Mt 5:43-48
[Jesus said to his disciples,] 43“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’44But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, 45that 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. 46For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have? Do not the tax collectors do the same? 47And if you greet your brothers only, what is unusual about that? Do not the pagans do the same? 48So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
Be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect. For “Be perfect” in Matthew, Luke has “Be merciful” (Lk 6:36). Some translations read: “Be holy.” Is perfection possible? What is the perfection of the Father? As the creation story in Genesis suggests, God sees everything as good. To be perfect is to consider everything and everyone as good, including enemies. God looks on everyone as good, thus letting his rain fall on all.
An old widower had an only son and a horse. One day, the horse did not return home. The old man’s neighbors sympathized with him, “Oh, such bad luck!”
But he answered, “Good luck, bad luck, who knows? Too soon to say, too soon to say.” Then, his horse came home one morning, bringing with it a hundred other horses. His neighbors rejoiced with him, but he gave the same answer: “Good luck, bad luck, who knows? Too soon to say.”
His son tried to ride one of the new horses. The wild horse jumped and ran, tossing the boy high and breaking his leg badly. The neighbors helped the boy home. But the old man gave the same reply.
The next day war was declared in that region, and all the young men were conscripted into the army. Only the old man’s son was spared because he had a broken leg. The old man’s comment remained the same: “Good luck, bad luck, who knows? Too soon to say, too soon to say!”
“All things work for good for those who love God” (Rom 8:28).