"Love Your Enemies?"
June 17, 2025 - Tuesday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time
Matthew 5:43–48
“Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.”
That second part isn’t in the Bible.
But it was in the air.
In Jesus’ day, many people lived under Roman rule—oppressed, taxed, silenced, and sometimes killed. Hatred toward the enemy wasn’t taught in the synagogue, but it was whispered in homes, shouted in the streets, and quietly justified by those waiting for a Messiah with a sword.
Jesus names it. And then, He flips it:
“But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”
Jesus didn’t just say it—He lived it.
He didn’t curse His enemies or call down fire on those who rejected Him.
Even as He hung on the cross, surrounded by mockers and executioners, He prayed:
“Father, forgive them.”
The first Christians followed His lead.
They had no armies, no influence, no political power—but they had love.
And somehow, by refusing to hate and choosing to forgive, they turned the Roman world upside down.
Can we do it again?
The Community of Sant’Egidio, founded in Rome in 1968 by a group of high school students inspired by the Gospel and the early Church, has quietly practiced enemy-love for over five decades. Today, over 60,000 members in more than 70 countries follow the same path: prayer, service, and peace through reconciliation.
Until 1992, they were little known outside of Italy. Then they surprised the world. After years of behind-the-scenes conversations, prayer, and patient diplomacy, Sant’Egidio helped broker a peace agreement that ended 17 years of civil war in Mozambique. They had no weapons, no political clout—only trust, persistence, and the conviction that love is stronger than hate.
They proved that loving enemies isn’t just an idea—it’s a force that can stop wars.
So can we do it again?
In our homes? In our cities? In our hearts?
In 1967, Polish singer Czesław Niemen wrote a haunting song titled “Strange Is This World.”
He sang about the sadness of a world where people despise one another and evil still thrives.
And yet, he believed that there are more people of goodwill—and that they are the ones who keep the world from falling apart.
He ended with a powerful appeal:
“It’s time to destroy the hatred within us.”
So be that person.
The one through whom the world does not get destroyed.
The one who, with God’s help, destroys the hatred within.