“So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
Matthew 5:48

Don’t we all want to be Perfect?  Maybe sometimes we think we’re pretty darned close.

But then … if our families took a vote on our perfection, I suspect none of us would make the mark. 

In today’s Gospel, is Jesus really asking us to be perfect?  I used to puzzle over this gospel until I heard a scholar say that the translation is what confuses us.  The original Greek word teleios could mean ‘perfect’ but more often means mature, complete or whole. He suggested that Jesus was telling us to be adult or fully formed in our relationship with God.

And Jesus offers a pathway for that wholeness in a connection with God.  It goes further than just obeying rules.  He asks us to love people beyond our friends and family. Jesus wants us to love those who may not love us – and even those we might privately enjoy not loving because of how they treat us.

The family member who drives us nuts?  Reach out to them.

The most annoying person at the office?  Make a special point of being kind.

Can I love the person who supports causes or political candidates I don’t believe in?

We like to think of saints as, well, saintly and perfect.  But Thérèse of Lisieux famously prayed for a sister in her convent who drove her crazy.  She finally realized that “charity should show itself in deeds. So I set myself to do for this sister just what I should have done for someone I loved most dearly.”

Thérèse went out of her way to be kind and do things for this sister.  She said she was often tempted to be unpleasant to her but instead smiled and prayed for her.  That seems to me to be a great example of a mature love and relationship with God.  It is fully grounded in our being human – yet reaching beyond our own limits to ask God for help.

That is what Jesus offers us today: to go beyond our own limits and love our enemies.  Not to pretend we don’t have negative feelings for others, but to pray to God to help us to overcome them.

Pope Francis says the mystery of Christian life is loving our enemies and praying for those who persecute us.  “The challenge of Christian life is asking the Lord for the grace to bless our enemies and to love them.” 

Francis also suggests that we can stop complaining!  “How many times do we complain about the things that we lack, about the things that go wrong! Jesus knows about all the things that don’t work. He knows that there is always going to be someone who dislikes us. Or someone who makes our life miserable. All he asks us to do is pray and love.”

Impossible?  On my own, yes.  But not if I recognize my own shortcomings and ask God for the strength, wisdom and maturity to overcome them as I deal with others.

Loving Jesus, help me to be more patient and less whining and complaining about those who push my buttons, those who disagree with me and those I judge as unkind or cruel.  Teach me to love them with an open heart as you do. Share with me your peace of heart.