“You shall not bear hatred for your brother or sister in your heart. Though you may have to reprove your fellow citizen, do not incur sin because of him.”
This injunction from the Book of Leviticus should be pinned to the top of everyone’s Facebook page and Twitter feed; it should be broadcast at the start of every CNN and Fox News program; and it should be tattooed on the insides of our eyelids (never mind that the same chapter of Leviticus prohibits tattoos!). This command from the Lord – and it is a command – is one that is so often ignored in our society – and because of that ignorance, our society is fragmented and divided so bitterly.
In our day and age, everything has become an opportunity to disagree vehemently; and every subject is a chance for folks to open their mouths and reveal their own ignorance. With each congressional procedure and presidential action, millions of average Americans suddenly become constitutional scholars. In the face of the pope’s release of some statement or another, thousands of theologians emerge as experts on the theology of celibacy or the history of the Church or biblical scholarship. And their expression of their opinions is never quiet and balanced; rather, it comes with ad hominem attacks and closed ears to their opponents.
Doesn’t this seem to fly in the face of what the Lord is commanding? It is certainly contrary to Christ’s admonition to “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” This weekend, the Word of God calls us to be holy and to be perfect to show that we belong to God. Does picking online fights contribute to our holiness or that of others? Does gleefully correcting everyone’s foibles create a society of neighborly love? Jesus is calling us to be different from the world. Anyone can react with sarcasm and anger when they are irritated. Children of the heavenly Father have to be different; in fact, we have to be better!
Saint Paul urges us to remember how wonderful we are. In fact, we are the temple of God, and the dwelling place of the Spirit of God; and this temple of God, which you are, is holy. That word, “holy,” in English comes from a root that implies completeness, fullness, healthy, and sound.” It is related to the Greek word for “perfect,” which denotes also completeness, fulfillment, and integrity. These two terms – holy and perfect – are presented in our readings today as the ordinary attitudes or dispositions of the People of God, both Israel of the Old Testament and the Church of the New.
From this, we can infer that any departure from holiness or perfection, in light of our Scriptures today, means an injury to that wholeness – even destruction, as Paul says. Our society is very much given over to the quick retort and the clever rebuke. Usually, this takes the form of a thoughtless insult and hurtful language. Sometimes, it’s a sarcastic cliché like “OK, Boomer.” Whatever form it takes, we are falling short of the holiness that God commands as part of our relationship with Him – as well as with one another. While the world may affirm that sort of behavior, Scripture (God’s Word) does not. Therefore, “If any one among you considers himself wise in this age. Let him become a fool, so as to become wise.”
Loving God and our neighbor as ourselves is one of the cornerstones of our relationship with Him. Trying to live that love out perfectly will take a lifetime. However, that is what God gives us – each our own time. If God is love, then in order to be perfect and holy like God we must become love ourselves. St. Francis of Assisi prayed, “Most high, glorious God, enlighten the darkness of my heart and give me, Lord, a correct faith, a certain hope, a perfect charity, sense and knowledge, so that I may carry out your holy and true command.” For Francis, love was the perfection of the Christian, and love was the only teacher of “sense and knowledge” – what St. Paul calls today true wisdom.
This week, let’s dedicate ourselves again to the pursuit of that perfect charity that makes us like God. In all our interactions – online and off – may we hear our brothers and sisters and presume the best from them and for them, and may we respond to them in that same charity. If we can do that, we are on our way to perfection, we are on our way to holiness.
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