Tuesday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time
Don’t we all have somewhere deep down inside this feeling that we are supposed to follow Jesus’ command “to be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect?” It’s why we go to church, do charitable deeds, and try to live a virtuous life. We think that by doing these good things, we will get rid of our sinfulness and pride and achieve inner peace; in a word, become perfect.
Of course it hasn’t worked, not because our desires were wrong but because our definition of perfect was wrong–and different from Jesus’ definition of perfect. For Jesus, perfection isn’t a state with no more flaws or weaknesses but the state of striving to become the person God intends me to be.
And who is God? The Divine Being who loves all completely, the bad as much as the good, the unjust as much as the just. And who are you and I? Human beings, made in God’s image and capable of selfless love and even love of enemies, but only by God’s grace.
Our efforts to live a Christian life keep showing us our position on the road to becoming our true selves by God’s grace. At each moment along that way, we are perfect in God’s eyes if we are striving to be who he has made us.
Reflection by Abbot Benedict Neenan, OSB
Posted in Articles for Ordinary Time, Daily Reflections