Pope Francis emphasized the “extraordinary love of God”, who encourages us to live “the imbalance of love”, forgiving and loving even our enemies at the Angelus on 19 February, Sunday.
The Holy Father commented on the Gospel of the day, where Jesus invites those who hurt us to “turn the other cheek”.
Based on this idea, the Pontiff explained that “it is normal for us to love those who love us and to be friends with those who are our friends; however, Jesus provokes us by telling us: if you act like this, ‘ what are you doing that is extraordinary?’ ”.
For Pope Francis, “extraordinary is that which goes beyond the limits of the usual, which exceeds the usual practices and the normal calculations dictated by prudence.”
“In general – he continued -, we try to have everything in order and under control, so that it corresponds to our expectations: fearing not receiving reciprocity or exposing ourselves too much and then being disappointed, we prefer to love only who loves us, to do good only to who is good with us, be generous only with those who can return the favor”.
However, “the Lord warns us: that is not enough! If we remain in the ordinary, in the balance between giving and receiving, things do not change.
“If God followed this logic, we would have no hope of salvation! But, fortunately for us, God’s love is always extraordinary, that is, it goes beyond the usual criteria with which we humans live our relationships”, he pointed out.
Next, the Holy Father insisted that God asks us ” to open ourselves to the extraordinary of a gratuitous love “. “Christ encourages us to live the imbalance of love ”, he underlined.
“If God had not become unbalanced, we would never have been saved: Jesus would not have come looking for us when we were lost and far away, he would not have loved us to the end, he would not have embraced the cross for us, who did not deserve it and could not give him anything In return”.
Along these lines, he assured that “God loves us while we are sinners, not because we are good or capable of giving him something back. God’s love is always excessive love, always beyond all calculation, and always disproportionate.
The Holy Father said that only in this way can we bear witness to God’s love and declared that “the Lord proposes that we leave the logic of self-interest and not measure love with the scales of calculation and expediency.”
“He invites us not to respond to evil with evil, to dare to do good, to risk giving, even if we receive little or nothing in return. Because it is this love that slowly transforms conflicts, shortens distances, overcomes enmities, and heals the wounds of hate.