23RD WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you.

Have you ever noticed how many action films focus on a hero overcoming a villain? For most of the movie, the hero suffers at the hands of the villain. Then, in the last act, the hero confronts him, and the villain gets what’s coming to him—maybe in a shoot-out or in hand-to-hand combat.

Now, imagine a different ending. Instead of killing the villain, the hero calls the police. As they are about to haul the villain away, the hero embraces his enemy and speaks words of mercy. He commits to visiting the villain in jail regularly and helping his family.

It’s too bad more movies don’t end this way. But that’s probably because filmmakers understand our human nature too well. We seem to be “wired” for getting even. If someone hurts us, our instinctive reaction is to want to hurt them back. So how on earth can we love our enemies as Jesus asks us to?

The truth is we can’t do it on our own. We can only do it by receiving Jesus’ grace to help us follow his example. We can do it only by fixing our eyes on the cross and recalling how Jesus loved even the people who hurt him. He bore the criticism and condemnation of the religious leaders. He suffered the worst death imaginable—at the hands of the people he came to save! The mercy Jesus poured out can melt our hearts and inspire us to show mercy.

That doesn’t make it easy, of course. You can struggle a long time to let go of past hurts or to reconcile with current enemies. But you can ask the Holy Spirit to soften your heart and then take one step forward. Try bringing to mind someone you have trouble forgiving. Then picture Jesus on the cross and, standing underneath, you and the person you’re trying to forgive. You know that Jesus would have died just for that person alone—and for you. Ask him to give you his merciful heart for the one who has wounded you. Even if you don’t feel anything, you have started down the road to forgiveness.

“Jesus, help me to forgive from the heart and to love those who are hardest to love.”

1 Corinthians 8:1-7, 11-13
Psalm 139:1-3, 13-14, 23-24