Jesus proclaims In the Gospel Lesson today: "Be perfect, therefore, as your Heavenly Father is perfect." Be Perfect!
Let us consider two other passages that speak to this calling, a calling to be perfect:
From Genesis Gen. 6:9 "Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God."
From Paul's letter to the Philippians 3:15 "Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded":
Now one of two things is wrong here.
Either ...... these people of Scripture defied Romans 3:23 "All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God."
Or there is something about the Biblical concept of "perfection" that we do not understand.
I believe that Matthew 5 indicates that maybe there is something about "perfection" we do not fully understand.
In fact, the Biblical concept of "perfection" can be best summed up in the "Theology of the Donut."
(Pull out a Donut) (Throughout the illustration, take periodic bites from the Donut until it is gone)
BITE "Did you realize that the most popular Donut in the world is the glazed Donut?"
BITE "Doughnuts originated in 16th century Holland. They were cooked in oil, and were so greasy that the Dutch called them (olykoeks), that is "oily cakes." "
BITE "The Pilgrims, who had lived in Holland, brought the cakes with them when they came to America. Their version was a round doughy ball about the size of a nut (P) thus the term "donut." "
BITE "Now, the origin of the donut hole is intriguing.
It seems there was a captain Hanson Gregory, a 19th century sea captain who was eating a doughnut while sailing through a storm.
Suddenly, the ship was rocked violently and he was thrown against the ships wheel" "
BITE " impaling his cake on one of its spokes. Seeing how well the spoke held his cake, Gregory began ordering all his cakes with holes in them."
BITE "Doughnuts were popularized in the U.S. after the Salvation Army fed doughnuts (P) cooked in garbage pails and served on bayonets .......to troops during WWI."
BITE "Soldiers got so hooked on them that they were called "doughboys." "
(at this point all of the donut has been eaten.)
Now for the Big Question! What is left of the donut? T
he Donut ....... Hole. (Pause)
To say that "Perfection" is the same as being sinless is like saying that a donut is the same as the hole.
The donut hole exists (P) but has no substance it cannot be seen.
Just as the sinlessness aspect of perfection cannot be seen that is it cannot be achieved by us.
Hear Gods word from Colossians 2:10 "So you also are Complete or "perfect" through your union with Christ, who is the head."
It is not by our actions or by our works that sin is paid for. It is only through Christs sacrifice, through Christs atonement once and for all. (Pause)
So what is the substance of Biblical perfection as we have heard it this day?
What are we being called to do?
In Greek, the word translated "perfect" in Matthew 5 is "teleios (tel-lee-os)."
"Teleios (tel-lee-os)" shows up many times in the New Testament, and is often translated especially in the early English versions of the Scriptures as "perfect."
The root word "tel-os" means "one who has accomplished the intended goal. " If something accomplishes what it is designed to do, it is said to be perfect that is "teleios".
A child is imperfect in the sense that they have not yet grown to full maturity.
So "telios" is often translated as "mature".
"Teleios" has the idea of "being complete."
Completeness ...... Perfection is a journey that we are all taking.
And we need to be "filled with the Holy Spirit" (Ephesians 5:18) in order to fully experience this journey.
The Scriptures are the "perfect standard" for life and faith, and as we live it out ..... we display glimpses of the perfection of God in our lives.
This notion to be perfect may become clearer in these words In Hebrews 5:12-14:
BIBLE "We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of Gods word all over again.
You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature ("teleios") (Tel-lee-os), who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil." END
In other words, to be "teleios" means to be mature.
And for a Christian mature in the Faith!
What does it mean to be "mature" in the Faith?
It means to be responsible, reliable, dependable.
It means to be a people of integrity, to be a people who are authentic, a people who are faithful, to be the real deal.
In short, we are called to longer be children receiving milk to be mature in the Faith.
And that is what Jesus is saying to us today in the Gospel of Matthew.
Be mature Love your enemies,..... pray for those who hate you, ...... so that you may be ...... "children of your Father in heaven."
Jesus tells us to "be perfect so that you may be children of your Father in Heaven"
The Father has many attributes that we will never achieve.
And I believe that is why in this passage, Jesus does not say a thing about being sinless.
For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.
There are none righteous no not one.
What Jesus does say in Matthew 5:44 is that "perfection" means you must, You must "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you."
Why should we do that?
Because that is the nature of Father God.
If you only love those who are nice to you ...... well, even little children know how to do that!
It takes maturity to rise above petty disagreements and resentments.
And Father God modeled this type of love for us that is "loving our enemies".
Hear Paul's words to the Colossians 1:21-22 : BIBLE "Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation." END
The Father loved us when we were His enemies.
And now, He is telling us that we need to learn how to love those who are our enemies.
It is part of being a mature son or daughter of God.
The Apostle John expands on this when he writes: 1 John 4:16 BIBLE :" we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him." END
And that is just one of the ways that we can be mature like our Father in Heaven.
In Luke 6:35, we are told that God is merciful. Jesus said "Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful."
We are told in John 1:5 that "God is light." Jesus taught :" let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven."
We are called to be mature to become like our Heavenly Father.
It seems to be ingrained in our nature to be like and act like our earthy fathers.
You can especially see this in little children..... in toddlers, ages 2 or 3...... as they are learning to walk and explore their world.
What happens when a little one comes across a pair of their fathers shoes in the house ..... what do they do?
They put those shoes on and they walk around the house.
And if Dad is home these little ones shuffle right up to him and giggle as they show him that they are wearing his shoes.
They are saying "look at me!..... I am big I am a grown-up just like you." (Pause)
What God is saying in Scripture is: put on My shoes.....walk in My steps.
Strive to be like Me in how you love, in how you show mercy, in how you give light to the world.
Finally I want to share with you a mark of biblical maturity that I believe sums up all the others.
With this mark, you cannot help but develop an attitude of love,...... of mercy, ..... of holiness ..... a desire to spread the light.
This mark of Spiritual Maturity is servant-hood.
A person who is truly grown up in the faith; a person who is truly mature in the faith will abound with this mark of love ..... this agape love of servant-hood.
Beloved, if you do not become a servant you cannot become mature in the faith (repeat that statement). (Pause)
A teacher gave her class of 2nd graders a lesson on magnets.
The next day, in a written test, she included this question: "My full name has 6 letters. The 1st one is M. I pick up things.
What am I?"
When the test papers were turned in, the teacher was astonished to find that almost 50% of the class answered the question with: "Mother."
Now why did all these little children give that answer?
Because they understood that this was the characteristic of An Adult in their lives.
Mom was known to be a good servant because Mom picked up things ...... mostly after them.
Though picking up after Dad was probably not far behind.
Little Children do not fully understand servant-hood ...... that is why we give them chores to help them to begin to learn about becoming a good servant.
Likewise, Christians do not always understand servant-hood and that is why Jesus modeled servant-hood for us.
For example He said: " the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." Mark 10:45
Or as Paul wrote in Philippians 2:5-8 BIBLE "Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death.......even death on a cross!" END
But as important as those words were, Jesus knew that an example was even a better teacher.
That is why, on the night that He was betrayed, Jesus met with His disciples in an upper room.
And before He introduced them to what we know as the "Lords Supper,"
Jesus left the room and returned carrying a bowl of water and having a towel wrapped around His waist.
Jesus, the Son of the living God washed the feet of his disciples. Jesus was the servant of all. (Pause)
The story is told of a mountain in the Northeast part of the United States that has a peculiar feature to it. It looks like the face of an old man.
They called it the "Old Man Of The Mountain."
It is said that a man who lived in those parts spent a great deal of time looking at the face on the mountain.
In fact, he spent so much time gazing at the mountain that eventually his face began to resemble that of the old man of the mountain.
Now, I do not know if that story is true, but I do know, that the more time we spend looking upon the face of our Father in Heaven.
The more time we spend trying to be like Him the more we will begin to look like Him to others.
Be teleios (tel-lee-os), be perfect, be mature. If you want to be Spiritually "teleios".
Be the Salt of the earth be the light of the world. Beloved Be "teleios."
Be Perfect, Be a servant to all!
Amen! And Amen!
I received much insight from Jeff Strites's Sermon "Almost Perfect". I commend this Sermon to you.
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