The very first thing my high school theology teacher did on the first day of freshman year was read the Gospel passage from Luke that we hear this weekend.
“Gentlemen, after hearing this, if you don’t think that Jesus Christ is radical or revolutionary, get out of my classroom.” None of us stirred; we were too afraid to move. She continued: “If you think for one minute that being a true Christian disciple is easy, you are sorely mistaken. This faith of ours is not for the faint of heart.”
She’s right, of course. It’s hard enough sometimes to forgive the people we love; it’s even more challenging to forgive the ones who already hate us. Yet, Christ challenges us time and again not to be selfish or exact revenge on those who put us down in anyway, and He wants us to go the extra mile not just for friend but for foe, too.
We 14-year-olds spent the entire class that first day talking about these teachings of Jesus, coming-up with examples of “the enemy” and how we need to respond as individuals, as a nation and as Church. Said one bold freshman from a parish in the rougher section of the county: “But if we forgive everyone, we are nothing but losers.”
“On the contrary,” our teacher responded, “you’d be the victor. Nothing bitter grabs hold of your heart, and the other person has no more power over you. That was the final lesson that Christ taught us from the Cross: be set free. Rise with Me.”
May we be continuously shaken awake to the radical call of discipleship that Jesus Christ is asking of us.