God's Operating System

We heard one of Jesus’ most challenging commands last Sunday as we anticipated the season of Lent: “I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust” (Mt 5: 44). This command is echoed by St. Paul: “Bless those who persecute [you], bless and do not curse them…. Do not repay anyone evil for evil” (Rom 12: 14, 17).

Isn’t it God’s job to judge those who hurt others and are unjust? Why does God provide the sustenance of light and water for such people? One answer is found in Ezekiel 33:11: “I do not wish the death of the sinner, but that [s]he turn back to me and live.” Apparently, God’s operating system runs on love and mercy, and so if we wish to live in the kingdom of God, we will not curse those who do harm or seek retribution because those actions are not likely to lead to their conversion. They are more apt to turn from their destructive ways (which ultimately are as oppressive to themselves as to others) if we “hate the sin but love the sinner.”

We absolutely need to resist and halt the damage being inflicted on marginalized people and the environment by those who act out of greed and ignorance. However, our intention and the methods we use matter. Gandhi said, “Love is the strongest force the world possesses, and yet it is the humblest imaginable.” Wouldn’t it be wise to use the strongest force the world possesses to deal with those who are unjust, even if doing so makes us appear weak? Apparently Jesus thought so (“Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do”). Although his submission to the law of love led to great suffering, he was resurrected into the fullness of life and brought his enemies along with him.

When we are tempted to respond to evil and ignorance with hatred and judgment, we need to fall back on God’s ways. All of us have experienced God’s love and mercy. The truest form of gratitude is to do as Jesus asked: “Live on in my love.”