Jesus loves the law and would do nothing to discredit it, but has come to complete it. Thus, he often begins by reinforcing the familiar with, ‘You have heard that it was said…‘ and moves on to, ‘But I say to you…‘ The new understanding usually expands, rather than reduces, the message of the law, making it more radical and at the same time more loving. ‘Be perfect…as your heavenly Father is perfect.‘ That perfection includes loving not only your friends but also your enemies.
We are called to a radical commitment to the Good News, which involves being more generous, more prayerful and more willing to set aside our own needs for the good of others. But loving our enemies? This sounds like an impossible target! Jesus is trying to help us to see the world a little more as God sees it. For God, there is goodness within each person. Our task is to make room for everyone, firstly because that is how God is, but secondly because we do not want to be in bondage to our resentments and thus fail to grow in our own relationship with the Lord of love. Our efforts will demand much of us spiritually and even emotionally, but will pay dividends in a new kind of interior freedom.
We have already seen this attitude lived out – in Jesus himself, who shows us what God is like. Jesus loved his enemies, forgave those who mocked, scourged and crucified him. In this sense, we can say that the Sermon on the Mount predisposes us to live a life of self-giving, in imitation of Christ.