“But,” I want to say.  But, what about when I’m in the right?  What about the person who stays in the wrong traffic lane until the last possible moment, and then cuts in front of me?  What about the person in the airport security line who brings scissors, knives, and over-sized shampoo, delaying everyone?  “Pray for them,” Jesus says.

And then more seriously, what about the politicians who bend the truth, or who create division in order to win votes?  What about the companies that ignore their workers? What about thieves and thugs and swindlers?  My list of resentments grows and grows and grows. “Forgive them,” Jesus says.  “Pray for them.”

In telling us to pray and to forgive, I don’t think Jesus is necessarily offering us some final, overarching solution to the problem of evil in the world.  Instead, he’s offering us a way to save our souls.  By praying for my enemy, I let my anger out.  I name what’s eating at me and more importantly, I place the offending person in the hands of God, where he or she belongs.  What God does with that person is God’s business, but I’ve done my part, and I’ve moved closer to Jesus.       

This doesn’t answer why people take up guns or plant bombs.  It doesn’t answer why people separate from friends, family, or community.  But it does give me a way to keep myself close to Christ, to remain in community with other believers, and to allow the possibility of forgiveness to exist for others and for myself.