Friends and Foes!

All too often we dismiss the Sermon on the Mount as being too Utopian to be realized. Even some of the greatest and best minds have argued that Christ’s teachings are applicable to only certain individuals as a paradigm of inner perfection.

In trying to find an example after whom we can model our lives, we rightly fix our eyes on Jesus. In fixing our attention entirely on the passion of the Christ, we sometimes lose focus on His life and teaching. The Sermon on the Mount as found in the gospel of Matthew (Mt 5.) is indeed a lucid account of what Jesus Christ taught.

When dealing with living in an imperfect world, with imperfect people, as imperfect persons, we find the Sermon on the Mount an almost impossible ideal. We are tempted to wonder, “Surely God does not intend for us to follow these high ideals.” Was He speaking in earnest when He commands us not to succumb to anger? The truth of the matter is He asked us not to continue being angry, instead we are asked to reconcile with those who have offended us.

When Christ taught on the mount, He gave us an achievable task and not some illusive ideal. The teaching about friends and foes has been on my mind these past few days. It was said that we should love our friends and hate our enemies. We need only to turn on the seven o’ clock news and also read pages of history to find horrendous evidence of that maxim. Contrary to that common dictum, Christ asks us to love our enemies and pray for those who torment us. A way of life that is diametrically opposed to our natural inclination; but achievable when we ourselves are transformed by His grace. The love that Christ talks about here is not something that comes easily. It is a love that stems from our will, when every fiber of our being cries out against it. The will by itself can be weak in the face of our basic instincts. That is the reason why Christ also asks us to pray for our enemies. There is something therapeutic in telling God of the ones that hurt us.

Why should we live the values of such a seemingly “upside down” kingdom? Because we are children of God and we are called to be like Him. And Christ not only preached about it but through the cross He became our example. May we be strengthened to live according to the standards of this kingdom that is here. A kingdom established in love through grace.