Tetelestai! Jesus says to us in the Gospel reading: Tetelestai! (At least that's the Greek translation of what were probably His Aramaic words that the evangelist gives us. Tetelestai is the plural command form of the verb, teleo, which means "to come to maturity," to "be finished," or "completed." Parents say this to kids, all the time: Grow up! In other words, "become the person you are destined to become!" (And in the case of parents, "We want you to be the person we know you are capable of becoming!") Such, too, is the wish of Jesus. He has confidence in us—all evidence to the contrary! And He asks us to "be ourselves," to "be that good person God has made us to be." The problem with translating the word as "perfect," (Be perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect!) is that we, though we are not even a dust particle in the universe, have an idea of what a perfect God ought to be, so we also have an idea of what a "perfect human being" would be. So, if we were all "perfect" we'd all be alike—our lives would be carbon copies of each other, and probably NOT very interesting! But, that isn't what "tetelestai" means. It has to do with YOU becoming all YOU can be, and ME becoming all "I" can be, and we won't look at all alike when it's all said and done. We are each to "grow up," and "grow toward the hope God had for us when He designed us." We are to MATURE.
Tetelestai is related to the word telos which means "logical conclusion," or "obvious end." The "TELOS" of an acorn is the oak tree--it has grown to its potential. No two oak trees are alike--some are gnarled, some have been snapped by lightening. Some are tall and foreboding, with high branches out of reach, others have low hanging branches that touch the ground and invite children to be climbers. To "become our true selves" is to be satisfied with who and what we are, and to be the best we can at it. An oak can't be an apple tree. It shouldn't try! YOU can only be who and what you are....I can only be who and what I am...but we can raise that bit of humanity that each of us is to noble heights.
Such were St. Paul's hopes for the Corinthians. He didn't want to have to feed them pablum forever, but spiritual meat! And spiritual meat meant that they would have to understand that EACH one of them as an individual and ALL of them as a group were the Temple of the Unseen and Unseeable God. Each was an "icon" of the eternal. A walking image of Infinity resided in the flesh and bones of each one, and even more so in the gathered community of all of them. The Light of the Eternal God was shining out of them, individually, and collectively. To harm the "temple" or "icon" of God was to harm something of God and take it from the earth, leaving us ever poorer for the loss. When they trashed each other—as our study of the letter to the Corinthians shows us that they frequently did, their local congregation being broken up into numerous factions that didn't get along well—they trashed the Divine, the Holy. If WE understood this Truth, today, think of the difference it would make in our table conversations, in our Church meetings, and even in our national political discourse!
It's one thing to "be yourself" on a personal level. That's hard work. But, it's even harder to be "ourself" as a group of individuals. A parish church is called to be "its Self," realizing that just as the Light of God is in each of the members, so that Light of God is also in the congregation. A parish needs to let the Light of its "holiness", its "wholeness", its "completeness" shine--which is the nature of Light. It always shines....but, it CAN be covered up by bushel baskets of various designs--so that the energy for good for the world is limited. We need to be asking, "What bushel baskets are keeping our Light at St. Agatha's from shining more brightly?"
And it gets even murkier when we think of "being our Self" as a nation. Oh, my goodness! Congress fights over how to do this, constantly. We are a multi-cultural nation. It's a debatable point, but I'm not sure that "Christianity" was ever the basis on which we were founded. I think the founding fathers of the nation saw some good things in the Christianity of their youth, and they didn't want to lose those elements, and used Bible quotes effectively. But, basically, they distrusted Christian churches. They had seen too much hatred in the name of love. So we were founded on more basic secular principles of justice. "We find these truths to be self evident that all men are created equal and endowed by their creator (notice, no God is named) with inalienable rights"....etc. Yet, the bushel basket of their own limited vision allowed them to sign such a document while holding slaves!
The point I'm making is that the Light of the Creator, however we define God, is in each American (as it is in each citizen of the planet). And, as Americans, we live in a nation with lots of wealth and power--both of which we seem to be losing--but, nonetheless, we have a vast amount of influence which we can use for the good. Balancing how to "be all we can be" is at the heart of issues national and international. It's at the heart of economic issues, immigration issues, and international peace and justice issues.
Something we need to be doing, here, at St. Agatha, is to be involved in the study of issues national and international in light of our call and our commitment to "let the Light shine!"
The guiding principle for the first reading was God's admonition, "You shall be holy for I the Lord your God am holy." This is what Jesus is commenting on in the Gospel. What does the "holiness" (the wholeness, the unity, the totality, the completeness) of God mean for humans? And Jesus said, "Grow up!" The context for his teaching is how we treat others: when we are offended, instead of talking things out and finding peace, we often strike back and get revenge. Jesus saw that, and said, "That's NOT the way to holiness or to spiritual maturity and completion, or fulfillment." The way to spiritual growth is to be mediators and to work at reconciliation in the world. The world has enough bullies and thugs—it doesn't need more! So, when someone tries to bully you or force you to do something, take the time to "be with" the person as you do what he demands. Learn to know him. And then, we come to the next paragraph, and when you really know him, that "enemy" will have turned into a friend and brother. This is the path of peace, and this is the path of spiritual maturity. This is what holiness means in our world.
Let's pray for the Grace, today, to be mature, spiritually deep people whose lives reflect the infinite profundity of God, and let us pray that our words and actions will foster the brotherhood and sisterhood of all humanity, and bring some peace to our world. And may God bless you all. +
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