Soon and Very Soon

King David spends his last breath on those he calls godless, a word that could also be translated as “despicable.” He doesn’t spend a lot of time on them, only two verses, barely longer than a tweet. They’re not worth it. They’re like thorns—prickly, worthless.
We all have despicable people in our lives. Relatives, colleagues, coworkers, neighbors. People who don’t see the world the way we do. People who don’t think like us or believe like us or do things our way. Objectionable. Despicable. What to do with all these despicable people?
King David had a lot of enemies. He knew exactly what to do with most of them. He killed them. Jesus also had a lot of enemies. He knew exactly what to do with them. He ate with them, debated with them, challenged them, and listened to them.
It’s hard enough to get along with our loved ones, the people who generally want what’s best for us. But Jesus asks us to love the people who oppose us, who want to put us down, who want to leave us out. Is that even possible? And if it’s possible, should Jesus expect it of us? Or is this just another ridiculous Jesus thing that sounds nice, but we’re not going to try to do it?
Surely Jesus knows the only way to avoid making enemies is to be so inoffensive that you never stand for anything and never stand up for anyone. Jesus knows that, because who made more enemies than Jesus? And what did he do with them? He loved them.
Got an enemy? You know what to do. Got a Pharisee who thinks you’re a disgrace to your religion? Go eat at his house. Got a disciple willing to sell you for silver? Invite him to your last supper. Got a government putting you to death? With your last breath, ask God to forgive them.