06-16-23

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
June 16, 2023
This Sunday, we will be talking about perfection. Throughout Christian history (and many other religions), there have been those who have believed that perfection is achievable in one’s lifetime. Of course, how they defined perfection was very different depending on the group suggesting such a thing was possible. Yet I look at some of the humble and selfless saints throughout history and see how they were unafraid of being 100% honest and authentic. They spoke more often about their failures than their successes. These are the people most of us would point to as being near perfect, yet they would have been the quickest to dismiss such a suggestion. In Matthew 5:48, at the end of the first section of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says, "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect." Jesus has just given a lengthy and demanding list of how a follower of Jesus is to live, and then he concludes with an expectation of perfection, at least in the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible. Yet in the Common English Bible, we find the verse translated as, "Therefore, just as your heavenly Father is complete in showing love to everyone, so also you must be complete." From my perspective, those are two dramatically different interpretations. The Greek word, τέλειοι (teleioi) which we translate as perfect or complete, is a complicated word. Some suggest we are to understand it as the Jewish people would have understood it: to "serve God wholeheartedly…" Perfection is intimidating, even overwhelming. Wholeheartedly, on the other hand, is something I can strive for with a good conscience without feeling like a failure when I have my less-than-perfect days.

​Grant me, O God, a glimpse of your perfect love, a vision of your unmerited kindness that I will wholeheartedly strive for each hour of each day. Amen.