Enemy’s Downfall!

Fr. Francis Scaria

Retaliation and Christian ethics can never be reconciled. In Christianity there is no correlation between our rising and our enemy’s downfall. Those who believe in such a correlation are controlled by a reactive mechanism. Jesus on the contrary advocates a genuine proactive love. A Christian true to his name and vocation cannot but love even in the face of hatred. Jesus tells us to pray for those who persecute us. The Christian approach to atrocities is to submit everything into the hands of the Almighty God. Jesus cautions us even against judging people. People may seem to be illogical, unjust and faulty, but it is not easy to measure their culpability. Only the all-knowing God who sees the heart knows the real truth of each and everyone of us.

It is not Christian to await the downfall of our human enemy. The power of sin is our only enemy. We need to overcome this enemy with the same confidence of Jesus who has “overcome the world” (Jn 16:33).

The love of enemy is very demanding. Our biggest enemy is the self. If we are able to tame that enemy, then Christian life can be lived meaningfully. We need to feel at home with ourselves.