7th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A 2023

In a few days we will be entering Lent. As it is, we are still within the ambit of the Sermon on the Mount. We had the Beatitudes, the Law and now we venture further onto the path of perfection. As Jesus Himself said, “I have come to fulfil the Law”. To fulfil the Law is to embrace its spirit and to live it to the fullest expression possible.

It makes sense since the 1st Reading lays the foundation for our behaviour to resemble the God who is holy. Holiness is not measured by being “better than thou” but to reflect who God truly is—holy. In the 2nd Reading, Paul places our holy behaviour within the context of the “Temple” meaning that our body has been sanctified which elevates it into the new temple where God’s Spirit resides. In the Gospel, Jesus invites His disciples further into the way of perfection and there appears to be a movement from the Old Testament to the New Testament in which being holy is expressed through action. From resembling God who is Holy to imitating the Father who is perfect.

To flow from who we are to how we should behave, Jesus places our behaviour in the context of loving one’s enemies. What should characterise our relationship or lack of with our enemies? If we follow Jesus, the jump from “lex talionis” to offering no resistance is indeed a giant leap. To say the least, such an ideal is next to impossible.

Why do we find it hard to love our enemies? A noble gesture such as to forgive our enemies is rendered unappealing when there is a confusion in our use of language. In the past, good was basically good. If we were to follow what it means to be good, as portrayed in movies, we catch glimpses of goodness like Julie Andrews in the Sound of Music. Goodness is wholesome and it is the same description we find too in our hagiographies. What has happened is an inversion of values in which the good needs to be seen through the optics of bad. For example, it is not good enough to merely state something is good. Instead, “badass” is now the new good. If not badass, then perhaps we hear a foodie describing a gastronomic preparation as “sinfully good”. If not sinfully good, “wicked” just means good. Maybe the kind of goodness epitomised by Julie Andrews is too pure or unattainable and simple saying that a dish is good is too boring and does not seem adequate.

Words like badass, wicked or sinfully good make it hard to grasp what being noble and magnanimous should entail. Instead it makes it easier to embrace the ethos of the anti-hero. An anti-hero is a person with questionable character and whose moral compass does not point to the North. Anti-heroes fascinate us because they resemble us with all their faults. If the definition of a hero is someone who strives to be and to do good, then the normative and accepted behaviour for a hero is the moral congruence between means and ends. The goal is achieved through moral means. Whereas for anti-heroes, it does not matter if the road taken is immoral. Whatever means is acceptable as long as the goal is achieved. This type of moral fluidity justifies uninspiring behaviour.

On one level, this problematic is really a symptom that we no longer believe that heaven is worth our sacrificing or dying for. On another level, it does not matter if one should be good because everyone deserves heaven. Anti-heroism validates our mediocrity in not striving for a life of noble excellence.

The path of perfection proposed by Jesus requires a striving on our part and a commitment. To love our enemy is hard enough but to do good to those who hate us is indeed a painful calling. In order to transcend our natural repulsion towards our enemy, we must begin with heroic virtues. In our daily life, it is as simple as denial of ourselves through fasting. It is as simple as focusing on God through regular praying. It is as simple as caring for others who are less fortunate than we are. These may be small and inconsequential actions, but daily practice of them prepares the soul for the more profound action of self-sacrifice even of our lives.

Together with heroic virtues, we need a clearer vision of the good. It is true that life is incredibly messy but the acknowledgement of this reality is not its canonisation. Just because life is confusing is not an excuse for acedia, inaction or inertia. In fact, the messiness of life is a powerful reminder that an alternative vision is possible. For that, we have to overcome a phobia we have, which is to commit ourselves to a higher vision of good, of heaven and of God.

There is good to defend. There is a heaven to aim for. And there is God to believe in. In a realm without God, we will always be looking for justice in this world but never finding it. Or we will never be satisfied. We will be condemned in an elusive search for the perfect justice, thus making the love of enemies much more difficult, let alone praying for them. Without God as guarantor, we will hesitate because if we do good and if there is no heaven, then all the good we have done would have been wasted. If we are not convinced that there is a heaven where justice can be finally rendered, then loving one’s enemy will be an uphill climb, and it will never be a part of what means to be a Christian.

We are not without a way out of this conundrum. Jesus Himself provided the means to overcoming this resistance. Through the heroic exercise of our virtues, we too can follow Him. As Jesus mentioned in the Gospel, to love our enemy and to do good, begin by lifting them up in prayer. Ask God not for punishment or even justice for them but for blessing upon them. Bless their souls with every conceivable blessing because they need it. Think of a person who does not deserve your forgiveness. As you continue blessing him or her, the anger in your heart will melt because it is impossible to bless a person and hold on to hatred at the same time. The act of blessing an enemy will yield a sense of peace and we dare to bless because we have a God whom we can trust. He guarantees that in the end, everything will work out according to His plans. The passage to perfection is not impossible to ascend because it is the same path that the Lord Himself walked. Our perfection comes through the imitation of Christ who was able to forgive even those who killed Him.