A “How-to Guide” for Jesus’ Enemy Edict
In one of his most controversial statements Jesus admonishes: "You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you: Love your enemies, bless those who curse you and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” Matthew 5:43-45
Jesus is doing some very interesting things here, not least of which is rewriting the Law. The “you have heard it said” isn’t a reference to the cultural norm of the day, but rather comes straight from two OT passages, Leviticus 19:18 and Deuteronomy 23:3-6, where grace is encouraged for your neighbor and forbidden for an enemy. Jesus takes the liberty to say I don’t want you to follow that part of the law anymore, I’m giving you a new edict. He then admonishes that we love, bless, and pray for those who have cursed and persecuted us.
If you have spent any time on the Christian journey, you have at least heard rumors about this new love edict. Yet, not a lot of instruction is given to show how exactly one should go about this. What does it mean to love our enemies? How do you bless them? And what exactly should your prayers for them sound like?
Interestingly, the Buddhists have a practice that seems to align perfectly with this revised biblical directive called Loving Kindness Meditation. In the Dhammapada, you find these words: "Hatred cannot coexist with loving-kindness, and dissipates if supplanted with thoughts based on loving-kindness." Sounds like something Jesus would applaud. Loving Kindness Meditation is a practice or a tool that one can use to actively engage in the “doing” of Jesus’ new edict. Religious people have the tendency to agree with something or say they believe in something without vigorously integrating the actual practice of it into their lives. Loving Kindness Meditation is one method we could use to help us follow Jesus' command to love our enemies.
There is a lot written on this practice and it would be wise to do some further research on your own, but here are a few simple steps to help launch you on this Loving Kindness journey.
Loving Kindness Meditation begins with a focus toward the self. It seems the Buddhists concur with Jesus around another critical component of love – you must first love yourself in order to be able to offer love to another. Find a quiet and distraction free environment (that means no access to any electronic paraphernalia) and begin by breathing slowly and deeply allowing everything to drift from your mind but the thought of offering yourself the grace of loving kindness. Recite inwardly (or audibly if that helps keep your focus) the following traditional phrases: May I be peaceful. May I be happy. May I be safe. May I be healthy. May I live with ease and well-being. You may need to recite these several times over until you begin to sense a restfulness in those thoughts and prayers for yourself.
Now, begin to turn your attention to one that would qualify as an enemy. In the same way you offered yourself the grace of loving kindness through the recitation of these prayers, offer them to one that has persecuted or cursed you: May you be peaceful. May you be happy. May you be safe. May you be healthy. May you live with ease and well-being. Again, you may need to say these over several times before you sense an engagement with those prayers for this person.
This meditation practice may feel mechanical or awkward at first. It may also bring up contrary feelings than the loving kindness you are attempting to offer. Feelings of irritation and anger may bubble to the surface. If this happens, it is especially important to be patient and kind toward yourself, allowing yourself to be present to whatever arises, while at the same time holding the desire and objective of pursuing Jesus’ admonition to love your enemies.
Don’t expect any instantaneous change of heart. The magic of this meditation is in the spiritual practice of following Jesus’ new Law, one that completes and fulfills all of the books and pages of the old Law. The powerful secret in this exercise is that we begin to move from agreement and belief to engagement and practice, which as Paul reminds us, eliminates the possibility of self deception by moving us from hearers to doers.
