Luke 6:27-31

“But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. Do to others as you would have them do to you.

A women's group I am part of meets each week for prayer, meditation, and discussion on common (and uncommon) spiritual themes. Most weeks we take turns leading - each person leading choosing the topic. Often it is from an article or book or podcast that we get inspired by.

This week our topic was forgiveness, and the discussion was started by an article by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, based on his book, The Book of Forgiving, which he wrote with his daughter.

I have read and loved the book and was already feeling inspired when I saw the text for today.

This is from Jesus' Sermon on the Plain in the Gospel of Luke. It follows the Four Beatitudes in that Gospel (as well as the four woes). And it ends with that thing we all learned even before kindergarten: the Golden Rule.

And there - right at the beginning in this part of the text - is that phrase that gets to the heart of what we just keep practicing and not getting right over and over and over: loving our enemies.

For Desmond Tutu, forgiveness was the key for him in real, tangible ways. Think of the Truth and Reconciliation commission in South Africa. Love your enemies played out in practical ways there.

As we move forward to the election next week, it occurs to me that loving one's enemies, forgiving, and doing unto others as we'd have done to us, are going to all be things many of us are going to need to wrestle with. We are going to have to find practical ways for them to play out ourselves.

Maybe you don't have any enemies, but I'm guessing there's a person in your life right now you are struggling to forgive. And it can be a struggle. And it is a process.

Loving your enemies, as well as forgiveness, takes patience, practice, and hope. Sometimes it has to be done from a distance. Sometimes it may need to be tried again and again. 

You may not be ready.

Maybe not yet. But hopefully eventually.

And if you are looking for practical ways to get started, Tutu's book is a wonderful place to go.

Holy one, free me from the pain of anger and resentment. Help me to love those in my life who I find it most difficult to love. Amen.