Our reflection verse today comes from Luke’s Gospel and Jesus’ teaching on loving our enemies. He gives this teaching within his command to bless those who curse us, and pray for those who mistreat us. Therefore, the “other” is not limited to our family, friends, fellow Christians, or people who treat us well.
The other is every person placed before us: the stranger, the poor, the forgotten, the irritating coworker, the person who disagrees with us, and even the one who has wounded us. Jesus removes the boundaries we often place around love.
This command is sometimes called the Golden Rule, but Jesus means more than simple fairness or reciprocity. He does not say, “Treat people well because they may treat you well in return.” Christian love does not wait to see what another person deserves. It takes the initiative because God has already loved us with mercy. We are asked to give others the patience, forgiveness, dignity, understanding, and compassion that we ourselves hope to receive.
Recognizing this call in everyday life requires us to pause and look beyond our first reaction. Before speaking, deciding, judging, posting, purchasing, leading, or correcting, we might ask: If I were in this person’s situation, how would I hope to be treated? Am I protecting this person’s dignity? Does my response reveal the mercy of Christ? The “other” often appears disguised as an interruption, an inconvenience, a disagreement, or someone whose story we do not yet understand.
Doing to others what we would want done to us does not mean approving harmful behavior, abandoning healthy boundaries, or allowing ourselves to be abused. We may need to confront wrongdoing, say no, or step away from a dangerous situation. Yet even correction can be offered without hatred, humiliation, or revenge. Christian love seeks both truth and the genuine good of the person.
Jesus asks us to see every human encounter as an opportunity to make God’s love visible. The other is not merely someone standing outside of us; the other is our neighbor, bearing the image of God and sharing our need for mercy. Each day Christ asks us to become for someone else what we ourselves most need: a patient listener, a forgiving heart, a truthful companion, a defender of dignity, and a living sign that no person is beyond the reach of God’s love.