionate.  Maybe thinking of how another is upsetting us greatly and wanting to see them fail.  More likely we see in the news that there are people in the world that are acting in ways that go against our ideals.  Whether it is our peaceful nature upset with those who make wars or it is our piety that sees certain moral actions promoted and we find ourselves angry.

An enemy can be the ones around the world from us or the ones in the yard next door.  They can look very different from us, or quite the same.  Their actions could contradict ours, or it could be they live out what we wish we could.  Enemies are the ones we perceive to be against us, or we perceive we are against.

Jesus turns our ways on end.  He tells us to pray for those we see as enemies.  Love them, in whatever way you can.  God took his enemies and turned them into his closest followers.  When Paul speaks of enemies of the cross in Philippians 3 he speaks of those who have their minds set on earthly things.  Something that describes us from before we came to follow Jesus, and sadly has some lasting effects after, slowly receding from us. 

Jesus calls us to pray for our enemies.  Take a milder enemy for now.  One who upsets you.  One with whom you currently struggle.  Make them the subject of prayers.  Praying that God’s grace be upon them.  Not changing them to be what you want, but to be who God desires them to be.  Keep the person (or people) in prayer for the season of advent coming up.  And see the change in our own attitudes, and also the change in the one for whom we pray.

Song – Speak, O Lord

Prayer

Lord, we know that we have broken our vows with you and lived against your words.  Forgive us for our disobedience.  Help us to live as those inside of your grace.  Loving your world and the people you have placed within it.  Give us grace to love, even those we see as enemies of us, or even enemies of you.  May we be called the people who love and the people of grace, in the love and grace you have already given us in Christ, Amen.