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Morning Devotion for the Season of Epiphany
January 8,, 2026
Harriet Bedell
Reading: Matthew 5:43-48
‘You have heard that it was said, “You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy.” But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax-collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Meditation: Jo Ann B. Jones
This struck me as a most pertinent reading for our times and our country, particularly given the deepening divides in our nation. Moreover, this is a central and very famous section of the Sermon on the Mount that expresses the essence of the Christian ethic of personal relationships. For what Jesus was saying and what he is expecting of those who follow him is not entirely what we expect. The question at the crux of the matter is: What does Jesus mean by loving our enemies?
It is very important to the understanding of this passage to note that the word Jesus uses for love is agape. Agape is a very distinct form of love that exhibits these qualities: unconquerable benevolence and invincible goodwill. If we express agape to a person, it means that no matter what that person does to us, how that person treats us, no matter even if that person insults or injures us, we, as Christians, will never allow any bitterness against that person to infect our hearts. We will treat him with unlimited goodwill and benevolence, seeking only that person’s highest good. And in so doing certain things will emerge.
Take note, for Jesus never asked that we love our enemies in the same way in which we love our loved ones, family members and the dearest of our friends. To love our enemies in that same manner would not be possible or even right. Agape is an entirely different expression of love.
Agape love is not one that arises from the heart. Interestingly, it seems more like a determination of the mind. We are to offer unyielding goodwill - even to those who hurt or even injure us. And then, we can only express agape when Jesus enables us to overcome our natural tendency to anger or bitterness, in favor of pursuing goodwill for all. This does not mean we give permission to people to do exactly what they like; rather our response must be one to promote relief and remedy.
Interestingly this command is one that only a Christian can follow, for only the grace of Jesus enables a person to offer agape in relationships with other people. It is Christ who will overcome whatever bitterness we retain in our hearts and thus feed our love for others. We are called to love and to pray for “our enemies.”
This call to love our enemies is to enable us to make us like God. We are called to express and extend the same goodwill that God has and that he has shared with us. And this brings one to one of the most difficult passages in the New Testament. Jesus said, “You must be perfect even as your heavenly Father is perfect.” How can this be, as none of us could attain perfection? But here the word is teleios, for us meaning having realized the purpose for which we were created. Humankind was created in God’s image. God’s greatest characteristic is to love all, no matter what is done to God. We approach likeness to God in expressing love that never stops caring for others, despite what they may do to us.
A Collect for Guidance
O God, by whom the meek are guided in judgment, and light rises up in darkness for the godly: GRant us, in all our doubts and uncertainties, the grace to ask what you would have us to do, that the Spirit of wisdom may save us from all false choices, and that in your light we may see light, and in your straight path may not stumble; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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