Love as God Loves - Bishop Barron's Sunday Sermon

Friends, we continue our reading of the marvelous Sermon on the Mount. We cannot read this sermon as one ethical teaching among many. Everyone from Plato and Aristotle all the way up through Kant and Hegel have a moral philosophy—an understanding of how humans ought to behave. This is precisely the wrong way to read the Sermon on the Mount, because no one—ancient or modern, religious or nonreligious—sounds like Jesus. His radical command to love as God loves, in fact, sounds a little bit crazy.

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[phylliscory]

From my observation, 81 years old, 58+ years married, mother of 7, God's way is the only way. Love our enemies, seek no vengeance, pray for those who hurt us. Grace over instinct.

[Catholicity-uwyb]

ST. POPE JOHN PAUL II: “The relationship between God and those who believe in him is one of warmth and love, not cold formality. The relationship is not cold like that between an emperor and his subjects, but is one of deep affection like that which develops between two friends, between spouses, between parents and children.”

[cheryll]

“Love precisely in the manner that God loves”
Beautiful.

[mal]

As a recent convert, i never knew what true love meant until I read Matthew 5.

[avenelgrace]

After my husband passed away, one of our former employees sued me for a amount I was sure we did not owe. It went to court, and was backwards and forwards for many weeks.
One day, after a particularly difficult mediation I came home exhausted. I sat on the side of my bed, and picked up my bible and opened it. The first words I saw were What Robert has just quoted...
If anyone wants to go to court for thy body coat, give him thy cloak also! .... I went back to court the next week, and offered to pay the debt at $250.00 a month.
The judge allowed the judgement in favor of the employee and accepted my offer.
I only paid three payments, and the employee called me one day and offered to call quits. God had wanted to see if I would be prepared to act like Jesus. It works people :)

[margaretmunck]

I am 72 years old. Recently as I took the host in my mouth I heard, " I love you unconditionaly."
That statement from Jesus is the beginning and end of everything. It washed my soul clean of any dark feelings towards my self or others. It makes loving as he loves the only way forward. ❤️

[arturog.renteria]

I have watched this video quite a few times and my heart tells me he's right. I have alot of work ahead of me in order to be able to naturally love my enemies and aggressors. Pray for me Bishop Barron and anyone reading this post, so I may get to where I need to be spiritually in order to go see and be with my dad in heaven. I pray for his soul, so I hope it's enough to get him there. God bless you all.

[AnnabelSanchez-ooko]

"Love your enemies. Jesus is interested on divinization... that human nature be lifted up, divinized. ❤ God's love is not measured on cause. God makes the rain to fall on the just and the unjust alike. Will the good of your enemy." Thank you Bishop Barron.❤

[agnsthwnd]

Splendid AND unsettling. Thank you, Bishop Barron.

[oanagolea]

No one sounds like Jesus, indeed. What Jesus wants for us is Divinisation. Thank you Bishop Barron for such an inspiring sermon. God bless you!

[යැදුම්එකතුව]

Jesus will never ask us to do anything impossible without providing the means to do and fulfill that. He gave us the Spirit of Abba and Him, who is our helper and living in each of us forever. So let us love everybody as He does. Praise God.

[sandraj]

It's also test of wisdom because when you are filled with Gods love and grace- and absent of fear-you can only feel compassion and sorrow for people who don't know that love..Thank you!

[maireadcollins]

Such an inspiring sermon, Bishop Barron, You really bring home the uniqueness of the words of Our Lord Jesus Christ, as being the One and only Son of God.
To love our enemies, or those who have shown us injustice and not shown love towards us is definitely a challenge to our human nature. It's not easy to turn the other cheek to those who have hurt me, abused me, stolen from me, degraded me as a human being.
Maybe the peace I feel when I say in my heart, OK, I'm just going to turn the other cheek and say, "Go on, hurt me again!"... is easy, when I'm away from my abuser!!
But try saying this to the child, the woman or the man who is being abused, physically, emotionally or sexually by bigger, stronger controlling abusers.... Not so easy.
Or to the innocent victims of war, whose homes are being torn down, their livelihoods destroyed as they watch their family members being assaulted and raped. Not so easy to turn the other cheek then, is it?
God really asks a lot of us in order to become saints! Yet, this is what Our Lord Jesus did, as He was scourged and ridiculed before being crucified on the cross.
He DID what he said, NOTHING! He turned the other cheek, when He said
"Father, Forgive them, They know not what they do!"
He accepted His torture and abuse and wrongful conviction... for OUR sins!
So it isn't just the uniqueness of the words of Our Lord Jesus Christ but His actions. And as we all know: "Action speaks louder than words" or in this case inaction!

May Our Lord Jesus Christ come into our hearts and give us His courage and faith to turn the other cheek, cos it's not easy!

[jmdsservantofgod]

Yes love as God loves…..be gracious! For it is by grace we are saved thru our faith in Jesus the Christ! Oh, what he accomplished! Praise Jesus! Be gracious….love God love people!

[terryasmus]

Lord Jesus Christ son of the living God have mercy on me a sinner 🙏🙏🙏

[robertprokop]

One of your most inspiring sermons ever. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

[gloriabandy]

Today our priest said, "We may not be perfect, but we can be perfected."

[johannesbaptistlotz]

Bishop Barron, I doubt you will ever see my comment, but thank you for this sermon. Sometimes your videos find me at just the time when I need them most. I consider myself a "catholic agnostic, " a kind of odd turn of phrase, I admit. Really, I'm a monotheist, but I find the language of Christianity so beautiful. It brings me back to my childhood. My confirmation into the Catholic church was profound. Anymore, I am too afraid to go to church because I fear social repercussions. Many people in my family and many friends I have think religion is all rubbish -- but how can people be so apathetic? I find Christianity true in the way Dostoevsky is true, in the way Shakespeare is true. There's no litmus test or test tube for measuring the truth of Robert Frost or the preaching of Jesus. Religion seems to be operate on a different epistemology, a different way of knowing. I think I remember Karen Armstrong refer to it as mythos vs. logos.

This sermon finds me also at a time of suffering. I naively thought internet dating would be a good idea, and my friend and her boyfriend were advising me on how to use the apps. I scheduled a date with someone, and the day before, when I asked for confirmation of our appointment, I never heard from her again except the day after our date to say she was busy with work -- on a day she wasn't working. So who knows. There were also people who reached out to me, but whom I didn't respond to. I felt in such turmoil over "ghosting" someone else. My friend said to say "yes" to everyone and filter out the results later. What an impoverished and sad form of dating! I deleted the apps in despair because I had no idea how to explain to someone that I wasn't interested. I felt awful both for leading someone on, and for being led on by someone else. Thomas Merton wrote extensively about solitude. I've also read other theologians say that we must transform our loneliness into solitude by finding God, so that we may find others. When I listened to your sermon on how people "teaspoon out" their love to others -- gosh, that hit home! I often pray after I watch your sermons. I found myself asking God recently to help those whom I have wronged -- in particular the women I failed to respond to, petty though it might seem.

What a long comment! Thank you, Bishop Barron for wisdom in an increasingly nihilistic day and age.

[ferinejohannes]

One of your best homilies Bishop Barron! Thank you. 🙏

[Publius-]

Proverbs 16:4
The LORD has made everything for a purpose,
even the wicked for the evil day.