Thursday of the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time
Luke 6: 27-38
Agapē: Loving Even Those Who Hurt Us

The command to love our enemies is perhaps the most radical and demanding word that Jesus speaks. It is not a suggestion; it is at the heart of the Gospel. Yet to obey it, we must first understand what kind of love he is calling us to.

The Greek word used here is agapē—not the love of passion, nor even the affection we naturally feel for family and friends. Agapē means choosing the good of the other, even when they wrong us. It is not a love of sentiment but of the will, made possible by grace. We cannot force our hearts to feel tender affection toward those who hurt us, but we can decide, in Christ, never to wish them harm and always to desire their highest good. This is divine love.

Christian love is always active. It is not enough to say, “I will not do evil to you.” The Lord calls us further: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” The wisdom of the world would tell us the moral principle—do not harm. But Jesus commands something bigger—go out of your way to bless, to forgive, to serve. This is the “extra” of Christian life, the step beyond what is expected, the choice that reveals a heart transformed.

And why do we live this way? Because this is the way of God. He sends His rain on the just and the unjust. He embraces saint and sinner alike. If we love only those who love us, what is special in that? But if we love even our enemies, we become true children of the Father.

To love in this way is costly, sometimes painful. Yet in the end, it fills our hearts with the very joy of God. It makes us free. It makes us like Him.

© Claretian Publications, Hong Kong, China
Cum Approbatione Ecclesiastica 2025