Reminder

“Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48).

Saint Joseph and Christ (San Migel Gallery)

I am a fickle creature.  I try to do things properly and make so many mistakes.  Sometimes I have an idea fixed in my mind in one minute and by the next, I am completely distracted and cannot hold firm to my resolution even for a moment – even to save my own life – or my soul…

Because I understand this and know how this impacts me I live a life of extreme gratitude for the Gift of Salvation.  You see, there is nothing that I could do to save myself.  How could I?  After all, the perfect world and reality that God had planned for me was destroyed by sin – Original Sin.  This terrible affront to God means that we human beings are incapable of repairing the chasm that was created by that action.  In fact, when God created the world and created us humans in it, He knew that we would sin and that a consequence of that sin would be the suffering and death of Our Lord Christ, who is God Himself.  He knew that He would have to atone for the sin in the same way that a mother must repair the damage caused by her toddler’s temper tantrum.  You see, even if the toddler tries to repair the damage themselves, they are incapable and do not have the skills to ix the mess that they have created.  It is the same with me.  Even with the very best of intentions and the best of sacrifices.  Even with the most sinless heart – and mine is not sinless – I would still not be able to atone for the sins of my soul and for the sins of humanity because I am imperfect.  The only way to atone for a loss of perfection (which is what had been offered to us prior to the Fall of Humankind) is to make a perfect offering.  And the only Being who is capable of making such an offering is God Himself…

And yet, even though we cannot make those sorts of offerings for God we can certainly try to offer something – just as a toddler might try to collect the toys from the floor after throwing them there in a tantrum.  And just as with a toddler, we cannot really repair the damage caused by sin, we can show contrition for it and ask forgiveness for it and promise to try not to make anything worse…

It is for this reason that Christ set an example of how we should be…

“Jesus said, ‘My Father is working still, and I am working...  Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing; for whatever he does, that the Son does likewise...  I can do nothing on my own authority; as I hear, I judge; and my judgement is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me.’” (John 5:17-30).

Today's Gospel follows immediately on from yesterday's account of the healing of the crippled man by the pool. Apparently some Jews thought that healing on the Sabbath was a bad idea. But Jesus answered them that His Father was working on the Sabbath and so was Jesus, because He does what the Father does.

Jesus is a Good Son, always doing what His Father wants, in perfect unity with Him. Like Father like Son. That's what good children do: they learn everything from their parents. They take after their father and mother in the way they move, speak, or act... It may have happened to you sometimes that someone recognises in you some features or gestures of your mother or father and says: 'you remind me a lot of your mother' or 'your father does the same thing'. Do I remind people of my Father God with my bearing?

Christ fulfils His mission when He reminds us of our Heavenly Father…  “be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48).

And I have been thinking about that reminder today.  For it sees timely and necessary for a fickle soul like mine…

For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.