Perfection and Holiness

Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A

Modern society applauds the drive for excellence – it cherishes motivational success stories of athletes, musicians, business personalities and others whose dedicated striving elevated them to new heights of achievement. But what seems problematic is having too much of it – too much of excellence or too much of perfection may end up in the personality disorder called perfectionism. And so there has been a shift from what was culturally prized, to something which society now views as a kind of neurotic disorder.

This growing aversion to, and suspicion of perfection has led to a broader acceptance and tolerance, and sometimes even glorification, of imperfection. In the moral sphere, this paradigm shift has also led to a reversal of values. If in the past, sin was regarded as something shameful, scandalous and abnormal; today, such behaviour would be accepted as normal and acceptable. Holiness and piety, on the other hand, are regarded as anomalies, the result of shame-driven neurosis that needs to be contained and cured.  We frequently hear the following caution from well-intentioned persons, “Don’t try to be too holy” as if the condition of being too holy could even lead to either permanent brain damage or our damnation.  Both in secular media as well as among liberal theological circles, we witness a tendency to vilify saints matched by the canonisation of villains. Notice how Hollywood depicts witches, vampires and people who have abandoned God or religion as the new heroes. Religious people, on the other hand, are frequently depicted as scheming, narrow-minded and unkind. The message is clear – if you want to stay normal, if you want to be nice and kind, stay away from religion at all cost.

Holiness as a life-goal is no longer fashionable in our society, and perhaps, even within the ranks of the Church, and there are understandable reasons for this. First, holiness has often been associated with an otherworldly mysticism that supposedly leads people away from the crying needs and concerns of daily life. The holy person then appears to be a dropout from society. Holiness has also been confused with neurotic perfectionism—the illusion that one’s best is never good enough, thus filling us with a perpetual gnawing feeling of inadequacy. Finally, holiness has been confounded with a legalistic mentality that insists on rigorous adherence to moral codes often stated in negations—no drinking, no smoking, no drugs, no dancing, no card-playing, etc. In other words, if you choose to be holy – no fun! 

For a culture that has grown weary and even intolerant of holiness and perfection, our Lord’s words at the end of today’s gospel must be a cause of confusion: “You shall be perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect.” For many of us, the commandment to be perfect triggers feelings of anxiety and discomfort. Jesus seems to be advocating a new kind of evangelical perfectionism. Perhaps, the real problem is that many confuse the commandment of Jesus to be perfect with the call to perfectionism. “Perfect," in this context, means "complete, finished, fully developed.” Who doesn’t wish for this?  Notice that the term does not mean “flawless!”  

For people who struggle with perfectionism, it is always a personal struggle to outdo themselves. They are much too hard on themselves, expecting perfection from themselves and becoming bitter and even hating themselves for coming up short. Perfectionism is an obsession with control and Christian perfectionists often believe that they can earn God’s love and work their way to heaven. They fail to understand God’s grace and the nature of His unconditional love. They forget that perfection belongs to God alone, but the story doesn’t end there. 

Yes, the goal of Christian life is perfection. But perfection isn’t perfectionism. In fact, Christian perfection is not just different from perfectionism, it’s diametrically opposed. The very perfectionist impulse that makes us winners in the world’s eyes is the one we need to overcome on our journey to eternal life with Christ. If perfectionism is about control, perfection is about surrender, about letting go so that God can be in control. For only God can perfect us, and He did so by sending His Son Jesus Christ to die as a perfect sacrifice for sin.  Though we are flawed, we can be forgiven, saved, sanctified, and perfected.  St Paul assures the Philippians in Chapter 1 verse 6, “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.”  Christ completes us. Paul reminds us that perfection and the call to holiness isn’t a singular one-off event but a process of sanctification as we continue to learn to walk in the path of Christ.  Perfection is never possible by our own efforts, that’s the illusion posed by perfectionism. Perfectionism can indeed be an obstacle to perfection in holiness because it prevents us from allowing God to perfect the good work He has begun in us. Thus, we should struggle against perfectionism, yes; but always be ready to embrace perfection, especially in the area of spiritual excellence.

For a Christian, the way to reach perfection is to strive for holiness. Perfection and holiness are synonyms. What is true perfection? Christ's words are clear and disconcerting: “Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.” These words sum up all the six examples or antithesis we’ve heard in last week’s and this week’s gospel. In the Old Testament, Israel was to imitate God in His Holiness (“Be Holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy” Lev 19:2). But this eventually evolved into an understanding, which was prevalent at the time of Jesus, that saw it as a call to separate oneself from all that is unholy – sin, sinners, Gentiles, women, and so on. But then our Lord called into question this minimalistic way of thinking. He reminded us that being good is just not good enough. What is demanded of us is perfection. And perfection is not just separation, it is uniting oneself to God. In other words, our attitudes toward others must be the same as those of our Father in heaven. We must imitate the Father’s perfect, committed, selfless, merciful love. To have God as our model is a dizzying thought! Yet the Church reminds us that, all the faithful, whatever their condition or state in life, are called by the Lord to that perfect holiness. Mother Teresa of Calcutta wrote: “Holiness is not something for the extraordinary; it is not a luxury of the few. Holiness is the simple duty for each one of us.”

We do humbly acknowledge that the perfection and love to which our Lord calls us is beyond the capacity of our fallen human nature. For man perfection may seem impossible - we can’t accomplish holiness without God’s grace. But with Him, though, “all things are possible” (Matt. 19:26). But it’s not going to be easy. The way of gospel perfection is the narrow way, it demands a life-time of surrender, a life-time of dying to oneself. Letting go of our need to be in-charge, and letting God take charge. It is a life-time’s project; it is always work-in-progress. Unlike the pursuit of perfectionism, a life aimed at attaining Christian perfection probably won’t impress your family, neighbours or friends. But the gift of the Spirit received through faith and the sacraments, makes perfection. Our Lord summons us to a heavenly way of life; the saints show that it is possible to live this way on earth.