Today is the Feast of St. Michael and All Angels.
Today's readings are Psalm 19:7-14, Deuteronomy 1:19-36, and Matthew 5:21-48.
How do we treat our enemies? We see in Deuteronomy that God commands Israel to destroy the people they are displacing. Yet in Matthew 5:43-48 we are told to love our enemies. What caused the difference?
In the conquest of Canaan God's people were invading a hostile land. It was the land God had promised the children of Israel. They were to live there by faith in God, safe from their enemies. Here is our connection. In Jesus we live by faith. We are, in fact, safe from our enemies. Jesus has defeated our true enemies - sin, death and hell. They can no longer harm us. Therefore, our response to those who would persecute us is also changed. We seek their good. We pray God's blessing upon them. We pray that they would come to the same precious faith we have in Jesus. In this way we bless our enemies. Let them rage. Though they kill us, yet we live on, being partakers of Jesus, who himself is the resurrection and the life.
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