Love enemies

Christianity is manifested mainly in deeds.
It has already happened to you that you were walking down the street, and the neighbor you are with was walking opposite you. Have you been on knives for a long time? As he approached you, they swirled differently in your head memories, and suddenly the neighbor greeted you. You look at him. First, they looked in amazement, then you healed him, and then you went in with his words. In the end, it turned out that you are not such great enemies and that they are all discrepancies are rectified. Jesus says, “If you love those who love you, what a reward you can make wait? Don’t even toll booths do that? And if you greet only your brothers, what do you do strangely? ”(Mt 5: 46-47)
In the Old Testament, my neighbor was only a friend, a Jew, and only I should show him love, while I should regard others as sinners and enemies. That means I don’t even have to greet them and show them good deeds. The Pharisees also followed this. They greeted only self-confident, but not of the publicans and sinners who were outcasts from their humanity, traitors to the homeland. But Jesus asks us Christians to act otherwise, to “do something special.” Greetings in the Oriental countries meant much more than just courtesy. The greeting meant a wish of blessing and peace for the other.1 We Christians have to do something special to differentiate ourselves from pagans. Jesus asks us to pray for our persecutors, to love our enemies, and to greet sinners. Because we are all children of Heavenly Father, and we are all brothers to one another. And so as we liken our infinitely merciful Father. Saint Peter writes that we are called to bless others and become heirs ourselves (cf. 1 Pet 3: 9). So we Christians are to differentiate ourselves from others by that we will bless our enemies as well.
It is known that in the early Church, “all believers had one heart and one the soul ”(Acts 4:32). They loved each other, and their love permeated those who they did not yet believe in Christ, and the heathen themselves pointed to Christians and spoke among themselves, “Look how they love one another,” and this love led them to believe in Christ. Although they persecuted and imprisoned Christians, Christians did not behave rudely and disrespectfully, leading to many conversions. We see that it pays off to be special and not to adapt to this world and to do what it asks of us in this world. It pays to be the most like Jesus, to strive for perfection, for also our heavenly Father is perfect. Let’s try to pray in the spirit of today’s gospel: Lord, Jesus. You yourself teach us how to love our enemies. You prayed on the cross for those who crucified you. Please give us grace, that we may behave like you and become our heirs forever blessings.