Always Aim for Perfection.


Sunday 23rd February 2020. Read Leviticus 19:1-2.17-18, Psalm 103, 1st Corinthians 3:16-23 and Matthew 5:38-48.


_“If you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you salute only your brethren, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?” *(Matthew 5:46-47)*_

Last Sunday, Jesus taught us that if our righteousness does not exceed that of the scribes and the Pharisees, we would not enter heaven. We cannot afford to be average Christians, in fact, Jesus admonishes us to be perfect just as God our Father is perfect. As the saying goes: “Mediocrity is the killer of genius but the struggle for perfection brings out the real star in you.” How can we become perfect Christians? Jesus answers this question by outlining various lessons for us today.

*1. To be Perfect, Love Those Who Hate You.*
“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 one who is evil. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also; and if anyone would sue you and take your coat, let him have your cloak as well; and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. (Matthew 5:38-41)

To be perfect like God, we must learn not to retaliate when we are hurt. As our Psalmist reminds us, “it is he forgives all your sins, who crowns you with mercy and compassion… he is slow to anger, he does not treat us according to our sins nor repay us according to our faults….” Think of the many times we sin against God. Imagine that everything we offend God, he immediately retaliates by sending one or two calamities our way. How many of us would still be alive today?

Forgiveness is the heart of Christian perfection. Peter once asked Jesus: “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven. (Matthew 18:21-22). To forgive, you must have an ample dosage of meekness; the willingness to overlook the faults of others, willingness to make sacrifices and willingness to surrender our rights.

*2. To be Perfect, Help Those Who Beg from You.*
Generosity to the poor is an indispensable aspect of perfection. As St. James would teach us, our faith is useless if we cannot put food on the hungry stomachs around us. (Cf. James 2:15-17). When Jesus talked about giving to those who beg from us, he was speaking from the context of helping those who may have hurt us repeatedly in the past but are now coming to ask for our favours. “Do not refuse him who will borrow from you” even when he or she has refused to pay the past debt.

This is a very difficult thing to do but as Isaiah says, “… Share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, cover him, and do not to hide yourself from your own flesh… Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily; your righteousness shall go before you, the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer; you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’” (Isaiah 58:7-9)

*3. To be Perfect, Pray for Your Enemies.*
As Jesus puts it, if we love our friends and family members, we are not different from the unbelievers. If we claim to be children of God, we must behave like God who “makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” (Matthew 5:45). If we are really children of God, we would not keep malice with people, we would not carry grudges in our heart, we would show kindness even to our worst enemies, we would wish well for those who have done us great harm.

You may wonder, when Jesus says we should pray for our enemies, what kind of prayer was he talking about? Is it the prayer we hear in our churches today? Did Jesus ever ask us to pray for the death of our enemies? Did Jesus ever ask us to call “Holy Ghost fire” to burn our enemies? Come to think of it, how did Jesus pray for his own enemies? “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34).

When next you find yourself in a gathering where everyone is excitedly pouring forth curses upon their enemies, just know you are not in a Christian gathering. God is not and can never become a weapon for fighting our enemies. I enjoin our prayer warriors in the church to stop behaving like juju priests (babalawos, witch doctors, etc.) and learn to bless rather than curse our enemies.

*4. To be Perfect, Start Thinking like God.*
Perfection begins from the heart which is the cooking pot that produces our day to day activities. To achieve Christian perfection, we must go beyond conventional wisdom. The fact that “everybody is doing it” does not make it right. As St. Paul explains in our second reading, the wisdom of the world is foolishness in the eyes of God and if we must be Christians at all, we must become fools to the world.

For instance, in the eyes of the world, forgiveness is foolishness. There have been a lot of debate in our country as to the rationality of releasing 1400 “repentant” Boko Haram members back to society. Even a wild spread outrage was sparked when the Senate proposed (not yet passed) a bill to create an agency for repentant Boko Haram members. I saw a picture trending on social media which quoted the President of Russia as saying: “It is God’s job to forgive terrorists but it is my job to send them to meet God.” Can we say we are Christians if we cannot forgive?

Secondly, in the eyes of the world, our bodies are simply designed for pleasure and we are free to do whatever we so desire with it meanwhile as St. Paul tells us today, “you are God’s temple.” Do not be surprised that in your efforts to stay pure and keep away from immorality, people (even fellow Christians) will laugh at you, call you names and make you feel like a looser. Remember the words of Jesus: “If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.” (John 15:18-19) 

*Conclusion: Love Your Neighbour As Yourself.*
Our first reading today beautifully sums everything for us by concluding with “you shall love your neighbour as yourself: I am the Lord.” For the sake of the God that you serve, start treating people exactly the way you would love to be treated even if the people in question do not deserve it. Be Nice, don’t hate, wish people well, forgive and just let it go.

Let us Pray: Lord Jesus, I realize I am so far from perfection, help me to start loving my enemies, help me to forgive and let go when I am hurt, help me to pray good prayers only for those who hate me, help me to remain undefiled by the world. Amen.

*Happy Sunday. Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time. Year A. Bible Study: Leviticus 19:1-2.17-18, Psalm 103, 1st Corinthians 3:16-23 and Matthew 5:38-48).*

Fr. Abu

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