Homily for the Second Sunday of Luke (St. Cleopa of Sihastria)

Homily for the Second Sunday of Luke, 
or Nineteenth Sunday After Pentecost

On Love for Enemies

“And I say to you: love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who mistreat and persecute you” (Matthew 5:44).

By St. Cleopa of Sihastria

Beloved faithful,

Our Savior Jesus Christ has shown that the greatest commandment in the Law is love for God, while the second, like it, is love of one’s neighbor (Matthew 22:37–39). He said that these two commandments contain the whole Law and all the Prophets (Matthew 22:40). If this is the truth, then no one can say that he loves God unless he first loves his neighbor. Saint John the Evangelist also says this, declaring: “If anyone says that he loves God, but hates his brother, he is a liar! For whoever does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?” (1 John 4:20).

Therefore, the Holy Gospel that was read today commands us to love our enemies, for this commandment is founded upon love for God and for our neighbor. Our neighbor is every person in the world (Luke 10:36–37), and we have no right to hate anyone, for all are created by God and possess the same nature as we do. But perhaps someone will say that Holy Scripture nevertheless shows that we may hate certain people, as the Psalmist says: “Those who hate You, O Lord, I have hated, and I have been grieved over Your enemies. With perfect hatred I have hated them, and they have become my enemies” (Psalm 138:21–22).

Here this refers to heretics, who hate and alter the truth of the dogmas of the true faith and transgress the righteous Law of God. We cannot love such people in the same way, according to the testimony that says: “I have hated those who transgress the Law” (Psalm 118:113). But someone may say: “Are these not human beings? How can we hate them?” To this question the divine Father Ephraim the Syrian answers, saying: “Scripture has not called heretics, as blasphemers and enemies of God, human beings, but dogs, wolves, and antichrists. And the Lord says: 'Do not give what is holy to dogs.' And Saint John the Evangelist says: 'For many antichrists have appeared.' Therefore, it is not right to love such people to the same degree, nor to dwell together with them, nor to receive them into one’s home, nor to pray together with them, nor to eat together with them, nor to greet them, lest we be infected by their teaching” (Saint Ephraim the Syrian, vol. III, Neamț Monastery, 1823, p. 156).

But perhaps someone may ask: What kind of sin do heretics commit that we cannot love them in the same way? We will answer that they commit the greatest sin, which has no forgiveness either in this age or in the age to come. That is, they blaspheme God and rise up against the Holy Spirit, the Mother of God, the Holy Cross and the icons, against the Church, the priesthood, and the Holy Mysteries, and they distort Holy Scripture. Through this grave sin, heretics and sectarians are truly enemies of God; yet not only should we not hate them, but we should receive them with great love, counsel them, and exhort them toward every good work. Precisely for this reason, today’s Holy Gospel urges us to love our enemies and do good to them when they are not enemies of God and desire to come to the truth. For just as love is greater than all good works, so among all sins the most grievous is hatred of one’s brother.

No commandment has exalted and glorified the teaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ so greatly as the commandment to love one’s enemies. Truly, this commandment perfects all the commandments of the Old Law, for no lawgiver before our Savior Jesus Christ was able to rise in understanding to such perfection as to teach and legislate with determination the love of enemies. If only people would strive to keep this one commandment, it would make Paradise upon earth and bring great tranquility, peace, and happiness among people. Conversely, when this is absent from among people, all envy, all wars, all acts of revenge, and all disturbances arise upon the earth.

But perhaps someone will say that this commandment is very difficult and hard to fulfill. If we judge rightly, we will understand that it is not difficult or impossible at all, but easy and saving for souls. Let us remember the words of the Lord, Who says: “Take My yoke upon you... for My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:29–30). And Saint Ephraim the Syrian says concerning love of enemies: “What difficulty or what labor is there in forgiving our brother his small offenses and in deeming ourselves worthy that our own sins also should be forgiven?” (Ibid., p. 31).

Beloved faithful,

No one knows the weakness of human nature better than God. Therefore, we must understand that He never gives us commandments that are beyond our strength. For God knows most clearly the depths of the weakness of human nature and the things that are most necessary for our salvation. Therefore, in order to teach us the mystery of love for enemies, He descends in love and mercy to the level of our weak understanding and says: “As you would that people should treat you, so also do you treat them” (Luke 6:31).

O, the boundless compassion, mercy, goodness, and wisdom of God! For He says: “I am not telling you to do great and difficult things; rather, I urge you and teach you according to what you can understand. Do for another what you desire another to do for you. If you desire to be spoken evil of, then speak evil of another. If you desire to be insulted by another, then insult him as well. If you desire to be dishonored and deprived of your possessions by another, do the same to your neighbor; but if you desire to be honored by another, to be spoken well of, and to be helped in your time of need, then strive to do the same for your neighbor.”

The Holy Apostle Paul says: “Cast off all the works of darkness” (Romans 13:12; Ephesians 5:11). Indeed, every sin is a work of darkness, for it darkens the mind and heart of man; but more than all sins, hatred darkens the mind and heart.

The God-speaking Evangelist John shows this, saying: “He who hates his brother walks in darkness and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes” (1 John 2:11). And if “God is love, and he who remains in love remains in God, and God remains in him” (1 John 4:16), then we will know that we are in God and that His love dwells in us only when we see that our heart continually rejoices in the good of our neighbor and in his progress in all things. But if we feel that sadness and bitterness are arising in our heart because of our neighbor’s good and prosperity, from this we should know with certainty that we are not in God and that God does not dwell in us!

Let us understand that, while in this state, we place the temporary things that our neighbor has received from God above the love of God and of our neighbor. The divine Apostle Paul says: “Let no one seek his own, but each the things of his neighbor” (1 Corinthians 10:24; Philippians 2:4). If we do not forget this teaching, we will find it easier to fulfill the teaching of today’s Holy Gospel, in which our Savior commands us to love our enemies. For if we seek the benefit and good of our neighbor, we will continually rejoice in his progress and happiness, considering them as our own. And thus the love of God and of our neighbor will always remain among us.

Therefore, the commandment to love our enemies is most just, most holy, and most exalted. And if it seems difficult and hard for us to fulfill, this is a sign that we have not even the slightest love of God and our neighbor in our hearts. Living in this way, we find ourselves in the darkness of hatred, envy, malice, vainglory, and other grave passions, while the fruits of the Holy Spirit, which are love, peace, joy, longsuffering, and all the others enumerated by the Holy Apostle Paul, have no place in our souls.

The Lord says again in today’s Gospel: “If you love those who love you, what thanks will you have? For sinners also love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what thanks can you have? For sinners do the same thing. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what reward do you have? For sinners also lend to sinners, in order to receive back. But you love your enemies and do good and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great and you will be sons of the Most High, for He is good to the ungrateful and evil” (Luke 6:32–35).

How great is the truth and how great the justice contained in the Lord’s words here! For if I do good to someone and expect him to do the same to me, what reward can I then expect from God? Thus, my doing good does not concern my reward in the age to come, for the glory of God, but is a temporary exchange intended to gain, in this present age, what I have spent in doing good to my neighbor. I have lent so that something might be lent to me; I have given so that something might be given back to me. But if I give alms or do some other good to my neighbor, expecting nothing from him, then I can hope for a reward from God in the age to come, for my mind does not look toward the temporary reward from the one to whom I have done good, but toward the eternal blessings of the age to come.

Then, according to the word of the Lord, “your reward is great in heaven” (Matthew 5:12). And there is something even greater and more glorious. By doing good to our neighbor without expecting anything from them in this present age, we become sons of the Most High, as Holy Scripture says: “I have said, You are gods, and all of you are sons of the Most High” (Psalm 81:6).

This dignity, of becoming sons of God by grace, is altogether beyond our capacity to comprehend and understand, because of the richness of the glory of God, through which we will become sons of God by Grace in this present age and in the age to come. That is, we are to be people like God (1 John 3:2), according to the measure of His Grace, Who is good to the ungrateful and evil, Who makes His sun rise upon both the good and the evil, and sends rain upon the righteous and the unrighteous.

Beloved faithful,

Up to this point we have spoken of how much glory and honor those will be deemed worthy to receive who have the love of God and of their neighbor in their souls and strive to fulfill the commandment of today’s Holy Gospel to love their enemies. Now let us ask ourselves: Have there indeed been people in the Old and New Laws who, through their deeds, attained to this perfect love of enemies?

To this question we will answer with the words of divine Scripture and show that many have succeeded in fulfilling this holy commandment of love for enemies, both in the Old Law and in the New.

First, let us remember the Prophet and King David, who, a thousand years before the coming of the Lord, strove to fulfill this holy and divine commandment in deed.

Anyone who has read Holy Scripture knows how much hatred King Saul had toward David, how long he persecuted him, and how he sought by every means to destroy him, as David himself says to Jonathan, his friend: “As the Lord lives and as your soul lives, surely, as I have said, there is but one step between me and death” (1 Samuel 20:3), thereby showing how fiercely Saul persecuted him in order to kill him. Yet the Prophet David did not take revenge on Saul when he fell into his hands and could very easily have killed him. For Saul was fast asleep in a cave, and David merely cut off the edge of his garment as a testimony, but did not touch his life (1 Samuel 24:12–13).

And a second time, when King Saul was sleeping in the midst of his camp at night, David came and took the spear from beside his head and the vessel of water, and again did not touch his life, although he was often urged to kill Saul at that time (1 Samuel 26:6–22). Even more than this, when King Saul was struck by an evil spirit from God, David would come and play the harp for him, driving the evil spirit away from him (1 Samuel 19:9).

And under the Law of Grace, the first to fulfill this Gospel in deed and in word was our Lord Jesus Christ Himself. He not only taught the commandment to love enemies, but was the first to fulfill it in deed. When He was upon the Cross, He prayed to His Father to forgive those who crucified Him, saying: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing!” (Luke 23:34). Likewise, Saint Stephen the Apostle and Archdeacon, the door of the martyrs, fulfilled the commandment to love enemies, for, kneeling down, he prayed to God for the forgiveness of the sins of those who were stoning him to death, saying: “Lord, receive my spirit… and do not hold this sin against them! And having said this, he fell asleep” (Acts 7:59–60). The other Apostles did likewise; when reviled, they comforted their enemies (1 Corinthians 4:11–13). Through this great virtue of love for enemies, millions of martyrs, hierarchs, confessors, and Venerable Fathers have shone in the world, along with all those who in this present age have carried the love of God and of their neighbor in their minds and hearts.

Beloved faithful,

As I conclude this sermon, I will tell you a holy and true story through which you can understand that the one who has the love of God in his heart not only loves his enemies, but, when necessary, gives his life for his neighbor, becoming like the Savior, Who gave His soul as a ransom for the human race (Galatians 4:4; John 1:29).

During the reign of the Emperor Tiberius, there lived in the region of Oasis a monk named Leon, a native of Cappadocia, who led an exemplary life according to God. Many people spoke of the good and wonderful deeds of this monk and benefited from his humility, love, meekness, and poverty for Christ.

This remarkable monk had a mysterious saying, which he would tell many people: “Believe me, brothers, I am going to become an emperor!” The people would answer him: “Father, no emperor has ever come forth from Cappadocia.” Yet he continually said these words to them, and no one understood what they meant.

When a barbarous and savage people called the Mazichi invaded that region, they laid waste to the entire country. When they reached Oasis, the pagans killed many Christian priests and monks and took captive the monk John, who was a reader in the great church of Constantinople, the monk Mutatie the Roman, and another monk named Theodore. All three were elderly and ill. After taking them captive, the monk John said to the barbarians who had bound him: “Allow me to go to our bishop, so that he may give you twenty-four silver coins for us.” Hearing this, one of the barbarians released the monk John from his chains and allowed him to go to the bishop and bring the silver coins for their ransom. The bishop, however, could find only eight silver coins.

The monk took the eight coins and went to the barbarian, and the barbarian said: “Either give me twenty-four coins, as we agreed, or we will continue on with the captives.” Seeing this, the people began to weep and lament, because they knew that the captives were being led to their death.

Then the monk Leon, whom we mentioned at the beginning and who used to say that he would become an emperor, came to the barbarians and said to them: “Take these silver coins, and I beg you to take me into captivity as well, for as you can see, I am strong and healthy, and I will serve wherever you take me. But I beg you, release these monks, who are elderly and ill and can be of no use to you.”

Hearing this, the barbarians took the eight silver coins and the young monk Leon and released the two elderly and sick monks. Monk Leon traveled with them a long way, and they tormented him greatly with hunger, and thus he became weak, no longer able to walk after them. Seeing that he had become very weak, they cut off his head. And thus the blessed and holy monk gave his life out of love and mercy for his neighbor.

In him the greatest love for the good of his neighbor was revealed. In him was fulfilled the Scripture which says: “Greater love than this no one has, than that someone lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13).

Only then did the other monks and Christians understand the words of the monk Leon, who had mysteriously told them, “I will become an emperor…” And indeed, he became an emperor by laying down his life for his friends! This is the highest measure of Christian love: to forgive our enemies and give our life for our neighbor.

How many among us have such love as to forgive from the heart those who hate us and do us harm? How many among our faithful today still sacrifice themselves for the salvation of others, for preserving the lives of people in hospitals, and for helping those close to them? On the contrary, today quarrels are found everywhere in families, misunderstandings between parents and children, hatred and judgment among relatives and neighbors, hostility, envy, and unwillingness to reconcile among Christians. Why do we not reconcile, brother with brother, neighbor with neighbor? How can those who do not forgive their brothers and enemies say “Our Father”? How can we fulfill the commandment of Christ, Who says, “Love your enemies,” if we do not even ask forgiveness from our parents and benefactors and do not forgive those who do us harm? When we say the words in the Lord’s Prayer, “And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us,” we ourselves pronounce condemnation upon ourselves if we do not forgive those who have offended us. Let us therefore reconcile with one another and forgive our enemies from the heart if we wish to be saved. Let us pray for those who slander and hate us, and let us not take revenge on those who do us harm. Let us rejoice when we are slandered and unjustly condemned, for only in this way can we humble ourselves more and succeed in becoming followers of Christ. Otherwise, the Savior does not accept either our prayer or the gifts brought to the Holy Altar, nor our fasting and almsgiving; He does not receive into Paradise those who die in hatred and hostility.

Blessed are those who live in peace with all people and who have no enemy except the devil! Blessed are the Christians who live in perfect love for one another!

Let us beseech the God of love and mercy to reconcile us all in Christ and make us worthy of the Kingdom of Heaven, which is the kingdom of eternal love. Amen.

Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.