Homily for Saturday of the 1st Week of Lent

If someone is a perfectionist, they tend to be a taskmaster, demanding that everything be exactly right, down to the smallest detail. However, when Jesus says, "Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect," He is not calling for a rigid form of perfectionism. In Luke's Gospel, the corresponding passage is nearly identical to today's passage from Matthew, with one key difference: instead of using "perfect," Luke uses the word "merciful." This choice indicates how Luke interpreted Jesus' message about perfection.

To be perfect, as Jesus intended, means to love others unconditionally. It involves loving people in the same way that God loves us. This theme is central to Jesus' teachings in the Sermon on the Mount: we are called to love one another with a selfless love that expects nothing in return.

Jesus encourages us to love as God loves, suggesting that this command is not impossible to fulfill. While we may struggle to love in such a divine manner on our own, we can achieve it with God's help. As Jesus later tells His disciples in Matthew's Gospel, "For God, all things are possible."