The perfect question

[TominAdelaide]

Navarre Bible Commentary:

5:48. Verse 48 is, in a sense, a summary of the teaching in this entire chapter, including the Beatitudes. Strictly speaking, it is quite impossible for a created being to be as perfect as God. What our Lord means here is that God’s own perfection should be the model that every faithful Christian tries to follow, even though he realizes that there is an infinite distance between himself and his Creator. However, this does not reduce the force of this commandment; it sheds more light on it. It is a difficult commandment to live up to, but also with this we must take account of the enormous help grace gives us to go so far as to tend towards divine perfection. Certainly, the perfection that we should imitate does not refer to the power and wisdom of God, which are totally beyond our scope; here the context seems to refer primarily to love and mercy. Along the same lines, St Luke quotes these words of our Lord: “Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful” (Lk 6:36; cf. the note on Lk 6:20–49).

Clearly, the “universal call to holiness” is not a recommendation but a commandment of Jesus Christ. “Your duty is to sanctify yourself. Yes, even you. Who thinks that this task is only for priests and religious? To everyone, without exception, our Lord said: ‘Be ye perfect, as my heavenly Father is perfect’ ” (St J. Escrivá, The Way, 291). This teaching is sanctioned by chapter 5 of Vatican II’s Constitution Lumen gentium, where it says (at no. 40): “The Lord Jesus, divine teacher and model of all perfection, preached holiness of life (of which he is the author and maker) to each and every one of his disciples without distinction: ‘You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect’ […]. It is therefore quite clear that all Christians in any state or walk of life are called to the fullness of Christian life and to the perfection of love, and by this holiness a more human manner of life is fostered also in earthly society.”

Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture:

5:48. Indeed, Jesus calls his disciples to be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect—a statement that sums up all six examples in the section expounding the surpassing righteousness of Christ. In the Old Testament, Israel was to imitate God in his holiness (“You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy,” Lev 19:2). This was often interpreted in the first century as a call to separate oneself from all that is unholy—sin, sinners, the Gentiles, and so on. Jesus, however, calls his disciples to imitate God by being perfect in love, as seen in all six examples in this section. This is a love that is not tainted by anger or lust (vv. 21-30), that remains committed to one’s marriage and to one’s word (vv. 31-37), and that seeks what is best even for one’s enemies (vv. 38-47). Jesus thus calls his disciples to reflect the Father’s perfect, committed, selfless, merciful love in their own lives.

continued….

 

[TominAdelaide]

Fr William Most:

5:48. The command to be perfect: Jesus tells us to be perfect as our Heavenly Father is perfect. Since His Holiness is infinite, it is evident no creature can ever attain that. So one can never say he has done enough, gone far enough. It means one must constantly strive and keep on moving.

In an Encyclical for the third centenary of St. Francis de Sales, Pius XI commented on this command of Our Lord: “Let no one think that this invitation is addressed to a small very select number and that all others are allowed to stay in a lower degree of virtue… this law obliges everyone, without exception.” Paul VI, in an address to the 13th National Congress of the Italian Feminine Center in 1966 said: that marriage “is a long path toward sanctification.” For explanation, cf. Wm. Most, Our Father’s Plan, pp. 145-49.

We distinguish three kinds of perfect love of God. The first would love God as much as He deserves. No creature is capable of that. The second would love God with all its powers, constantly, at every moment, without any intermission or slackening. This is possible only in Heaven. The third kind is that which it possible on this earth: It is a love that puts our wills perfectly in harmony with His, so that it positively wills everything the soul knows He positively wills, and preserves a pliability for those things in which His will is not yet clear, or not entirely clear.

Imagine what this requirement meant in our Blessed Mother. At the time of her Son’s death, she knew that it was the will of the Father that He die, die then, die so horribly. So she was called on to not just acquiesce, but to positively will it! And this in collision with her love which was so great even at the start of her life that Pius IX wrote (in Ineffabilis Deus, 1854), speaking of her holiness, (which in practice is the same as love): “none greater under God can be thought of, and only God can comprehend it.” That meant strictly, literally incomprehensible suffering!

The will is the only free thing in us. If we could make it perfectly aligned with His, there would no more to be done. It excludes not only mortal and deliberate venial sin, but also every voluntary imperfection. In that condition, a soul will still commit some venial sins of frailty or surprise. Not all of these can be avoided in this life. But fully deliberate venial sins can be avoided, and definitely block progress. If a soul has an “affection” to venial sin, no further growth is possible. Affection means the soul’s attitude if expressed completely, would be like this: I do not intend to commit any mortal sin, nor every venial sin that tempts me. But on the other hand, I do not plan to avoid every venial sin: sometimes it would be inconvenient to avoid lying, and it is good fellowship at times to join in a bit of uncharitable conversation. These are as it were gaps in the soul’s purpose of amendment, they as it were put a clamp on one’s heart, setting limits. Absolutely no further progress can be made as long as a soul harbors even one of these affections.

 

[John_Martin]

Moreover, “disciples” doesn’t mean “perfect ones”.

The 12 “μαθηταὶ” are the “τέλειοι”, the disciples are the “You shall be τέλειοι” (perfect ones, teleioi is plural, not singular).

 

[Dr_Meinheimer]

If you look at the Greek of the word perfect, it implies an unattainable situation that will take work to reach… and thus you need to gain virtue

This is true of anything deemed perfect.

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[Gorgias]

Look again.

Jesus sees the crowds. They are watching.

Then the disciples come up to him and he instructs them.

In Luke, I might give you a pass. Here, though, it’s “crowds and disciples” to whom Jesus is speaking. (Are you really claiming that Jesus isn’t speaking to the crowds here? Or that the message is only for the disciples?)

Clearly, He’s speaking to the crowds! We need only turn to the end of his discourse to see that this is the case:

When Jesus finished these words, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.

(Mt 7:28-29)

The 12 “μαθηταὶ” are the “τέλειοι”

The twelve are anything but perfect! You’ve got sons of thunder, who wish to call down fire upon people; you’ve got a leader who constantly waffles and denies Jesus; and you’ve got a man who betrays him. The twelve are hardly “perfect.”

the disciples are the “You shall be τέλειοι” (perfect ones, teleioi is plural, not singular).

Jesus is speaking to a crowd. OF COURSE it’s in the plural!

 

[John_Martin]

In Luke, I might give you a pass. Here, though, it’s “crowds and disciples” to whom Jesus is speaking. (Are you really claiming that Jesus isn’t speaking to the crowds here? Or that the message is only for the disciples?)

Clearly, He’s speaking to the crowds! We need only turn to the end of his discourse to see that this is the case:

When Jesus finished these words, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.

Are you someone, from whom a pass is worth anything?
“When Jesus finished these words, the crowds were astonished at his teaching [of his disciples] for he taught them [disciples] as one having authority, and not as their [crowd’s] teachers” ; wherefore, we crowds need to become disciples of this new teacher so he might teach us as he teaches these 12.

The twelve are anything but perfect!

That is correct; Jesus is teaching them what they SHALL BE (future tense, not imperative, and not present nor past)
Sons of Thunder became perfect as promised by Jesus, “You SHALL BE perfect”, you need only read John’s Gospel, his Letters, his Revelation to see his LOVE IN ACT rather than LOVE AS A POTENTIAL MAYBE IT WILL HAPPEN. John loved with a Thunderously Perfect Love.

Jesus is speaking to a crowd . OF COURSE it’s in the plural!

A crowd of 12, yes, but not the hundreds listening in as he teaches his 12.

Overhearing is a major theme for Matthew, which is why he points out how Jesus speaks clearly only to the 12 (which clarity is the sermon on the mount), but in parables to the crowds (although Matthew allows outsiders to eavesdrop on the clarity the 12 receive. We all read the bible, but the parable explanations are only for the 12 and those they teach; we only get Jesus’ words as our own because a taught disciple has taught us clearly, not because we read the bible. We are lured to seek out the Church so that we may be made disciples and be taught by those sent, not by our own reading or eavesdropping.

 

[Gorgias]

Are you someone, from whom a pass is worth anything?
“When Jesus finished these words, the crowds were astonished at his teaching [of his disciples] for he taught them [disciples] as one having authority, and not as their [crowd’s] teachers”

Umm… are you someone from whom these personal interpolations into the Scripture text is worth anything?

Seriously… all you’ve done here is insert words to support your personal eisegesis. Not at all convincing.

 

[TominAdelaide]

The New Jerome Bible Commentary also discusses the “moral” evolution of these verses:

4:48. General conclusion on retaliation and love of enemies. We can trace a five-stage evolution in biblical thinking on this topic: (1) unlimited revenge (Gen 4:15, 24); (2) talion or limited revenge (Deut 19:16-21); (3) the silver rule, “Do not do unto others what you would not have them do unto you” (Tob 4:15); (4) the golden rule (Matt 7:12, more positive than the silver rule, reaching out to do good, taking the initiative to create an atmosphere of good will); loving one’s enemies, an invitation to moral heroism and sanctity (Matt 5:44).