Once again we will learn the lesson that might doesn’t make right. Even God does not use almighty power to achieve the divine will. Instead God enters into an agreement, (the Biblical word is covenant), where the people learn to cooperate with the plan that God has for the world. “Today the LORD is making this agreement with you.” By entering into the agreement the Chosen People become “a people peculiarly his own.” The idea of being “one of our own” is deeply felt. When Pope Leo was elected there was a strange sort of pride that “one of our own” had become the pope (even though we had nothing to do with it!) Jesus challenges us to expand our notion of who belongs and who doesn’t. I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you. Love your enemies! In other words, treat everyone as if they were “one of our own.” That is how God treats us and that is the “perfection” that Jesus urges on his followers.
