5TH WEEK OF EASTER

If the world hates you, realize that it hated me first. 

In today’s Gospel, Jesus warns the disciples that they are going to encounter people who hate them “on account of my name” (John 15:21). “If they persecuted me,” he tells them, “they will also persecute you” (15:20).

A very human response to hatred is to hate in return, or at least to avoid those who hate us. Yet what is so astonishing about Jesus is that he doesn’t return hate with hate. Instead, he loves even those who hate and persecute him.

We see this most clearly when Jesus is dying on the cross and asks the Father to forgive his tormentors (Luke 23:34). But there are so many other examples as well. Recall that when Jesus was arrested at the Mount of Olives, Peter drew his sword and cut off the ear of the high priest’s servant. Jesus immediately touched the servant’s ear and healed him (22:50-51). During his public ministry, Jesus healed all who came to him, regardless of whether they loved him or recognized him as the Messiah. He also repeatedly tried to open the eyes of the Pharisees and scribes who opposed him so that they might see that he had been sent by the Father. No one, not even those who hated him, was excluded from his love.

How can we imitate Jesus in returning hatred with love? Like our Lord, we need to see our persecutors as men and women who are created in the image of God and are loved by the Father. We need to remember that God wants everyone to know him and be saved. If we can keep these truths in mind, we are more likely to follow Jesus’ example to love those who hate us. That loving response, in fact, can be a powerful witness. It might just help someone recognize that it is only Jesus and his life in us that makes such a response possible.

Does someone “hate” you for your Christian faith? Today, pray for that person. Then ask the Spirit to soften your heart so that you can love them with the love of your Savior.

“Holy Spirit, give me the grace to love even those who hate me.”

Acts 16:1-10
Psalm 100:1-3, 5
John 15:18-21