Throughout this season of Epiphany, Jesus has described the governing principles of his kingdom as being completely opposite to the governing principles of the world. This week, Jesus asks us to befriend our enemies, love those who hate us, and repay evil with good. Worldly logic would say that is a recipe for being walked all over. Yet, haven’t we seen this tactic work? When we were Christ’s enemies, he loved us to the point of death. He repays our daily wrongs with the daily goodness of his mercy. In doing so, he won us for himself. Here is the epiphany we badly need to have. Following the strategy Jesus lays out—loving our enemies—is not a capitulation to evil. It is a means of conquering it.