TIME FOR PERFECTION
March 7, 2021
Third Sunday of Lent - Year B
A Tshi proverb says, “If you have no time to take care of
your sickness, you get time to die.” And a Russian proverb adds, “Every
vegetable has its time.”
The way to perfection passes through the highway of
obedience. What makes man and differentiates him from any other creature is his
capacity to freely obey. But when a man refuses to obey, he becomes a mere
animal just good for training as we do with dogs and other pets.
Obedience is the keyword of the Christian life. It is also
one of the main attitudes of our Lenten pilgrimage. Who says obedience, says
faithfulness and it leads to perfection and the summit of wisdom.
Today's liturgy puts a special emphasis on three theological
and human virtues, obedience, purity, and perfection. These three elements are
interconnected to each other. Obedience leads to perfection and perfection is
the life in purity and wisdom.
In the first reading, we are told that the law was given by
the Lord through Moses. The Ten Commandments as we read are the tools God gave
his people for them to attain perfection. These Ten Commandments are the Vademecum
of human, social, and spiritual relationships. The three first Commandments
speak of the relationship we should entertain with God. It is all about the
burning of zeal and respect for God. We are told that primacy in everything we
do, should be given to the Lord. The
Lord says, “I, the LORD, am your God..." As consequence, "You shall
not have other gods besides me. You shall not carve idols for yourselves...;
you shall not bow down before them or worship them." Adoration belongs by
right to God alone. That is the first lesson from the Ten Commandments.
Second relevant element, our relationship with our genitors.
After the Lord, your second god on earth is your parents, says the dictum.
Therefore, due respect to them. It is also the unique Commandment that comes
with its consequences: "that you may have a long life..." Obedience
and respect to parents open to many blessings and peaceful life. Events and
today's happenings prove true that children who obey their parents are blessed,
while those who fail to obey harvest curses and disgrace.
Then the third lesson from the Commandments of the Lord is
about another aspect of social life, respect, and consideration to others. We
owe special respect to our fellow. That is expressed through caring for their
life, their integrity, and their possessions, human as well as material. Saying
man is a social being means he considers not only his personal well-being but
also that of others. Unfortunately, these sayings sound utopian today because
of the virus of indifference, individualism, and selfishness. Many live as if,
only their life matters. Others can die, nothing to do about it, as long as
they have what they need, life must go on. Some people have eyes only on what
belongs to others. The wife of the neighbor the prettiest, his car or any of
his belonging is most attractive. With that mindset, many fall in chronicle
jealousy and covet what belongs to others. Nourishing that covetousness, they
can even kill to get the things others have. The commandment of the Lord
states, “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house and wife…”
Perfection comes from contentment. And those who know how to
be contented with the little they have, are inhabited by great wisdom. St.
Paul, in the second reading, speaks of the wisdom of God: Christ Jesus. Paul
tells the Christian community that we must stop reasoning like pagans and Jews.
We are not people who thirst for the self, but God. Therefore, all we do should
be centered on him. That is the genuine and pure religion.
And Jesus, in the Gospel, through the gesture of
purification of the Temple exposes that pure religiosity. It is all about
cleaning all the artifices and giving priority to God and his Law of Love,
rather than the ritualism and exteriorism…
Religiosity, from the gesture of the Lord, is not something
one does to show, but a whole set of life. Religiosity is all about our
relationship with God and our fellow. And the Lord Jesus will give the most
perfect sign of that genuine religion, his passion, death, and resurrection.
The real and perfect religion consists in the readiness to die for what one
believes and to search for inner purity and righteousness. Pope Francis, in his
Lenten Message, draws a simple way to holiness and perfection, love. He says,
“Love is a gift that gives meaning to our lives. It enables us to view those in
need as members of our own family, as friends, brothers, or sisters. A small
amount, if given with love, never ends, but becomes a source of life and
happiness.” May the love that is Jesus give us to cultivate the perfect love
that leads to perfection and obedience to his commandments.
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