For by one offering he has made perfect forever
those who are being consecrated.
The Holy Spirit also testifies to us, for after saying:
This is the covenant I will establish with them
after those days, says the Lord:
"I will put my laws in their hearts,
and I will write them upon their minds,"
after those days, says the Lord:
"I will put my laws in their hearts,
and I will write them upon their minds,"
he also says:
Their sins and their evildoing
I will remember no more.
I will remember no more.
Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer offering for sin.
Yesterday I reflected upon the total sacrifice of Jesus, his complete surrender to the will of the Father. Our lesson from the Letter to the Hebrews today invites us to consider what Jesus' passion, death and resurrection means for us.
The operative word here -- believe it or not -- is perfect and it applies to those who are being consecrated.
The word would defy all common sense except for its context, "He has made perfect forever." This is the work of God; very clearly perfection is not my accomplishment.
We've all pondered that fatal word in the Gospel of Saint Matthew, "So be perfect just as your heavenly Father is perfect." But what on earth does that mean? I know what a perfect score on a math test means. I can imagine a perfect game of bowling, with a score of 300. I knew a fellow who did it a few times. There may be some perfect works of art like the Mona Lisa or Michelangelo's Pieta.
But a perfect human being? I don't think so. Not by any standards I can imagine. If I was ever perfect, it certainly didn't last long. And it was only a matter of opinion, probably my mother's, and before I was two months old.
Perfect, I suspect, is a Greek word, used among Christians disciples who could read and write in Greek as they discussed Hebrew concepts. So what has God done for those who are being consecrated? It has something to do with this mysterious perfection. He, namely the Holy Spirit, has put his laws in our hearts, and written them upon our minds. He has also remembered our sins no more.
That doesn't make us ideal statues, or even perfect bodies like Charles Atlas and Bo Derek, the star of the sexist movie 10.
The perfecting work of the Holy Spirit, i hope, is to refashion the sordid mess of my life into a gospel. When Jesus of Nazareth was crucified only the most blessed could imagine what we believe, that this catastrophe revealed the perfect -- and perfecting -- mercy of God. This law which he has placed in our hearts will draw together and align the tangled web of our stories into golden cords of salvation. He will integrate the disintegrating forces of our spirit and bless us with integrity.
More importantly, the Holy Spirit will perfect our relations with one another.The sad stories of our quarrels, feuds and festering resentments will be resolved as we recognize the sonship and daughterhood of every person. How often do quarreling siblings become fiercely loyal and inseparable adults? Redeemed by the simple graces of maturity they enjoy a bond that remembers with amusement the feuds of their childhood. Their sins and their evildoing they remember no more, except to kid one another.
Such is the perfection God has promised to those who love him.
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.