A few years ago, I accepted an invitation to preach in a church in upstate New York. The sermon was based on Matthew’s version of what we have just heard from the Gospel of Luke: “Turn the other cheek. Give to everyone who begs from you. Pray for those who curse you. And love your enemies.” These are nearly impossible words to put into practice, much less hear, and I said as much in my sermon. Jesus is instructing us to take the initiative for making peace, to move beyond revenge and retaliation. We cannot make sense out of these words, I said, unless we see one another from the perspective of God’s coming kingdom. The day is coming when there shall be no distinction between “friends” and “enemies.” So when the opportunity arises, sometimes we can act as if that day is already here.

That’…