Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
Bishop of Lake Charles
Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
February 20, 2011
St. Paul Catholic Church
Elton, Louisiana
“So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Matthew 5:48
We hear those words in the Gospel today, and we ask, “How is it possible to be perfect?” Indeed, how can we live in the world, as weak and fallible human beings and be perfect, as our Lord tells us we must in the Sermon on the Mount?
The Sermon on the Mount is one of the most important bodies of teaching that we have in all of the Sacred Scriptures. We think of it as setting down the essentials for Christian living. The Sermon begins with the Beatitudes and continues on with various teachings that expand the pronouncements of the Ten Commandments. Our Lord has not come “to abolish the law or the prophets” but “to fulfill” (Matthew 5:17), as He says himself.
Jesus begins by taking a set of commandments and teaches that to fulfill them requires more than just following the letter of the law. The two examples in the Gospel today deal with generosity and love of enemies. Jesus says, “… offer no resistance to one who is evil…. When someone strikes you on your right cheek, turn the other one as well” (Matthew 5:39). Questions are not to be asked. If someone wants your tunic, give him your coat also. Never turn your back on the borrower. Then, He adds, “… love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father…” (Matthew 5:44-45). If we love those who love us, even the pagans and sinners do that. Then, He concludes, “So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48).
Perfection lies in its pursuit. The goal of every Christian should be to imitate the heavenly Father in His generosity. The Father gives more than is expected. He surpasses anyone in charity. If we do the bare minimum, then we are no better than anyone else.
Many years ago, I was traveling in Alaska and the custom of “potlatch” was explained to me. It was a practice of the indigenous tribes of the Northwestern United States and Canada to exchange gifts, particularly with guests at a feast. What made the practice of “potlatch” exceptional was that the host was to outdo in generosity the previous host and his guests. I have learned since that anthropologists have done extensive research on this practice. The object of “potlatch” was to demonstrate the wealth and generous spirit of the host. He gave in such manner that he was never to be outdone.
It is this sort of “potlatch” in which God is engaged. If we ask forgiveness with a contrite heart, God forgives. His mercy is greater than our sinfulness. He gives us life, livelihood, many good gifts, and on top of that even moments of trial that teach us important lessons about living. All of this is gift. God gives as though He cannot be outdone in generosity.
For this reason, if we are to be perfect, then God’s generosity is our standard of excellence. God’s generosity is our call to perfection. We do not merely love our friends and hate our enemies. This would be like everyone else in the world. This would be taking the world as our standard. God, however, must be our standard, and we must become merciful to a fault, even pardoning our enemies, praying for those who persecute us, giving to those who ask.
There are some cultures where when a guest admires a possession of the host, this is considered an invitation to the host to give what is admired to the guest. I saw this happen once. It came as quite a surprise to the guest. He was actually embarrassed, but the host would hear no protest. He gave willingly what the guest had admired.
As I observed this happen, I thought of it as a lesson in detachment and generosity. That a host would consider his guest so important as to give him whatever he admired—this is the sort of generosity that belongs to God. It is a perfection and imitating it we become what it is we imitate.