Striving Toward a Higher Calling (Matthew 5:48)

 “Be perfect, … as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). You’re probably saying that perfection is a tough standard to meet. It sounds as if Jesus is raising the bar to unattainable heights. But, as with everything else, if we examine this verse carefully, things are made clearer.

The key Greek word used in this passage is telos, which can indeed be translated as the English word “perfect.”  However, telos typically denotes something that has grown up, matured, and now has reached its perfect end.  If we look at it from that perspective, telos is the goal or desired outcome of a thing.

Jesus is not dictating an unachievable ideal; rather, he is challenging his listeners to grow in obedience to God’s will. We may not love our enemies right now. We may not even recognize who they are. But telos demands that we give it a try. And our attempts to reach the higher goal should be persistent.

Loving our neighbors as well as our enemies is the ideal toward which God would have us strive. It doesn’t mean that we have to be flawless as God is flawless. We all know that’s impossible. Rather, being perfect means constantly striving to give the same generosity to others that we’ve received from God in such abundance. Being perfect requires us to go beyond the letter of the law and pay attention to its spirit.

The kind of love Jesus spoke about in his sermon involves showing compassion to others to the best of our ability. It involves learning from our mistakes and growing in a relationship with others. It requires that we stop looking for enemies in all the wrong places and start embracing practices that routinely encourage healing, wholeness, and reconciliation for all of humankind.

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