Love your enemies!

David spared Saul when Saul was searching to kill him.
And David takes the moral high ground.
We don’t associate this leap into loving ones enemies with the Old Testament way.
However a careful reading will tell us that there is a growing perception there that God is more interested in mercy and love and compassion.
Even today some one forgiving another, especially the enemy, stands out as heroic rather than the norm.
When Pope John Paul the second forgave his would be assassin the world thought it was heroic. But the Pope himself said
“I am only following what my master said to do and as a Christian I am duty bound to do this.”
Duty bound ? Why ?
Let us begin at the beginning.
Remember your baptism?
I justl baptized 3 children this afternoon
They were anointed with the chrism, oil of baptism.
Christ word means the anointed, and so
Christ is the anointed one.
And so at baptism we all become the anointed, or Christs…little christs. And so when we accept baptism we are agreeing to be like the Christ. Jesus the Christ.
And so what he taught, what he did is our norm, not a heroic choice for some, but a norm for all, as individuals, as communities and as nations.
And this probably is one of Jesus’ most difficult teachings. Many through the centuries have decided that these non violent standards are unrealistic, impractical and therefore not binding.
In our own times some people have tried this and practiced this , not only in their personal lives but in the political and social arenas as well.

Gandhi comes to mind.
After the massacre of about 2000 unarmed Indians in the state of Punjab by the British army, the country was ready to kill every English man and some politicians thought it was time for some violent revolution to gain national independence.
Gandhi stepped in and said: Freedom gained by force and violence is not real freedom nor is it according to God’s will…and so he began his education of the people and himself in the method and meaning of NON Violence as a political tool. It is worth studying.
And of course we have Martin Luther King Jr in our own country.
His Nobel price acceptance speech in December 10 of 1964 bears witness to his abiding faith in Non Violence as the only Christian way to freedom and equality.
His own close followers demurred at it.
(See his speech..)
Even as we are here in this church, we know it seems beyond hope: The headlines this very morning says: 2 Car bombs kill 56, injure 127, 8 US troops die in afganistan.
So is it practical in the economic arena, social sphere, or political world, this teaching of Jesus?
How about Israel-palestinian conflct
How about this so called war on terror?
Is there a Christian response?
Does Jesus want us be door mats so that all and any terrorist can walk over us?
Is there a way of challenging the aggressor without taking revenge?
It wont sell too many tickets in the box office.
Jesus did challenge the hypocrites and those in power to be just and merciful and compassionate. He stood up to the soldier who slapped him.
Are standing up for justice and forgiveness contradictory terms?
I don’t think so.

Someone told me today that she wished this country had chosen another response, a more Christ like response to the attack of September of 2001
May be it is impossible… not workable.

However, I would like to end with a story that happened last month..
The story began in 1996 in a small town of central part of India: A nun from Kerala Rani Maria, nun of the Fransciscan Clarist congregation was traveling by bus
Was dragged out in broad day light
Her right hand was chopped off
Assailant stabbed her 50 times
And told every one
She deserved it, because she was converting gullible poor villagers into Christianity by enticing them with money.
Actually she was working with the villagers , in micro credit, and in Organizing…
So money lenders and land owners , who are also powerful politicians, were very upset about the organizing , about losing these captive clients.
Hence the Accusation…She was doing it all to increase the number of Christians… not because she cared for the poor.
The name of the murderer was Samand Singh
After an year he was arrested and tried and convicted for murder and given 99 years in jail
However the parents of the Nun, wrote to the governor the state a clemency petition asking that he be pardoned and released. The reason: Our daughter had dedicated her life to a person who said: Forgive your enemies, do good to those who hate you and pray for those who persecute you … And our daughter would have wanted that and we want that too/
After 9 years in prison he was released August of 2006.
In December 2006 Saamand singh made a pilgrimage…to the home of the old and ailing parents of Sr Rani Maria
Fell at their feet and asked to be forgiven.
They embraced
And the other sister, also a nun, hugged him and accepted him as a brother.
He went back to his village and now there are many more Christians in that village and the work of the nuns and church is so much more easy and productive on behalf of the poor.
Forgiveness still works.
And it can work in our lives too
Let the power of God which comes to us through these Sacraments of the Body and Blood of Jesus work its power in us

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