Matthew 5:38-48 (Leviticus 19:1-2, 9-18)
Kingdom Ethics: On Being Perfect
James Sledge February 20, 2011
Recently, there has been an uproar around the book, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, which chronicles one mother’s attempt to raise her children by the strict methods of the traditional Chinese mom. Much of the furor has been over the how this mother would not let her daughters go to sleep overs or have fun, requiring them instead to practice the violin or do homework. People couldn’t believe she could be that demanding.
Hearing our scripture this morning, it’s not hard to imagine people reacting the same way to Jesus. “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” And Jesus has been talking to us this way for weeks now about how our righteousness must be greater than the Pharisees, that being angry is as bad as murder, and today, that we have to love our enemies.
Yet Jesus made very few friends among Tiger Moms or religious overachievers of his day. They saw Jesus as a bad influence and regularly criticized him for hanging out with underachievers and trouble makers. Jesus in turn blasted the scribes and Pharisees for teachings that he said were “heavy burdens, hard to bear.” And Jesus called people saying, “Come to me, all you that are weary and carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Yet he tells us today, “Be perfect.”
Some years ago, we introduced a song in our more traditional, 11:15 service that was familiar to our early, more contemporary service, using it as a response to the prayer of confession. Many of you probably know it. “Change my heart, O God, make it ever true; Change my heart, O God, may I be like you.”
One of our members, someone thoughtful and very serious about his faith, came to me, saying he was bothered by this song. At assumed he must have found its style a bit too casual compared with a traditional Kyrie Eleison, “Lord have mercy.” But I quickly realized that his problem was with the line, “May I be like you.” He had learned the same lesson I had been taught. God is other; God is not like us. God’s ways are not out ways. God is holy and we are not. What business have we got saying to God, “May I be like you?”
I could certainly appreciate his objection and was inclined to agree with him. But isn’t Jesus saying that we should be like God? “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” And it is there in our Old Testament reading as well.
The law in Leviticus tells the people of God how to live. They must not harvest all their crop, leaving some for the poor and alien, which in our day I suppose means that companies can’t keep all the profit for themselves but must share with the poor and immigrants. God’s law requires the same justice for rich and poor, truth telling, and loving your neighbor as yourself. And all of this seems related to the character of God. The phrase “I am the Lord; I am Yahweh” is regularly interspersed between these commands. And these laws are prefaced by God saying, “You shall be holy, for I Yahweh your God am holy.”
Perfect and holy; not words we normally apply to ourselves. If someone says, “I am perfect,” hopefully he’s kidding. The word “holy” may be even more problematic. We know it’s a religious word, but when it’s used of people it is usually in a negative way, as in “holier than thou.” But the biblical words translated “perfect” and “holy” may not mean exactly what comes to mind when we hear them.
When Jesus says, “Be perfect,” the basic meaning of the word is “complete, having fully attained its purpose.” It also means “mature.” And while this does not quite remove the sense of a goal that is not fully attainable, it does point out that Jesus is calling us from where we are, to something more, to a faith that grows and matures, to a purpose being fulfilled. Jesus is saying that following him means changing, growing, and becoming new.
The word holy works in similar fashion. It means “consecrated” or “set apart.” And I read an article the other day that suggested this meant that a good synonym for holy is “odd.”[1] Think about that. What if we heard Jesus say to us, “Be different, be set apart; be odd, therefore, as your heavenly Father is odd.” But that’s the last thing we want to be, isn’t it. Many of us became Christian or grew up Christian in a time when going to church was the epitome of normal. We don’t want to be different or stand out. We want to fit in.
Nearly twenty years ago, when I was a corporate pilot was just beginning to hear a call to become a pastor, I got the clear sense that this call was related to an issue facing the church. As I experienced the stirrings of call and a more mature faith, I struggled to see where God’s presence was in the church I knew. I didn’t feel a spiritual presence there. The church did good things and it explained what faith meant, but I have never really sensed God’s odd, holy presence there the way I did as I wrestled with my call.
Eventually I became sure that my call was in some way related to this problem, and that I was supposed to address it in my ministry. But somewhere along the way, I forgot. At seminary, I was busy learning theology, biblical languages, and how to take apart a section of scripture and examine what it meant. And when I began serving a congregation, there was plenty to keep me busy. Sunday seemed to show up every three or four days, and there was other church busyness to keep me occupied, lots of tasks, and not much time to wonder about where God’s strange holiness was.
Only recently has this started to change. It is very much a work in progress, but I have begun to realize the connection between spirituality and mission, between drawing near holiness and the call to be church. And I think that is what today’s scripture is about.
The holiness and completeness we are called to comes from an internal change that is manifested in a changed life. As our faith life goes deeper and deeper into God, into divine mystery and holiness, the things that motivate us and animate us begin to change. Success, praise from others, having everything the world says we should, matter less and less. Pleasing God, loving others, and living by the ethics of God’s Kingdom become central – not things we do to get a reward or God’s approval, but what we actually desire.
There was a time when I tended to view spirituality and mysticism as esoteric, private pursuits for overly sensitive types who needed such warm fuzzies. But I have begun to see my prejudice against spirituality as a defense mechanism we Mainline Christians often use to avoid being odd, to stay in control, to keep from being drawn into God’s holiness and so transformed for the holiness and completeness we are called to as disciples.
Now I don’t for a moment presume that my own spiritual journey, or my spiritual practices, my way of praying, meditating, or practicing silence, are a good guide for you. And so I will simply ask, What do you do that draws you into God, into holiness? How do you “Touch Holiness” so that its touch changes you, begins to conform you more and more to the image of God, to the example of Jesus? And as a community of faith, how are we helping, supporting, nurturing, and mentoring each other as we journey into the holiness and purpose God has in mind for each of us all?
All praise and glory to our strange, holy God, who in Jesus, calls us to be God’s strange, holy people. Thanks be to God!
[1] Edwin Searcy in “Living by the Word,” The Christian Century Vol. 128, No. 3 (February 8, 2011) p. 21.
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