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Gospel Reading for June 16, 2026 – Matthew 5: 43-48
DIVINE ACT
Jesus said to his disciples: “You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But 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. For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have? Do not the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brothers only, what is unusual about that? Do not the pagans do the same? So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
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Perhaps one of the clearest ways to become perfect as our Heavenly Father is perfect is to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us, for this is far from easy. Some may even joke, “Sure, I’ll pray for them—that they may be punished!”
When we go against God’s will, we make ourselves his enemies. When we call ourselves Christians and yet propagate evil, we become participants in the very forces that oppose Christ. By doing so, we harm those whom he loves and take the side of Christ’s persecutors rather than that of his disciples. Recall what Jesus said to Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus: “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” (Acts 9:3–8). Although Saul was persecuting Christians, Jesus identified himself with them. Yet even then, God did not retaliate. Instead, he forgave Saul, transformed his heart, and gave him a new beginning. In the same way, God continually offers us the opportunity to renew our relationship with him.
To love truly means to give and share goodness without expecting anything in return. Therefore, loving our enemies is a sublime expression of love because not only do we expect nothing in return, we may even expect rejection, hostility, or ingratitude. Yet we choose to love anyway.
Loving our enemies and praying for our persecutors is indeed a DIVINE ACT. It reflects the very nature of God, who is rich in love and mercy. As men and women created in his image and likeness, we have been given the capacity, through his grace, to perform this DIVINE ACT ourselves.
Lord Jesus, teach us to love as you love!
