Love your enemy

Jesus said we are to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us(Matt 5:43). For those of us who have been part of the church for much of our lives, this is something we have often heard. It always sounds quite nice, but putting flesh onto the bones is something that takes us much deeper.

On Monday and Tuesday, I was in Charlotte for a meeting with the other UM campus ministers in our annual conference. The new Dean of Duke Chapel, Dr. Sam Wells, met with us and discussed some important theological issues concerning working on college campuses. He mentioned a theologian, John Howard Yoder, during these talks. Yoder was a Mennonite Christian who wrote a great deal about what it means to love our enemies. You might know that Mennonites are one of the historic peace churches. I read a lot from Yoder during my time in seminary and have since pulled out his book, The Politics of Jesus.

What does it mean for us to love our enemies? First, who is an enemy? We might first think of terrorists in today's world. Hopefully, we do pray for them. And who are our "enemies" on a more personal level? Enemy is such a strong word. There might be people we hate or who hate us. Or we might have people who we simply dislike, disregard or disrespect in our lives. Who are your enemies? An enemy is someone with whom there is a division - there is a large gulf between ourselves and them. The other person may have put it there - we may have put it there - or it may have been a combination. (It does normally take two to tango.) Please take some time during the coming days to think about who your enemies are. Think about who the people are in your life from whom you are divided. Ask God to help you identify them.

And then pray for them. Pray that this gulf might be bridged. Ask God to help you find ways to reach out to them. Pray that with time and practice you might learn to love that person as another child of God.

As we are able to do this on an individual basis, it will help us love and find ways to reach out to enemies on a larger scale (as a people, and as a nation) as well. Love your enemies.