TV Mass Homily February 19, 2017

“Be perfect just as your heavenly Father is perfect” Jesus challenges his disciples and us as we continue to hear the Sermon on the Mount. The first reading from Leviticus also sets forth that call to perfection which is a call to holiness. “The Lord said to Moses, ‘speak to the whole Israelite community and tell them: be holy, for I, the Lord, you God am holy.” Its teaching is summarized in the Great Commandment which Jesus also recalled: “you shall love the Lord your God with all your mind, and heart and soul and strength, and your neighbor as yourself.”
The journey to greater holiness is a challenging one given our fallen human nature, the temptations of the evil one and the relativism of the secular culture. Recognizing this Jesus by instituting the Church and the sacraments and by his teaching and witness offers practical assistance on how to do so.
The Sermon on the Mount has been called the greatest sermon ever proclaimed. St. Augustine noted: “If anyone will piously and soberly consider the sermon which our Lord Jesus Christ spoke on the mount, as we read it in the Gospel according to Matthew, I think that he will find in it, so far as regards the highest morals, a perfect standard of the Christian life.” Reflection on the Sermon on the Mount might be a worthy practice during the upcoming season of Lent.
Building on the Old Testament teaching, especially the Ten Commandments, Jesus offers practical advice on how to grow in holiness. He notes what law in Leviticus commanded with the words, “you have heard that is was said” and then, “but I say to you” and then raises the bar. They call us to be firm in faith and strong in witness.
In today’s Gospel Jesus sets forth some of the most familiar, most repeated and most difficult moral principles to live out: Turn the other cheek, go the extra mile, do not turn your back on the borrower, love your enemies, pray for your persecutors.
These seemingly simple directives are not simple to put into practice. Sometimes it is hard to live Christian principles because we allow others to set the tone for us. A man walked with a friend and bought a newspaper at a city stand. “One paper please”, said the man. A grunt was the response of the seller. The money was exchanged. “Thank you for your service,” the man said. There was no response only a cold glare. “I wonder what is bothering him,” his friend said. “O, nothing. He’s always that way.” “Why then do you treat him so politely?” “Why should I let him decide how I’m going to act,” was the response. Do we allow others to determine how joyfully we live out our faith?
Love your enemy is one of the hardest for us. Just who is our enemy? The Ministry of Agriculture in another country decreed that sparrows were eating too much of the crops and must be exterminated. When this was done hoards of insects descended and ravaged the crops. To counter this, costly pesticides were mandated which raised the price for the people and created health hazards. Too late it was discovered that it was the sparrows that while feeding on the crops managed to balance the insect presence in a way that government edict could not. The government should have asked the local farmers for their advice. Sometimes our seeming enemies are our friends; in any case Jesus also called for us to pray for our persecutors.
Jesus also calls us to go the extra mile, even it requires sacrifice. During a past war a soldier went to his commanding officer and said, “My friend isn’t back from the battlefield. Request permission to go out and get him, sir.” “Permission denied. I don’t want you to risk your life for a man who is probably dead,” replied the officer. The soldier went anyway. An hour later he came back carrying the body of his friend having though been seriously wounded himself. The officer was furious. “I told you he was dead. Now I’ve lost both of you. Tell me; was it worth it going out there to bring in a corpse?” The soldier replied, “Yes it was, sir. When I got to him he was still alive. He said to me, ‘Jack, I was sure you’d come.” Do we go the extra mile to be present to those who rely on us? The crucifix is an icon of going the extra mile.
.” A simple word or gesture of understanding, compassion, encouragement can move us a long way on our journey to perfection and to witness our faith for others to see.
Catholic Digest had this beautiful story a few years ago. A man wrote fondly about his stepdad who was a man of few words and showed little emotion. When he was 13 he decided to plant a garden. After choosing the spot his stepdad mentioned that the location had serious problems for a garden. The boy ignored the warning and it was not mentioned again. Over time the boy learned the truth, the soil was bad and the sunshine insufficient. When the puny plants grew a few inches animals would eat them. The boy tried all kinds of things to ward them off – moth balls, fragrant soap, guard duty. Finally he gave up in despair, slumped down and started to cry. Then he felt his stepdad’s hand on his shoulder. He quickly wiped his eyes only to look up and see his dad’s eyes were misty too. Then the boy now man wrote, “My stoic, tough as nails stepfather said, “Don’t feel sad son. I think God probably used you to feed some of his animals this year.” That was a beautiful step forward on the journey toward holiness.
“You must be made perfect as you Father is perfect,” Jesus said. None of us is perfect, but we are called to work toward greater perfection. He makes it easy for us to do so by offering such clear teachings which can serve as a benchmark for our progress. It does not require big actions, only intentional ones, taking to heart when Jesus says, but what I say. For our reward will be great in heaven.