Even as Your Father in Heaven

“ Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: … Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.”

The perfectibility of mankind is a question that has baffled and challenged philosophers, theologians, sociologists, political scientists, and parents since time began. Can people become perfect, and how is it done? Is it nature or is it nurture? Is it possible at all? Or is it just a pipe dream, a utopian mirage, wishful thinking—trying to get the toothpaste back in the tube?

We all use the excuse : “Well, nobody's perfect,” and that's nearly true. Even the Bible tells us that all have sinned and fallen short of the promises of God. Romans 3:23 There is none righteous, not even one. Romans 3:10 So why fool ourselves? Why even think we can be perfect? Communism thought it could create a perfect society, and it failed miserably. Capitalism, our economic system, seems to accept human tendencies to sin, uses greed and self-interest to create a balance of things by using, not denying, our fallen nature. The things we reserve for adults only show that we expect people to sin, even when they grow up. Our burial office is full of prayers for God to forgive the deceased. We live, we die, and not much changes.

But Jesus seems to have a different opinion of us. He said: “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” If that's not a high standard, what is? Perfect as the Father? Can we even think that without offending God? And yet, perfection is His standard and it has been His expectation of us from the start. When Abraham was 99, God appeared to him and said: “I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.” Genesis 17:1 Jesus said [to the rich young ruler], “If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.” Matthew 19:21 He said to His apostles: “The disciple is not above his master: but every one that is perfect shall be as his master.” Luke 6:40 And in His priestly prayer at the Last Supper, He commended His apostles to the Father, saying: “I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.” John 17:23 Jesus apparently believed in perfection for us. How is that possible?

Perfection, first of all, is not what many of us think. The only thing we've ever seen that was perfect in our eyes was, perhaps, a diamond, or a sunset over the Pacific coastline, or a look in a child's face at play. These were either things or events or a fleeting moment. They are remarkable because they are so rare. Every car has a scratch somewhere; every human being has eyes that don't match completely, funny looking ears, even funnier feet, and birthmarks, freckles, imperfections. We expect each other to act selfishly, and occasionally to really blow it. So, perfection is not about us. We see ourselves has having blown it a long time ago. Like a crystal goblet, we fell on the pavement and broke into a thousand glittering pieces, never to be put back together again. Like Humpty-Dumpty, we're broken up inside and out, and talking about perfection is a cruel joke, like telling a cripple to run.

But perfection doesn't mean never having sinned . It's true that, without Jesus , just one sin would finish us: make us broken and unable to be fixed. But with Jesus , there is a way back to wholeness, back to righteousness. Perfection is not about walking a tightrope, never falling, never missing a step. Perfection is where we are destined to go, a place of arrival, a state of finally, after many falls and many struggles to get back up and to start again, achieving the finish line. Perfection is completeness, wholeness, the way mankind was created to be. The Perfect Man has made us part of His Body, in which we may achieve perfection in Him.

These are not semantics , a word game that merely attributes perfection and sinlessness to us because we're associated with the King. We don't get to heaven if we, by ourselves, are still sinners. But He has given us ample means to achieve perfection—through Himself, by His sacrifice, in the waters of Baptism, by the Body and the Blood, by Confession and Absolution, by Holy Unction. And: by the turning of our hearts away from sin, repentance, getting sick of it and saying to God, “Take over for me. I hate it. I am too weak to try to change, but you are strong. Help me, keep me near you, be my strength.”

The American pioneers built a brave and strong new civilization on this continent. The British Colonies, in their youth, needed the oversight of English Kings and troops, the protection of the mighty European nation with its worldwide commonwealth and imperial navy. But as the colonies grew as states, cities, economies, and societies in themselves, the need for such oversight grew into confinement under a foreign dictatorial power. Men with education and vision began to long for American independence, and not just for selfish reasons. The germ of an idea was forming in these people: a land of free men, making their own government, ruling themselves without the need for royal classes and folks privileged by birth . Something of a vision of heaven on earth was forming in their minds, and the thought of having only God as their king excited these colonists. So they signed a document, a dangerous treatise on human rights and the violation of these rights by the English king. Thomas Jefferson wrote these wonderful words:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness, —That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, —That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”

This was an ideal of mutual aid and assurance that, as fellow citizens of a free country, we would make certain that all our people had the opportunity to enjoy the gifts of God and the chance at a happy life. This has from the outset been the goal of our nation, a goal that took a long time to bring to perfection, a goal that we struggle still to achieve: b ut it is our aim, our star, a guiding principle for us. We must make sure every soul has a chance to live free. And why? In the beginning, God made us free . He gave us His image and likeness for the purpose of letting us turn back to love Him. Love , that powerful force that transforms everything, is our ultimate weapon against all human evil and demonic deception. Love is the reason for our existence. Love for God is the highest achievement of any soul; love for our fellow man is the fruit of that love.

At our nation's greatest port, a giant statue of a lady, Liberty, stands with a torch borne aloft, whose inscription reads:

“ Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame, With conquering limbs astride from land to land, Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame. "Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

In obedience to the words of Deuteronomy, our nation welcomes strangers. We were all strangers in this strange land, but have now become citizens of a country founded under God, with the principle of love for our fellow man.

Jesus commanded us a new standard of perfection: love God, love your brothers, and now love even your enemies . Do good to them who hate you. Is this not a picture of American soldiers bringing food and building schools in two nations today from which have come the cries, “Death to America!” and our own aircraft turned to missiles aimed at us? “Love your enemies,” Jesus said, “that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.” If God is so loving, so must we be in this world. Do we love perfectly? not hardly. This is far from a perfect nation, nor can it ever be perfect. For governments are never perfect. These are temporary constructs until the government that is perfect finally comes. But in such a land, even now , every soul has a chance to attain perfection, for each man and woman and child can reach for Jesus Christ in peace and lawful protection. We will not tolerate any who deny one soul the way to our King.

America: not perfect, in many ways very flawed. But the ideal we were founded upon, and that we still try to steer by, is the best mankind can offer. The men who, on this day in 1776, risked their lives and properties, vowed to each other that this dream might never die, stating for us who live today, 228 years later, “for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.” May we do no less.

PFH+