In the armed forces across the world we are used to delivering and receiving commands. They can be delivered by word of mouth, but also in writing. A command, however, no matter how it is delivered, is still a command and if lawful, those under authority must obey without question. When the command to “jump” is given in the armed forces the old adage directs that those under command are never to question “Why?” But, “How high?”
In our gospel reading today Jesus has commanded us to love. The answer to the question “How?” is: “As I have loved you”, (John 15:12). Furthermore, that love is not just for one another, but it is to be extended to our enemies too, and those who persecute us (Matt 5: 43-48.)
The definition of the command to “Love” agapao (ἀγαπάω) in our New Testament in both Matthew 5:43-48 and John 15:12 as provided by Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary of the New Testament includes: “manifest generous concern.” That incorporates both compassionate feelings and compassionate action. Love of this nature is beyond mere words. It must manifest itself in action, but just in case one is tempted to question “Why we should love our enemies?”, the answer may be found through the example of the Berlin Airlift 1948/49.
At the conclusion of the World War 2, Germany was divided into 4 occupation zones the French sector, the American sector, the British sector and the Soviet sector. Berlin, Germany’s capital, was also similarly divided and of the four sectors, the Soviet sector was by far the largest incorporating half of the city.
The Soviet Union had already expanded its communist system to all the territories under its control and following the compulsory merger of the German Communist Party (KPD) and Social Democrats (SPD), the newly formed Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED) alined itself to the Soviet authorities and founded the German Democratic Republic on 7 October 1949. East Berlin’s residents were compelled to live under the new socialist regime of the GDR, whereas the residents of the western held sectors of the city still had the freedom to adopt western style democracy as there preferred form of government.
The borders of the newly formed GDR extended nearly 170 km further West than Berlin and so if one were to have seen a coloured map of the now divided Germany at that time, West Berlin might have been depicted as a small remote blue island of western democracy surrounded by a vast sea of red.
The Soviets felt that West Berlin presented a potential capitalist threat to the new communist state of the GDR and so in an attempt to force the western powers out of West Berlin and bring the whole of the city under its control, the Soviet authorities launched a blockade. On 24 June 1948 the Soviets announced that the Autobahn connecting western Germany to Berlin, would be closed indefinitely “for repairs”, however, they also halted all road traffic from west to east, and barred all barge and rail traffic too. West Berlin was effectively cut off from food supplies and water and its residents also suffered a drastic reduction of electrical power too. The power was controlled from the east of the city and the Soviets callously restricted power supply to just 2 hours between late at night and 1 hour in the very early morning when it would be of little use. All this was excused because of “technical difficulties”, but the residents of West Berlin knew differently.
Withdrawal from West Berlin was unacceptable to the western allies, but neither was open conflict with the Soviet Union. Rather than concentrating efforts on resupply to their own occupying forces, however, the western powers saw it as their moral duty to feed and supply the civilian residents of West Berlin too. On the 28 June 1948, four days after the commencement of the Soviet blockade, a massive airborne re-supply operation was launched by the western allies America, Britain and France in order to break the blockade under the code-names: OPERATION VITTLES by the USA and OPERATION PLAIN FARE by Great Britain. These operations were later to be collectively known as the “Berlin Airlift” or as the German people call it, the “Air Bridge.” Allied aircraft also dropped good-will welfare gifts by parachute for children of chocolates and sweets under code-name OPERATION LITTLE VITTLES.
Over the course of nearly a year, United States Air Force and the British Royal Air Force aircrews flew in over 2.3 million tons of food supplies and coal for West Berlin’s 2 million residents by conducting nearly 300,000 sorties. It was a massive humanitarian relief effort during which 17 American and 8 British aircraft tragically crashed and 31 American, 39 British service personnel and civilians died.
Although the Soviets lifted their blockade a little under a year later on 12 May 1949, the operation continued for a further 5 months ending on 30 Sept that year.
Whilst it marked the real beginning of the the Cold War with the formation of NATO on 4 April 1949, the Berlin Airlift sealed the friendship of the Western allies with the people of the newly formed Federal Republic of West Germany. Former enemies were now friends and this friendship has continued after re-unification in 1989 with the whole of the German people.
As so often is the case, Jesus’s commands and teaching are not only inspirational, they make common sense too. When you love your enemies, unconditionally, sacrificially and by action, enemies can become friends. If instead one chooses to hate, friendship is most unlikely.
Although the Soviet Union dissolved on 25 Dec 1991 following the reforms of Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev, much of the enmity from the east to toward the west has continued. The current president of the Russian federation Mr Putin declined to attend Mr Gorbachev’s state funeral and declared in a speech in 2005 that the demise of the USSR was “the greatest geopolitical catastrophe” of the 20th century.” He and his government seem determined to exercise the same ruthless control over their own people as well as encroaching once again into Eastern Central Europe as their Soviet forebears once did. The hatred of Russia and its allies toward the West is exemplified in a summary of the Decree of the 25th World Russian People’s Congress on the 27 March 2024 chaired by Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian Orthodox Church which describes the West as a global threat “which has fallen into Satanism.”
It would be foolish to suggest that “The West”, whatever that means, is in any way perfect. There is much in so called western culture which needs a great deal of reform, but the only way one can respond to such vitriol is to obey the command of Christ and Love regardless of the enmity shown us. Only that way will we ever have any chance of becoming friends with our “Eastern” neighbours. We must avoid “Russo-phobia” at all costs, but even if that friendship never materialises we will still have to be obedient and faithful to the commands of our “Head” Jesus Christ, who while we were yet sinners and rebellion against Him, died for us on the Cross (Rom 5:7-9.) St The command of Christ is to love as He loved us and that is a very high bar to reach indeed.
Wouldn’t is be wonderful, though, to live in a world whose people were universally obedient to the commands of Christ? If we all “manifested generous concern” toward one another including those considered to be our enemies, there would be no poverty. There would be no perception of “scarcity” of resources and the conflicts which arise from such perceptions, no international feeling of supremacy and no selfish greed or oppression.
May we as members of Christ’s body Church become and be, true lovers of one another as He has loved us.
Amen