(1 Kgs 21:17-29 / Mt 5:43-48): Perfection is Not Flawlessness, But Mercy That Fills the Deficiency of Love
Dear brothers and sisters, these days we find ourselves meditating on the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which pours itself out unsparingly with burning passion and love for us, and we long to follow closely in His footsteps. In response to this desire, Jesus clearly sets before us the goal of our faith and life: "So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect." (Mt 5:48) Hearing these words, we might feel a sense of dread, fearing that we can never measure up to such a standard. We often feel discouraged because hatred and selfishness still linger within us, and we encounter our own weakness that collapses several times a day.
However, the "perfection" (perfectio) spoken of in the Gospel does not mean a "flawlessness" that is completely devoid of any blemish. The perfection of God is essentially a "state free from any deficiency of love"—that is, a "boundless mercy" that excludes no one and embraces all. As today’s Gospel tells us, "for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust." God's perfection is a love that does not calculate, an expansive embrace that never grows weary no matter how much it fills and pours out.
Yet, we often find ourselves shaken by the temptation to judge and condemn others in the name of "perfect justice," and we even cause pain to others through our own self-centered judgments and actions. In today’s First Reading, King Ahab and Jezebel killed an innocent man, Naboth, and seized his vineyard simply to satisfy their own interests and greed. Though they appeared to wield power flawlessly and secure their own advantage, their souls were in the most wretched state, utterly devoid of love.
Nevertheless, even before such a cruel sinner, God's mercy does not stop. In the First Book of Kings, when Ahab heard the solemn day of judgment from the prophet Elijah, he tore his garments, fasted, and humbly sought to make amends. Seeing this, the Lord said, "Have you seen that Ahab has humbled himself before me?" (1 Kgs 21:29) God focused not on Ahab's sins, but rather on his emptied soul and repentant heart. This is precisely the perfection of God. When we see the shortcomings and faults of others, instead of wielding them like a blade to pass judgment, we fill that deficiency of love with our own mercy and forgiveness. This is the path of perfection that Jesus speaks of.
Dear brothers and sisters, as we offer this Mass today, let us turn the gaze of our hearts toward the relationships around us that are still fractured and where wounds have not yet healed.
When we demand flawlessness from one another, relationships break. Standards like "Why can they only do this much for me?" or "Why is that person like that?" only make the other person's deficiencies stand out. Today, the Lord invites us to apply the mortar of "deeper mercy and forgiveness" to those broken cracks.
To love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us is completely impossible by our human nature.
However, when we remember that we too are sinners whose deficiencies are forgiven by God each day, we can finally become instruments of peace capable of embracing others. Let us ask that the Holy Spirit of the Lord, who is perfect love itself within us, may heal those wounds, rather than relying on our own strength.
Furthermore, the world we live in still breeds countless antagonisms and conflicts because it fails to see the whole picture, chasing only immediate interests and power. The selfishness that completely excludes those who are different from us, seeking flawlessly only the benefits of one's own group or nation, threatens world peace. This is truly foolish, for we certainly cannot exist alone.
Like Jesus, when we imitate the love of our heavenly Father who embraces even His enemies, the conflicts of this world can finally cease. Moving beyond a "selective love" that only loves those who are pleasing to us, we must expand the space of our prayers and hearts even to those who are different from us, and even to those who have hurt us. This is the way of life for the children of God who heal this world.
During this Holy Mass today, let us pray that all of us may be deeply imbued with the perfect love of the Lord. Let us ask for the grace to remove the remnants of hatred lingering in our hearts, and for the courage to extend greater forgiveness and mercy to those wounded relationships that have not yet healed. Furthermore, let us earnestly implore the Lord’s mercy so that the leaders of this world and all humanity may abandon the foolishness of selfish conflict and seek a path of coexistence where we can live and prosper together.
Rather than striving to be flawless, when we fill someone else's deficiency with our love, our heavenly Father will look upon us with joy, embrace us, and say, "You are truly my perfect child. Amen.