Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect

 

 "You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.'  But I tell you not to resist an evil person.  But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.  If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also.  And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two.  Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away.  

 

"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'  But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain  on the just and on the unjust.  For if you love those who love you, what reward have you?  Do not even the tax collectors do the same?  And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others?  Do not even the tax collectors do so? Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect."

 

- Matthew 5:38-48 

 

 We are currently reading through the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5 - 7).  Yesterday we read that Jesus taught, "You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not commit adultery.'  But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.  If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it our and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.  And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.  Furthermore it has been said, 'Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.'  Bu I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery.  Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.'  But I say to you, do not swear at all:  neither by heaven, for it is God's throne; nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.  Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black.  But let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No.'  For whatever is more than these is from the evil one."

 

  "You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.'  But I tell you not to resist an evil person.  But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.  If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also.  And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two.  Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away."  My study Bible contrasts this passage with passages from the Old Testament which Jesus quotes here regarding justice:  Exodus 21:24; Leviticus 24:20; Deuteronomy 19:21.   In Christ's New Covenant, He warns us not to resist violence with more violence.  Evil can only be overcome by good, my study Bible comments, which keeps us free from compromise with the devil and can bring our enemy under the yoke of God's love.  My study Bible tells a story of one of the desert saints:  He once found his hut being looted of its few possessions. His response was to kneel in a corner praying for the bandits.  When they left, he saw that they had not taken his walking stick.  The monk pursued them for days until he could give them his walking stick also.  Seeing his humility, they gave everything back to him, and were converted to Jesus Christ. 

 

 "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'  But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain  on the just and on the unjust.  For if you love those who love you, what reward have you?  Do not even the tax collectors do the same?  And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others?  Do not even the tax collectors do so?"  My study Bible writes that this passage teaches us to be freed from hate, sadness, and anger, for then we are capable of receiving the greatest virtue, which is perfect love.  The love of enemies isn't just an emotion; it includes decision and action.  It is to treat and see our enemies as the closest members of our own family, my study Bible says (see 1 John 4:7-21).

 

"Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect."  According to my study Bible, this is the summary statement of all that has preceded.  The Christian can indeed grow in the perfect of the Father, it says (see Ephesians 4:13), which is shown by imitating God's love and mercy (compare Luke 6:26).

 

Jesus' sermon (or rather, this particular passage from the Sermon on the Mount) today really encapsulates a sense in which that love is the Law of God, the law of the Kingdom that He seeks to bring into the world.  Clearly we are not meant simply to accept that this is His way, we are meant to live His way.  We are meant to fully participate in this law of His Kingdom  in our practices, lives, and daily behaviors.  On the other hand, in this same sermon Jesus will preach to His disciples, "Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces" (Matthew 7:6).  How do we reconcile these two seemingly very different teachings?  The answer is found in love, in our understanding of what love is, what it teaches us, and how Christ as the example of love, leads us in that understanding.  Love is the act of caring for others, of wanting good for them, having compassion.  But we so often confuse love with indulgence, even with admiring flaws in ourselves or others, condoning everything.  But this is not Christ's love.  The man who would teach us to cleanse our hearts of lust and anger, who would teach us that our notions of blessedness are not simply about getting whatever we want in life, is certainly not practicing the kind of love that accepts all behavior as "good" or indulges every whim or emotion.  This is an entirely different notion of good, because it is a love that wants us to be close to Him, a part of His kingdom, and perfect on the terms of that Kingdom as the best we can be -- our highest good.  This is what Christ's love does and teaches.  If a parent has a child with a healthcare problem, staying home from an uncomfortable visit to the doctor would not really be the loving thing to do.  In the long run, wishing the good for a child would be to find ways to heal.  Showing a child love is teaching them to care properly for themselves, including self-discipline, not leaving them as immature or infantile.  So Christ also prepares us for our future, for participation in His kingdom, and our growth therein.  Today's passage stands notions of justice on their heads, in some sense, because Christ is emphasizing the need to practice love at all times, to be "like God."  Compassion is always called for, and it's important to remember that all that He teaches us comes out of a sense of love.  So, therefore, here He is teaching His disciples to be and do the same, and this must be particularly true of their behavior among one another, in His Church.  Perhaps the surest way to turn a vulnerable person away from the Church is to fail to heed Christ's teachings about the necessary practice of love.  In this Christ is consistent when He warns of woes to come to those who cause offense to the little ones in His Church (Matthew 18:7).  Once again, today's passage emphasizes that we are brought into communion with Christ, who is the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets, so that we might become more like Him. We're taught first to love God with all our heart and soul and mind and strength, and this leads us to love of neighbor "as ourselves."  Presumably if we are truly disciples of Christ, we don't simply want to drown in our own errors and shortcomings, but love teaches us how to go forward, how to become better, and more like Him as we can.  So to love one's enemy is not simply to praise all that they do, or to approve or embrace it.  It is to practice the love of God as best we can discern by loving God -- Christ -- first and seeking to live the life He asks us to in all circumstances.  Christ says, "Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect." We are to seek to know God's love by returning it and growing in it; from there we learn what it is to love neighbor.  Let us learn to be that kind of perfect.