Sermon - February 20, 2011

7th Sunday after the Epiphany
Matthew 5:38-48

Being Perfect


”Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Perfection has never been my strong suit. It is a characteristic not often displayed in the daily occurrences of my life. In fact, there are some who would claim it is an attribute totally lacking in the makeup of my personality. Jesus says,”Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect,” and I ask myself, “What am I to do with such a challenge?"

I know - look for parallel verses! As often as not, one of the other three gospels contains the same saying, with a few words changed. Maybe "Be perfect" has a parallel omitting the call to perfection. Sure enough, Luke, Chapter 6, contains a saying very similar to Matthew 5:48, but with one big difference. Again Jesus is speaking of loving those we might otherwise choose not to love, and then, in the 36th verse he says, "Be merciful, even as (God) is merciful." No perfection, just mercy. I can live with being merciful. This is a characteristic some have said I do posses. I may not be perfect, being merciful I can handle.

Why didn't Matthew just say "merciful" and leave out all that stuff about "perfection"? Jesus can expect his followers to be merciful, but perfection is out of reach for most of us. Especially if perfection is to meet the high standards Jesus has set.

In reading the lessons from the back of the bulletin rather than from your bible you often fail to realize the significance of just were a particular verse occurs. For five Sundays now, we have been making our way through Matthew's 4th and 5th chapters. Each Sunday, the Gospel reading has picked up exactly where it left off the week before. It was four weeks ago, just after Jesus had called his disciples, that we began reading from the section of Matthew which is most often referred to as the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus begins by announcing God’s blessings. In those verses often referred to as “The Beatitudes,” he addresses his hears and reminds them of how blessed they truly are. From there, he begins to instruct us as to how those who have received God's blessings ought to show forth their privileged status.

I haven’t been here myself for the past two weeks, so I am not real sure how Danielle handled the part which included a reminder that we are “the salt of the earth” and ”the light of the world.” The admonition was to ”let your light so shine before others, that they may see your good works and give glory to (God) who is in heaven.”

Last week, when it was Larry’s turn, we heard Jesus' reminders that to hate and to harbor anger brings on the same judgment as murder. To look "lustfully" at someone amounts to adultery. To enter into a marriage out of self-centeredness is worse than adultery. And to swear is to misuse God's name. Through these four paragraphs, Jesus tells his listeners that a right relationship with God is shown forth in a right relationship with one's neighbors.

Jesus is setting up a new standard. He is telling us that being one of his disciples means we live our lives differently. And he doesn't stop with what has gone before. In today's reading he continues. Two more admonitions are given, both focusing on the anger invoked by another's wrong doings. ”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 any one 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 any one 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.”

Jesus acknowledges that the Hebraic law set a limit on revenge: the punishment could not exceed the injury. "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth." But, Jesus tells those who are his followers that to retaliate in any form is wrong. The wounded party responds by offering even more than is required.

Again, Jesus doesn't stop. He continues: “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.” It isn't enough, Jesus says, to do good to those who have done good to us, even the sinners do this. More is expected of those who stand in the light of God's blessings.

"Love your enemy, pray for those who persecute you." "Give to the one who begs from you and do not refuse any one who would borrow from you." "Do not swear, but let what you say be simply "Yes" or "No"". "Do not look at another lustfully, to do so is to commit adultery." "Do not be angry with your brother/sister." These are the things Jesus is talking about as he reaches the crescendo and instructs his listeners that they,”Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

Perfection is never easy. But when it is required immediately upon hearing how Jesus expects his followers to live, it truly is impossible. I may be able to refrain from putting out the eye of the one who has wronged me, but how can I begin to love and to pray on behalf of my assailant? What is Jesus expecting?

Remember that Luke, in his parallel verse, uses the word "mercy"? I wondered, given the placement of Jesus' instruction, how Luke could make such a substitution. We being to get a clue when we look up Matthew's word, translated for us as "perfect." The Greek word is teleioi. Its meaning isn't perfection in a moral sense; rather it calls upon us to pattern our lives after God's undivided and totally impartial love. We are to be "perfect", as God is perfect, in always being merciful.

What Jesus expects of us is within reach. We may not be able to avoid the lustful glance; we may find it impossible not to harbor revenge in our hearts, �But we can still behave mercifully. We can choose to love rather than to retaliate. The perfection, ¬ which Jesus says we must possess, shines forth each time we exhibit the mercy God has shown toward us.

Maybe an example of choosing to act in a particular way can be seen in the marital covenant. How awe inspiring is that part of the liturgy in which we look each other in the eye and mutually promise to live and act toward one another out of love no matter how circumstances (for better, for worse) or feelings may change. In an age where feelings are exalted, it is liberating to remember that often we love because we choose to do so. We "fall in love", hopefully many times during our married life, but "being in love" doesn't keep us together. We stay married because, in spite of it all, we choose to act mercifully toward the other.

Jesus sets before his disciples a difficult standard. He tells us that we must exceed the requirements of the ancient laws. He tells us,”Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” You must pattern your life after God, allowing mercy to shine forth in all you do. Living the Christian lifestyle doesn't come naturally; it is an act of the will. God acts mercifully toward us, we choose to pattern our responses after God's.

AMEN