"In fact, if you love those who love you, what credit do you have?" (Matteo 5: 43-48)
Biblical reflections by Mauro Leonardi*, priest and writer
Loving the enemies is the most scandalous and crazy request of the Gospel and it is possible only by remaining in Jesus and following the steps. Loving enemies, in fact, is a disposition of the soul and life that arises from being inhabited by God and by being urged to live a "warrior" love that is not at all sentimentalism or relativism, but means getting lost to give life to our neighbor involving all our being: heart, soul, reason, will, body.
From the Gospel according to Matthew 5: 43-48
At that time, Jesus said to his disciples: «You understood that it was said: you will love your neighbor and hate your enemy; But I tell you: you love your enemies and pray for your persecutors, so that you are children of your Father Your Celeste, who brings his sun into top of the wicked and above the good, and makes it rain over the righteous and above the unjust. In fact, if you love those who love you, what credit do you have? Don't they also make public the publics? And if you only give the greeting to your brothers, what do you do extraordinary? Don't they also do the pagans? So you are perfect how perfect your Father Celeste is. "
* Mauro Leonardi (Como 1959) has been a priest since 29 May 1988 and has been inhabited in Rome since then. He spends many hours of his day to make the priest and prefers to build bridges rather than raising walls. For years he has been writing stories, articles, essays and books that revolve around the relationship between man and God. Author of the blog Like Jesus. Abelis (Lindau) is his latest novel. The volunteers of the Gionata project thank him for sharing these reflections on the word with us.
