Lk 6:27-38
Reciprocate with love: The love of enemies section of Jesus’ sermon on the plain can be divided into four units of thought, each of which attempts to break the pattern of reciprocity which is found in most human relationships.
The first unit (vv 27-28) exhorts the reader not to return evil for evil. The second (vv 29-31) provides four examples of what it means not to return evil for evil. The disciples are to respond to violence with creative nonviolence. To respond in kind when one has been badly treated would be to compound the evil.
Section three (vv 32-36) describes love in terms of generosity. Jesus exhorts people to move beyond love as reciprocal action. The motive is to act as the Most High does. The final section (vv 37-38) offers four examples of giving the usual reciprocal action of love. People are not to judge or condemn, but they are to forgive and to give.
Christians do not respond to evil with evil; they respond with the way they would want to be treated. Christians do not restrict their good deeds to those who have been good to them; they are to do good for all, just as God gives abundantly to all.