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Written on Ash Wednesday 2008
May all beings, living Word, enjoy peace and freedom from suffering. Amen.
Breath Prayer
Breathing in: Blessed Spirit
Breathing out: Breathe in me
Breathing in: Blessed Spirit
Breathing out: Breathe through me
Wisdom Quote
Christian perfection is nothing to dread. There is pleasure in giving ourselves to one we love. There is contentment which you will never discover by giving in to your passions, but which will certainly be yours if you give yourself up to God. It is not the satisfaction of the world, but it is nonetheless genuine. It is a quiet, calm peace.
*Francois de Fenelon. Meditations and Devotions. In Bernard Bangley. Near to the Heart of God.
If we are to be "perfect" as Christ is perfect, we must strive to be as perfectly human as he, in order that he may unite us with his divine being and share with us his sonship of the heavenly Father. Hence, sanctity is not a matter of being less human, but more human than other men.
*Thomas Merton. Life and Holiness.
Today's Scripture
But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.
*Matthew 5.48, NLT
In a word, what I'm saying is, Grow up. You're kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you.
*Matthew 5.48, The Message
Wisdom Story
The Teacher confronted the showy piety of one of his disciples. When confronted, the disciple said that he was only making his holiness so apparent to be a witness for God. But the Teacher, too insightful to be fooled by the excuse, and knowing the pride many on the Path are prone to, responded, "Son, always remember, holiness makes the deepest impression when given no assistance by you. Lighthouses do not blow horns, they simply shine."
Comments
To save from an impossible, caricatured ideal, forming us into pathetically-appearing plaster saints, we need to see Christian perfection realistically. We would do well to see beautiful, subtle, and contented holiness as a very-human process, not a supra-human ideal.
This perfection every person can participate in by Grace ~ the energy of the Holy Spirit. Christian perfection is a maturing process of living to God in Christ, through the inspiration of the Vitality of Christ. Perfection, biblically, means not moral perfection but integrated wholeness. This is a deepening sacramentalization of human faculties to the Word, wherein our humanness is not reduced but enhanced toward the God-given potentials within humanness.
In devoting our humanness to God, we are saints and becoming saints. And we are well to be guided by the realism of our still being on the Journey. As wrote Pseudo-Macarious, in Homolies: [I]n the spiritual life ... [o]ne may be healthy in this and that area, but not in another. There is always some imperfection" (Bangley. Near to the Heart of God).
Reflection
1. How does accepting that you are a saint and becoming a saint potentially influence how you see and treat yourself? How you see and treat other Christians? All persons?
2. In your own words define Christian perfection?
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