Just as the sun that rises on the bad and on the good would cease being the sun if it didn’t shine on the bad and the good, so God (whose very being is Love) would cease being God if he stopped loving. And so Jesus’ call to be perfect just as [our] heavenly Father is perfect, is really an invitation to divinization by becoming Love. For, when we become Love, then not loving (even if these be our worst enemies) becomes an impossibility without losing our very identity. And so the call to love and pray for our enemies is less about valiant acts of the will and going against natural inclinations, and more about becoming by grace what God is: Love. Love, then, is another way of describing perfection so that Jesus is really saying: Be Love, just as your heavenly Father is Love.
Ronald Dombroski says
March 16, 2019 at 10:47 amBeing an old time ‘perfectionist’ , which has caused me quite a bit of anxiety and depression over the years,
I ‘love’ your translation of what Jesus is really saying “Be love, as your Heavenly Father is Love “. Makes all the difference in the world! Religion can lead us down so many wrong paths when we misunderstand what is really being said….
Peggy Anderson says
March 16, 2019 at 9:13 pmThen, to the extent that I can be in union with the God within, not the Godwin is remote and unreachable, I am Love, and will Love; as Fr. Mark used to remind me, “The journey to union with God is the journey of a lifetime.” Thanks for the take on being perfect, Fr. Joseph.