February 19, 2023

Mt 5:38-48

In the gospel reading last February 19, 2023, it was stated “But I say this to you, love your
enemies and pray for those who persecute you; so that you may be children of your Father in heaven, for
he causes his sun to rise on the bad as well as the good, and sends down rain to fall on the upright and the
wicked alike.” This struck me because loving your enemies is easier said than done. It is typical to love
your friends and those people that you seem to like, but loving your enemies and those people that you
can’t seem to get along with? It seems pretty difficult for me.

I had one high school classmate and for an unknown reason, we can’t seem to get along with.
However, there was a time where I really tried my very best to be kind to her. There was this time when
our computer teacher got angry at her and asked her to leave the classroom. I forgot the reason since it
was a long time ago. She was so scared as she got out of our classroom. Though we didn’t get along that
much, I knew that she didn’t do anything wrong. I was pissed off and I told our teacher how unreasonable
he was. I stood up and got out of the classroom as well. I went to my classmate who was crying while
sitting on the stairs alone. She was confused that I was with her when her best friends weren’t. I
comforted her as she cried in front of me. When we parted ways during our Senior High School, I
messaged her and I apologized for being mean to her sometimes.

To be honest, I don’t know what to write anymore. I want to tell you another experience about
how I tried my best to be good and love my enemies or anyone that I didn’t get along with, but I think, I
have nothing more to say since I’m the kind of person who will do anything to get back whenever
someone insults or hurts me. I know that this is opposite to what God wants me to do, however, I can’t
control myself sometimes.
Upon hearing the gospel, I realized how disobedient I am in the words of Christ. So from now on,
I will try my best to change myself. I’ll pray that I find it in my heart to put aside any wrongs and to love
them as a fellow brothers and sister in Christ. I’ll try to treat them with unwarranted kindness, even to
pray for their well-being. We do not see Jesus taking revenge on his enemies. He inly tried to correct the
false teachers. Even when he was persecuted and crucified, Jesus prayed still prayed for them. I know this
is not an easy command from our Lord but then, it has been stated in Matthew 5:48, “Be perfect,
therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” From this moment on, I’ll definitely try my best to