Faith Reflection 

Love your enemy

Luke 6:27-38

The radical teaching that was begun in last week’s gospel as the beatitudes and woes is continued in this week’s challenge to be forgiving, compassionate and generous in the same way that God expresses abundant love. As with the blessings and curses of the Beatitudes passage, this teaching continues the challenge to act against cultural and social expectations. Who would be surprised if you were to express hatred for an enemy or for someone who hates you or treats you badly? But Jesus tells his disciples to love their enemies and to do good to those who hate them. His instruction is contrary to the ‘normal’ way of doing things – and that’s exactly the message Jesus wanted to convey! Rather than a spiteful, vengeful God who keeps score and punishes wrongdoing, Jesus presents a compelling image of a God of unbounded compassion and abundant generosity.

In this passage we find one version of the Golden Rule that appears repeatedly throughout the gospels (as well as most other religious traditions): ‘Treat others as you would like them to treat you.’ It is followed up with a comment that it takes no effort to treat well people whom you like – anybody can do that. The challenge is to treat people you don’t like as you would like to be treated yourself. In a society that had very strict rules about the way to treat different people and clearly established boundaries between different groups, this was a tough ask by Jesus. Bear in mind also that there was an occupying army in the country and Jesus was encouraging the people to treat even their enemies, the Romans, with love, compassion and forgiveness. This was a radical and challenging teaching!

Historical Context – In the midst of oppression

What a powerful message Jesus delivered to people who were subjugated and oppressed by an invading army. It would have been easy, and somehow ‘natural’, for the people of Palestine to hate the Roman occupiers and to seek revenge upon them. How confronting then for Jesus to say, ‘love your enemies’! He tells the people that the way to live God’s way in this situation was to be compassionate towards the oppressors; that when they rob you of your cloak to present them with your shirt as well. To do otherwise is to become like the oppressors themselves. Meeting hatred with hatred never ended hatred.

Scriptural context – Compassion

The compassion of God is a very strong theme that runs through the Gospel of Luke. Throughout the gospel, the compassion and mercy of God is emphasised and a defining feature of the gospel is the number of healings and parables that relate to people who were regarded as the outcasts of society. In this gospel, Jesus is the embodiment of God’s compassion. Jesus wants all people to experience first hand the abundant love God holds for them. Today’s gospel passage is a reminder that when we experience God’s compassion we are also called to show it to others.

Different View – Turn the other cheek

Presenting your other cheek when someone has already struck you is usually seen as a pacifist action. However, a completely different interpretation can be made. If a man were to strike an inferior, it would be as a backhand strike – only equals fought with fists or open hands. Having been struck on one cheek with a backhand, offering the other cheek makes it impossible to again be struck with a backhand. The only option for the striker would be with an open hand – as equals fight. So, turning the other cheek can be interpreted as claiming your status as an equal.

by Greg Sunter