Jesus repeatedly commands us to love our enemies. This is the essence of Jesus' teaching — not only because it is part of the Sermon on the Mount but also because it is what Jesus did when He died for us on the cross.

Nonetheless, many people, including Christians, have ignored Jesus' repeated commands to love their enemies. They dismiss the commands of the all-holy Son of God, Wisdom Himself (1 Cor 1:30), as being impractical. They assume that the all-knowing God doesn't know the situation with their enemies. However, we should assume that the Lord's knowledge is way beyond ours (Is 55:8-9) and that we should by faith love our enemies, even if we don't understand Jesus' commands. We should dismiss our insane idea that we are more practical than God and face the fact that we have little to show for our supposed practicality. "For God's folly is wiser than men, and His weakness more powerful than men" (1 Cor 1:25).

If we are not obeying commands which are "over our heads," aren't we "doing our own thing" under the guise of Christianity, rather than obeying God? If we dismiss Jesus' command to love our enemies, aren't we making up our own religion? If we don't try to accept God's grace to obey every word which comes forth from His mouth (Mt 4:4), where is the integrity of our faith and how can we expect to be taken seriously?

Nihil Obstat:  Reverend Robert A. Stricker, December 13, 2003

Imprimatur:  †Most Reverend Carl K. Moeddel, Vicar General and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, December 18, 2003