Love your enemy

Gospel MT 5:38-48

Jesus said to his disciples:
“You have heard that it was said,
An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.
But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil.
When someone strikes you on your right cheek,
turn the other one as well.
If anyone wants to go to law with you over your tunic,
hand over your cloak as well.
Should anyone press you into service for one mile,
go for two miles. 
Give to the one who asks of you,
and do not turn your back on one who wants to borrow.

“You have heard that it was said,
You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.
But I say to you, love your enemies
and pray for those who persecute you,
that you may be children of your heavenly Father,
for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good,
and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.
For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have?
Do not the tax collectors do the same?
And if you greet your brothers only,
what is unusual about that?
Do not the pagans do the same?
So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
Here Jesus goes on to explain in great detail what it really means to love our neighbor as ourselves.  He goes so far as to say that we should love our enemies!  And offer no resistance when we are assaulted or violated.  Tough to do, but he's so right.  When we feel wronged by someone, it's human nature to push back, defend ourselves, even go on the offensive by striking back somehow.  But Jesus calls us to do exactly the opposite.  He wants us to stand down.  He knows that if we don't give another something to "push against" we can avoid conflict or at the very least avoid making a bad situation worse.  He wants us to trust that God will right any wrongs by causing the sun to rise or the rain to fall on the just and unjust.

The reading makes me think of the martial art of Aikido [fromhttp://www.mit.edu/]
The foundation of the self-defense aspect of aikido is the act of redirecting the attacker's energy, rendering it harmless or even beneficial.

Turn the negative situation into a positive one, a curse into a blessing.

For every attacking energy, there is a way to redirect it.

God opens a path for us, even if the outcome isn't what we expected or wanted.

When presented with an attack, say "Thank you," with a genuine smile as you neutralize the attack. This gives the aikidoka a real "boost" in effectiveness.

When presented with what looks like a problem or a negative situation, keep a positive attitude and say "Thank you" to both God and the cause of the problem. (Thankfulness is also said to be a trait of spiritually advanced people.)

Put yourself in your opponent's place, sometimes by physically moving closer to him so that you can better lead him.

Seek first to understand. Love your enemy. And know your enemy. If you do this, you can see how to help him (with God's help), and you can often bring him spiritual peace before he can slide further down into anger or hate.