Perfect or Finished?
I have to admit my thoughts and feelings when I first heard the Biblical injunction from Jesus, “Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Mt 5:48) I felt horrible; I thought I was doomed. Hell was to be my ultimate destination. Perfect is a single word with a huge load of meaning. It meant “without any flaw,” meaning that there was a single target, and one chance, one life, to attain it. If I didn’t eliminate the last fault, move myself the last millimeter into the bulls-eye, I would fail in the most important task of life.
So that passage might not be the best preparation for a nine-year-old in moral awakening to ready himself for today’s Gospel. “Poor in spirit”? But my goal right now is a new video gaming device, or a professional quality baseball glove. “Meek”? Man, the meek kids get bullied on the playground. Should I rejoice when people put me down? That just all sounds out of this world.
A better way to massage our minds and hearts to make ourselves ready for the Word of God, really anytime we come to church, is from St. Paul’s first letter to bishop Timothy. “God our Savior . . .wants all to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the Truth.” All of us. That means God wants to give us the grace that will take us to the goal he set for humans in the beginning. When God made the first humans, He made them in His own image and likeness. So He will give us the grace we need to remake us in the divine image, as icons of the God-man, Jesus Christ. Looking at it from the point of view of temptation, Paul teaches in First Corinthians (10:13) “God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.”
Now we’re getting somewhere. This truth leads us to the Psalmist’s words, “the Lord keeps faith forever.” And, moreover, the poem continues by telling everyone that He does justice for the oppressed, feeds the hungry, frees prisoners, gives sight to the blind and holds up the widow and orphan. In other words, He is Goodness Itself to those who are physically or spiritually beaten down.
St. Paul found that exact thing happening across the Roman Empire as he preached the Gospel of Christ, telling the story about how the Son of God became human to heal and teach and suffer and die and rise again, becoming a life-giving spirit who is sacramentally present in the Church, and in the hearts of believers. Paul wasn’t very effective with his fellow Jews, especially Pharisees. But the Gentiles who were receptive to the community and morals of Judaism often were drawn to Christ. And the poor and marginalized instinctively saw that this Messiah, unlike all other so-called Christs, had special graces for them. The philosophers in the forum of Athens weren’t impressed with the message, but the outcasts who heard Paul knew that Jesus was very special, and His words and works were uplifting in every way. Thousands then repented of their thefts and murders and adultery and impiety to their parents, confessed their sins and were brought into communion with the Church through their baptism. And they began working with the grace of God to conquer sinful habits and acquire the virtues Christ promised.
That sounds like a whole gang of Christians working to a moral purpose, eyes toward a goal. What does the original of Matthew’s quote from Jesus say? “You be teleioi, as your father is teleios”. The term “teleoi” means “having reached its goal.” The Latin is perfectus, which means something that has been thoroughly made. That is what Jesus is insisting we work for, being “finished.” We must use God’s grace to become–as the old Army ad puts it–all that we are supposed to be. That’s not a cookie-cutter Christianity, is it? Every one of us has an unique potential for holiness. The Church is, then, kind of like a finishing school for believers.
But remember when you accept that, that Jesus only said "it is finished" about His life on earth when He was dying on the cross.
And so our Gospel today is a description of both the finished product of human rebirth and an agenda for those in process. We can use it like a checklist for growth. If you naturally seek to share your possessions rather than collect them, move on from “poor in spirit” to ask if you mourn over the terrible cultural rot around us. Make plans to better it, beginning with your family screen time. Then tackle substituting arrogance and pride for a less visible way of interacting. Block all the porn sites, even things like SI swimsuit edition. Substitute the local Catholic TV station or an apologetics website. When pro-life Christians are vilified in public, go to their defense; stand with them. These are end-of-life goals that can leave you on your last day ready for the kingdom. Didn’t Our Lord promise that?
