Be Perfect

Today the gospel ends with a strong, and seemingly impossible charge from Jesus, “ Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” How on earth are we realistically suppose to be perfect just like the loving, all good, all knowing all glorious God in heaven? 

The word ‘perfect’  came from the Latin ‘perfectus’ which translates properly to ‘completeness’ or ‘accomplished’. Thus nothing is or can be perfect until the end; that is, until it has been properly completed. Think of when you have finished a painting, practiced a song on an instrument or have trained to do a trick in some sport. You only say perfect when it has been completed, when there are no more changes that need to be done.  Which means there is a necessary journey to reach the perfect. A journey that is filled with failures and good performances, with messiness, struggle and accomplishments. A journey that necessarily is filled with determination and dedication to reaching that perfect end.

This is where the key to the gospel today lies. Perfection in faith, in life,  is a process; a journey which we walk towards every single day. Being perfect is that process alive in every action, conversation and thing we do in our lives. It is a journey which constantly seeks out for each and everyone of us to become the best version of ourselves. Process means improvement and the goal is to slowly but surely become better than we were yesterday.

Jesus today explains to us what that Christian perfection looks like. Jesus challenges us with everyday scenarios to become a better person every single day. We are called to turn the cheek and not seek revenge; to give whenever anyone begs from us; to pray for our enemies and love them as we would a brother or sister. This requires that we respond to the people of our world with a Christian love that seeks to unite and bring peace which is focused on him and him alone. It is a Christian love that is focused not on retribution or getting even. Rather, it is focused on building a community, the building of a relationship with everyone. For, as Mother Theresa beautifully put it, “If you are too busy judging someone, you have no time to love them.”

Today, we are presented with the call to constantly become better in our faith and in its fruition in our lives. We have been baptized and taken on a new identity; the identity of the beloved child of God. This is an identity that constantly challenges us to live in a radical way which is outlined in the gospel of love. We are called to a constant conversion of our lives to become a better version of ourselves. We are called to holiness and the path forward is the path that Jesus lays out today. We are called to turn the cheek, to love the enemy and to constantly reach for perfection.