A Christian’s love must go beyond ordinary love and extend to all people, including enemies. For a person who strives for goodness and holiness and asks God for help, everything is possible, Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia Shio III said in a sermon.

“We must strive to love everyone, both those who love us and our enemies, wish others what we wish for ourselves, and through this love become more like God Himself,” the Patriarch said.

He also explained that an enemy is a person who harms our soul.

“I wish you all a blessed Sunday!

Today’s Gospel reading presented the teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ about love and our attitude toward our neighbors.

The Lord says: ‘And as you would like people to do to you, do so to them’ (Luke 6:31). This is a brief teaching on how we should treat others and how to live rightly according to divine law. In other words, treat people as you would like them to treat you, and do not wish upon others what you would not want done to yourself. Unfortunately, we forget this commandment, known as the Golden Rule, this principle of life, and more often speak ill of others while forgetting to examine ourselves. Self-examination is one of the most important virtues for the salvation of the soul.

“The Lord then says: ‘If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them’ (Luke 6:32–33). Christian love, however, must go beyond ordinary love and extend to everyone, including our enemies.

“Then, in today’s Gospel, the Lord says: ‘Love your enemies, do good to them, and your reward will be great. You will be sons of the Most High, sons of God, because your Father in heaven is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked’ (Luke 6:35).

“Of course, for us, who are more inclined toward evil than goodness, fulfilling this commandment to love our enemies is very difficult. But would God give us a commandment that is impossible to fulfill? Therefore, for a person who strives for goodness and holiness and asks God for help, everything is possible, including fulfilling this commandment.

“First of all, we must understand who is called an enemy and who our enemy really is. We often call someone an enemy when, in fact, they are not one, but have merely caused us some discomfort, intentionally or unintentionally. That does not make them an enemy.

“An enemy is someone who harms our soul, obstructs our salvation, and fights against it. An enemy is also someone who hates us unjustly; tries to take away our life, health, or property; slanders us; or seeks to damage and tarnish our good name, even going so far as to do so publicly.

“How should love for an enemy manifest itself?

“Many people misunderstand this as well and imagine that we must feel warm, pleasant emotions toward our enemies. Of course, that is not the case. Love for an enemy is a quality of character, not a feeling. It should be expressed by refraining from revenge and not repaying evil with evil. However, this does not mean encouraging evil, covering it up, or concealing it. No! We must resist every manifestation of evil and, of course, seek to eliminate it. First and foremost, however, we should do so through love, goodness, charity, prayer, and admonition, and sometimes through just punishment as well. In extreme cases, when no admonition has any effect on a person, we may distance ourselves from them.

“As our Lord Jesus Christ teaches us: ‘If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector’ (Matthew 18:15–17). You know what a tax collector and a Gentile meant to a Jew. It meant that they no longer maintained any relationship with that person and severed their ties.

“In every case, however, a Christian must see an enemy as a creation of God, albeit one who has fallen and is on the path to destruction or already in a state of ruin. A Christian should always seek to help such a person change and be saved.

“Therefore, if we want to learn to love our enemies, we must learn, as I have said, not to repay evil with evil and not to seek revenge, because doing so only multiplies and strengthens evil.

“Of course, it is very good if we decide not to take revenge. This means that we have already triumphed over ourselves and even over the devil, who is the source of this evil. But there is something greater than refraining from revenge: doing good to such a person. Then we rise to a higher spiritual level and follow the example of our Lord Jesus Christ, who prayed from the Cross for those who crucified Him.

“Dear brothers, there is one more thing I would like to mention, something that has become particularly widespread in the age of social media. When people publicly criticize one another, whether they criticize us or someone else, they often say: ‘I am doing this for your own good.’

“The Holy Fathers teach us not to be deceived. When someone rebukes us because they believe we are sinning, we must discern whether that person genuinely wishes us well or whether they are acting out of passion or hostility. The Holy Fathers, particularly one of the greatest among them, Basil the Great, explain that there are several signs by which we can tell whether someone criticizes us out of friendship and for our benefit, or whether they are our enemy.

“First, the person’s compassion must be evident. As the Apostle Paul says, ‘If one member suffers, all suffer together’ (1 Corinthians 12:26). They, too, feel the pain. He also says these remarkable words: ‘Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant?’ (2 Corinthians 11:29). This helps you see whether the person truly feels compassion for you. That is the first sign: there must be evidence of love, sympathy, and genuine concern.

“The second sign is objectivity. The person should also be troubled by other sins, whether they are committed against them or against someone else. They should feel sorrow over sin in general, rather than displaying such concern only when it concerns you, especially when speaking publicly.

“The third, and very important, sign is whether the person violates the Lord’s prescribed procedure for admonition. As I have already explained, you should first approach the person and speak to them privately. You should not shout publicly but talk to them directly. If they do not listen, take one or two others with you; then tell the Church, and proceed as I have described.

“Dear brothers and sisters, therefore, we must strive to love everyone, both those who love us and our enemies; we must wish others what we wish for ourselves. Through this love, we will become more like God Himself.

“In today’s Gospel, our Lord Jesus Christ concludes His teaching with these words: ‘Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful’ (Luke 6:36). In doing so, we also fulfill the Law, in accordance with the words of the Apostle Paul: ‘Whoever loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law’ (Romans 13:8). Amen,” the Patriarch said.