Show Mercy to The Undeserving

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

There is a line in today’s Gospel that is easy to admire and very hard to live: “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.” He goes further. He asks us to love them. And that is the uncomfortable part. Because loving the people who love us is natural. Loving the people who hurt us is supernatural. The theme of today’s Gospel is simple: Christian love becomes real when it costs us something.

Jesus is not asking us to pretend that evil is good. He is not telling us to stay in abusive situations or ignore injustice. He is asking something deeper: do not let another person’s sin decide the condition of your heart. Someone hurts you, and suddenly they live rent-free in your mind. You replay the conversation. You imagine what you should have said. You tell the story again and again. And without realising it, the person who wounded you is still controlling you. Jesus offers another way. He says: pray for them. Bless them. Refuse to become what hurt you.

That may be one of the hardest forms of freedom. Because revenge feels powerful, but usually it keeps us chained to the wound. Mercy looks weak, but mercy is actually the stronger choice. Jesus says, “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” In other words, the measure of Christian love is not simply how we treat the people who deserve our kindness. The real test is what happens inside us when someone does not deserve it. Can I still choose not to hate? Can I still pray for someone whose name makes my heart tighten? Can I ask God to bless someone when part of me would rather see them fail?

And Jesus gives us another warning: “Stop judging and you will not be judged.” We are often very generous with explanations for our own failures and very strict with everyone else’s. When I lose my temper, I say, “I was tired.” When someone else loses theirs, I say, “That is the kind of person they are.” We judge ourselves by our intentions and others by their worst moments. But mercy asks us to remember that every person we meet is carrying a story we cannot fully see. That does not excuse sin, but it changes the way we look at the sinner.

So perhaps today there is one name Jesus is placing on your heart. Not your favourite person. The difficult one. The person you avoid, resent, or quietly judge. You do not have to feel warm toward them. Love is not first a feeling; it is a decision to desire their good before God. Maybe the first step is simply this: stop rehearsing the wound and start praying for the person. Because when we love only those who love us, we look like everyone else. But when we show mercy to the undeserving, something of the heart of God becomes visible in us.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, Give me a heart that is free from resentment. Teach me to forgive without pretending the hurt was nothing, to show mercy without becoming bitter, and to pray for those I find difficult to love. When love costs me something, give me the grace to choose it anyway. Amen.

– Homily by Rev Fr Patrick Agbeko