Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP
St Anthony/OLR, NOLA
It
seems an impossible task: to
be perfect as our Heavenly Father is perfect.
Not only does this task seem impossible in practice, but it's not
entirely clear what the task actually is or how we are to achieve it.
The Lord tells Moses to give His people this message: “Be
holy, for I, the LORD, your God, am holy.” Is the Father's
perfection also His holiness? Yes, if by holiness we mean
“set-apartness,” “totally other than.” We say that God is
both imminent in His creation and wholly transcendent of it. Both in
and totally beyond all that He has created and holds in being. If we
are to be perfect/holy as the Father is perfect/holy, then we too
must be in the world and totally beyond it. We live and move and have
our being in God. That's how we transcend the world. We also live and
move and have our being in the world. And this is where things get
complicated. As followers of Christ, we are given the mission of
living in the world and at the same time not being ruled by the
world. Our king, our ruler is Christ. Our kingdom, our citizenship is
in heaven. So, how do we become perfect as the Father is perfect?
St.
Paul gives us some direction. He writes to the Corinthians, “Do you
not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God
dwells in you?” This sounds familiar. It should. We've heard it all
our lives. But in Paul's day, it was a radical claim. Temples were
large, stone structures that housed the gods. Prayer, music,
sacrifice would bring the spirit of the gods into the building to
receive their followers' worship. Even the Jews had a temple where
the spirit of the Lord would descend once a year to commune with the
High Priest. For Paul to teach that every baptized person is a
living, breathing temple capable of housing the spirit of the Lord –
that
is outrageous!
That would mean that every baptized person is a priest capable of
offering sacrifice! That they are all empowered to commune directly
with God! That they can intercede for one another! That each and
every baptized person is established as a holy site, a place of
encounter with the divine. And all of this is true. You and I are
living, breathing temples of the Holy Spirit; living, breathing
tabernacles of the Body and Blood of Christ, sent out into the world
to bear witness to the Father's freely given mercy to sinners. To be
perfect as the Father is perfect is to be Christ for others in the
world.
So,
what does this look like in practice? Again, Paul has part of the
answer. He writes, “If any one among you considers himself wise in
this age, let him become a fool, so as to become wise.” The wisdom
of the world is foolishness to God. God's wisdom comes with being set
apart from the world. Not necessarily in a cave or a monastery or
mountain cabin. Our set-apartness must exist in the world. Jesus
challenges us to go beyond the Law to the foundations of the Law and
take a radical step into sacrificial love. You love those who love
you. So what? Even the pagans do that! Instead,
love your enemies.
You pray for your family members and friends. So what? Even the
pagans do that! Instead,
pray for those who persecute you.
To be set apart from the world we cannot allow the world to rule our
hearts and minds. How the pagans choose to think, feel, and act is
their business and none of ours. They may hate their brothers and
sisters. Seek revenge. Cherish grudges. Refuse help to the poor and
sick. Worship whatever gods make them feel good. Christ fulfills the
Law by revealing its soul, and its soul
of the Law is love. We begin in holiness by setting ourselves apart
in Christ, by consecrating ourselves in his sacrifice. We cannot
achieve the holiness God wants for us by imitating the fads and
fashions of our pagan neighbors.
As
we rapidly approach Lent, it seems fitting to repeat Paul's warning
to the corrupt church in Corinth: “Let no one deceive himself. If
any one among you considers himself wise in this age, let him become
a fool, so as to become wise. For the wisdom of this world is
foolishness in the eyes of God. . .” Take that warning with this
assurance: “Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and
that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” Christ fulfilled the Law by
revealing the soul of the Law: divine love. He shows us the power of
sacrificial love from the Cross, defeating sin and death by rising
from the tomb, and bringing us all to the way of perfection. You are
a living temple of the living God and your run toward holiness begins
by following Christ. Not the dominant culture. Not your pagan
neighbors. Not a political party. But Christ. Follow Christ. And
become a living, breathing temple of the Holy Spirit, a fool in the
eyes of the world.
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