But to you who hear I say, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29 To the person who strikes you on one cheek, offer the other one as well, and from the person who takes your cloak, do not withhold even your tunic. 30 Give to everyone who asks of you, and from the one who takes what is yours do not demand it back. 31 Do to others as you would have them do to you. 32 For if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do the same. 34 If you lend money to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit [is] that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, and get back the same amount. 35 But rather, love your enemies and do good to them, and lend expecting nothing back; then your reward will be great and you will be children of the Most High, for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. 36 Be merciful, just as [also] your Father is merciful.”
Luke’s Sermon on the Plain is directed to Gentile Christians. As Jesus continued his moral teaching, he told his disciples that if they wanted to participate in the kingdom of God initiated by him, they would have to be as generous and forgiving as God is to them. They must not only love, bless, and pray for their adversaries, but they should not retaliate to injury, they should lend to everyone who asks including their enemies, and they should not try to recover what was stolen from them (vv. 27-30). This was a new and radical way of thinking because it was contrary to one’s natural tendencies. Jesus told his disciples to observe the “golden rule.” He explained his counterculture teaching and told his followers not to seek reciprocity when they did good or loaned money (vv. 31-35). In the culture at that time, anyone who received a ‘good’ was obligated to reciprocate. Trust in God’s rewards for their good deeds frees disciples from relying on rewards from human beings. It is only when one does good out of love without expecting anything in return does one receive the reward of righteousness from God (Lk. 14:14). If God is kind to the “ungrateful and the wicked (v. 35)” how much more will God be magnanimous to those who love him. As Jesus taught, “Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors (v. 36: Mt. 6:12).”
Almighty God, we praise you and we thank you with all our
heart for your goodness and mercy towards us.
Though we walk in the shadow of death, guide us to salvation by the
light of your boundless love. This we
pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
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