These five verses of Matthew contain some of the most famous and challenging imperatives Jesus gives us throughout all of the gospels: the call to love our enemies and be perfect just like God—talk about a high bar!

During this read-through, though, my focus was drawn to the middle verse “…for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.” Here, Jesus reminds us of the warmth of God’s love and the gift of outpoured grace, that knows no bounds, is offered freely for everyone—even to our enemies. Those people that we struggle with, from the ones causing a minor inconvenience on our commute to those who have inflicted deep emotional or physical pain, are also unceasingly loved by God and are being called back to him; the Imago Dei (image of God) continuously resides in each of them. Thus, our “enemies” are, theologically speaking, truly our neighbors, and our prayer and hope for those causing us strife should be one of reconciliation and communion with God, just as we pray for ourselves.

St. Thomas Aquinas is often cited with an insightful, theological definition of love—my favorite paraphrase goes along the lines of “willing the good of the other for the sake of the other.” Applied to today’s gospel, how can we love those with whom we struggle? Do we have the courage to ask the Lord for the grace to let go of earthly desires of revenge, dominance, and pride in order to see our persecutors as God does? May our dying to these desires help us perfect our love in the way Christ teaches.