Loving One's Enemies

The Gospel readings for today and tomorrow come from the book of Matthew (5: 38 - 48) where Jesus is instructing us to turn the other cheek and love our enemies. This is perhaps one of Jesus' most radical teachings. After all, it is relatively easy to love those who are kind to you - much harder to love, or even be kind to, people who are spewing nothing but venom in your direction. In today's Living Faith Rebecca Sande suggests saying a prayer for the person who is making your life miserable. I have done that in my own life and it does help reduce the anger and enmity that you might feel toward the offending party. I don't remember exactly where I read it, but I recall a saying that "It is impossible to hate someone you are praying for." Prayer is an important first step on the road to loving one's enemies.