A Homily for the Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
Sunday, February 23, 2025
Prince of Peace Catholic Church – 10:00 & 12:00 Masses
1 Samuel 26:2, 7-9, 12-13, 22-23; Psalm 103:1-2, 3-4, 8, 10, 12-13; 1 Corinthians 15:45-49; Luke 6:27-38
Audio Recording
Love Your Enemies
Jesus commands us, His followers, to love our enemies. But before we can love our enemies, we must forgive them.
We know that God is merciful, and that he has come among us specifically to provide a way for us to avoid the harsh judgment that our sins would rightly demand. Shortly before his death and resurrection, Jesus said: “I did not come to judge the world but to save the world”. This is our faith, this is our hope.
This is excellent news for all of us, members of the fallen human race. Jesus offers the gift of forgiveness to all who seek it. BUT, he puts a condition on his forgiveness, one that it is easy for us to forget.
The condition is simply this: God will forgive us to the same degree that we have forgiven those who have sinned against us. Jesus has placed our eternal future squarely into our own hands. “Forgive and you will be forgiven.” That is the divine rule. And the converse is also necessarily true: if we don’t forgive, we will not be forgiven.
Jesus has written this law of forgiveness into the Lord’s Prayer itself. He has taught us to ask God to forgive us our sins “as…as we forgive those who trespass against us.” We are asking God to use with us the same measure we have used with others. This is both the key to receiving God’s mercy, as well as it’s a dangerous prayer that cuts two ways.
Here’s the bottom line: If we are doing our best to forgive others, we can confidently ask God to deal with us mercifully. BUT, if we are refusing to forgive others, if we are not dealing mercifully with them, we are in no position to expect that God will be merciful to us and forgive OUR sins.
All reasonable people want good things for their friends, and big-hearted people may hope and act for the good of many people they don’t even know by praying for them and giving to various charities, such as our Catholic Ministries Appeal.
But to love an enemy? Really? We have to desire good things for someone who has harmed me, who hates me, who has injured people I care about? This seems impossible! We have to love these people? Really, Jesus?
Let’s understand that the command that we love our enemies is not a command that we must LIKE our enemies. We are told that we should hope and act for their genuine good, but we don’t have to like them. Love is to will the good of the other. Jesus is telling us that we must forgive and pray for our enemies, not curse them.
The fact is that unforgiveness never helps us. Simply put, an attitude of unforgiveness places a huge burden on us. It actually causes us emotional and mental distress! I’ve known people, and I’m sure you have too, who haven’t spoken to someone for years over a misunderstanding or a careless insult that they refuse to let go of. Often times it’s a family member. I’ll bet you know someone like that too. Let me ask you, are they joyful people?
In spite of how difficult extending forgiveness may be for us, this is serious business. Today’s gospel gives us a clear spiritual law from Jesus himself as to how we will be judged at the end of our lives. Listen again:
“Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven. For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you.”
Yes, this is serious business. St. John Paul II spoke of withholding forgiveness as being like keeping ourselves locked in prison. He said:
“Forgiveness is the restoration of freedom to oneself. It is the key held in our own hand to our prison cell.”
Think about this! When we hold a grudge and refuse to forgive those who have hurt us, we keep ourselves locked in a personal prison cell. We are prisoners of our own unforgiveness. And we each hold the key to unlock our cell door, but sadly many refuse to use it. That key is forgiveness.
Unforgiveness locks us into a deep unhappiness. By not forgiving we are imprisoned by anger, resentment, and bitterness. The person most punished in all of this is not the one we refuse to forgive, my friends, it’s OURSELVES!
Here’s another important thing to know about forgiveness. Just because you forgive someone for hurting you or someone you love, it DOES NOT mean that you approve of what they did. Not at all! By offering forgiveness you are allowing yourself to be healed by letting go of the bitterness you’re feeling toward someone.
By forgiving you are not saying that what someone did to you was alright. Rather, you are saying that you refuse to be bound by the bitterness and contempt for that person that you nurse while holding a grudge.
Jesus’ teaching on the gravity of our need to forgive others is clear throughout the gospels. From the Gospel according to Matthew he says: “If you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father also will forgive you; but if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” (Matthew 6:14-15).
Let’s remember this essential spiritual law of forgiveness every time we pray the Our Father and we ask God to “Forgive us our trespasses AS…AS we forgive those who trespass against us.”
So let us ask ourselves today, “Who do I need to forgive? Take a few moments and think of that enemy who has hurt you the most. Ask God for the grace to truly forgive this person from the depths of your heart. Say, “By the grace of God, I forgive (so and so) for the damage done to me.” And when you’ve forgiven them, pray and continue to pray for them. Its hard to hate someone you’re praying for.
By forgiving others you can be sure that God will forgive you, give you his peace, and allow you to more fully experience his unconditional love and joy. You can also be sure that he will deal with you mercifully at the end of your life because you have dealt mercifully with others.
Forgiveness is, indeed, one of the hallmarks of a Christian life well-lived. Are you ready to forgive and love your enemies? I promise you, if you make the effort to extend forgiveness to all those who have hurt you, if you love your enemies, your life will change!
God bless you.