Mission Completed

Matthew 5:38-48

 ‘You have heard that it was said, “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” But I say to you, do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also; and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well; and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile. Give to everyone who begs from you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you.

 ‘You have heard that it was said, “You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.” But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

“Perfect”. Now there’s a loaded word. Especially in today’s North American culture the idea of perfection has overtones that haven’t done anyone any favors. We live under a lot of pressure to be perfect: to have the perfect body shape, the perfect smile, the perfect career, the perfect relationship, the perfect family, the perfect spirituality, the perfect lifestyle based on a perfect amount of money. So, when we hear Jesus’ words, “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect,” there’s a huge possibility we can go into ‘perfection burn out’.

We have been told by the media and big business what perfection means. Standards have been set, standards that pretty much can never be achieved because even when something looks flawless on the surface, life just doesn’t go along with the program. The model with the perfect face and body has been photoshopped. The family that looks perfect out in public may be wounded and dysfunctional in private life. The career that looks so great and filled with status turns out to be a grind like every other career. The perfect relationship is a myth even in a good marriage. And spiritual perfection is impossible because we are beset by original sin. Even if one starts to feel one is perfect according to all the ‘shalts and shalt nots’ there comes (or should come) the uncomfortable realization that ugly spiritual pride has crept in. Flawless perfection in an imperfect and broken world is an unattainable goal so why would Jesus exhort us to be perfect?

There is another definition of perfect that is, perhaps, more in line with what Jesus was saying. It is ‘complete’.

“Be complete, therefore, as your heavenly Father is complete.”

Take another look at the rest of this week’s reading (as well as the Gospel readings for the last two weeks) in which Jesus takes the letter of the law and moves it to a deeper level where life is not lived on the surface of the law but in the heart of the law. The actions Jesus talks about, such as turning the other cheek, giving more than was asked for or loving one’s enemies, are examples of how a person who is complete in God’s love would naturally live. Completed people are ones who know they are totally loved by God and have experienced his provision and unconditional love to such a degree that they can turn the other cheek not because it’s a rule but because they have no need to prove their worth to other people or get into self-defensive anger. They may decide to turn a cheek or they may decide to bring justice to the situation because they see that turning the cheek is not healthy for all involved. A completed person knows that the letter of the law cannot and must not eclipse wisdom, mercy, love and justice.

Completed people can give more than is asked for because they know from experience that God is a God of amazing provision so they don’t need to worry about not having enough, whether it's time, money or material goods. They can lend, share or give whatever they have because what they own isn’t what defines them, gives them status or shows how worthwhile they are.

Completed people live as wholly Beloved Ones. The more complete they are, the more they lose the need to justify themselves or prove their value through what they accomplish and their actions flow from being so much in communion with the Lord that they don’t just ‘do’ God’s will, they participate in it. They forgive easily because they have experienced forgiveness. They hold others with respect because they have understood that they themselves have been given the gift of holy dignity. They don’t just follow the Lord; they dance with him.

The Father is complete within himself. He did not create us because his ego needed our adoration and he does not love us for selfish reasons; he just loves us period. We are made in his image and because he loves who he is and is completely at home with himself, he cannot help but delight in his creation – his whole creation. Jesus was the incarnation of Complete Love. He, too, was completely at home with himself and with his Father. He was comfortable in his own skin. Nothing he did was done because there was a rule about it or because he needed people to be impressed, to understand him or to approve of him. Everything he did was simply Love made manifest. Sometimes he turned his cheek and other times he refused to allow others to abuse him but it was never a decision based on a broken sense of self worth, a need to please or on the letter of the law. He neither over valued himself in arrogance nor undervalued himself through low self-esteem. He simply knew who he was and he loved being himself. He knew without a doubt that the Father loved him and he loved the Father without reservation. All this pure love produced a beautiful complete third: the Holy Spirit. The dance of love’s creation went on – and continues to go on.

When Jesus invites us to be complete as the Father is complete, he is beckoning us to enter into an amazing journey of becoming who we were always meant to be. He invites us to participate in the love circle that is already complete and when we join in, we begin to experience the healing of being encircled by and formed into completion. Love’s wholeness permeates us and fills up the holes that we could never fill up before.

So…it is simply allowing ourselves to be loved that makes us complete.

Perfect!