Hey kids, we are, for the most part, lucky. Lucky because most of the people we are around are nice, right? We have family who loves us, friends we really like, our favorite teachers… lots of people we like to be around. That’s good! But sometimes, we have the opposite… someone who is mean to us and someone we might not like very much. It could be someone in school, at dance or at soccer. It is really no fun to be around them, right?

Well, I had that same thing in my life too. There was someone, a few years ago, who was mean to me, they told people stuff about me that wasn’t true, and that made me mad. This went on for a while and it made me upset and whatever I tried to do to make it better, didn’t work. 

But then one day, it occurred to me that I needed to try something different, something I had not tried before. And the idea of what to do came from scripture readings just like these ones we heard today! Let’s take a look together so you’ll understand what I needed to do differently with this person that I hadn’t tried before.

In the second reading this morning Saint Paul said, “We shall also bear the image of the heavenly one.” What this means is that God created you, me, your parents, all of us to be like Him – kind, gentle and forgiving.

Saint Paul said we were all created to be like God. So, what is God like? Well, the Psalm that we just sang together gives us that answer – what is God like? We sang, “The Lord is kind and merciful.” Therefore, if we are created to be like God, then we too need to be kind and merciful. OK, so far, so good.

Then, in the Gospel reading that I just read, Jesus tells us even more about how we should be like God. He said, “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” There’s that word again, merciful. Merciful means to forgive people who maybe hurt your feelings. 

Jesus goes on to say some amazing things about what it is like to act like God. He says, “Love your enemies.” Wait a minute, love your enemies, I said to myself, “I thought I was supposed to hate my enemies?” Nope, he said, “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.”

Well, everything that Jesus said to do to be like God I was not doing with that person I told you about. So, do you know what I did? I changed. I changed my approach with them and did what God asked me to do. 

Instead of getting mad at them… I became more forgiving. Instead of holding a grudge, I was more kind to them. And then, here’s the big one, instead of being upset, I prayed for them. Yup, I prayed that they would be happy and have a blessed life, I prayed that they would soften their approach with me… and, most importantly, I prayed that I would be a better person toward them. Being a better version of me was what Jesus was asking of me with this difficult relationship. 

And do you know what happened? I did change… and they changed too! Over time we became friends, we helped each other, and we are still friends today! 

So, give that a try in your life. Pray not only for the people you love but pray for those who might be mean to you, pray that God gives you the strength to be a kind person to them, and see what happens! Can you do that?

And parents, the same goes for us. Jesus came into the world to shake things up, to be countercultural, to, as He said, start a fire. What He is asking us to do is all of that. Love our enemies? Yup. Do good to those who hate you? Yup, it says that too. Bless those who curse you? Pray for those who mistreat you? Yes, even that. 

If we believe we are created in the image of God, and we believe that Jesus is the Son of God, then we have to do this. But from a pure practical point of view, we should do this because it’s going to improves our lives! We can cure difficult relationships… with His help through our prayer. I am living proof of that and you can be too. 

Near the end of the Gospel this morning, it points to this promise of a better life. It says if we are merciful, if we act more like God acts, then blessings and gifts will be poured overflowing into our laps. That’s His promise to us.