"Perfection?"by Bishop William S. Skylstad (From the Oct. 24, 2002 edition of the Inland Register)
We need not focus on corporate executives to know that this problem in general is a much more pervasive problem of the human heart. The desire for perfection today takes many different forms: the perfect body, the perfect job, the perfect church, the perfect security, the perfect home, the perfect marriage, the perfect role in ministry. Yet, this dreamed-of perfection never matches reality. We all basically live somewhat messy lives. We are human. And we must be honest about those values which are and will be truly humanizing and life-giving to us. There is an appropriate kind of perfection to which we can and should aspire. Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount alludes to that challenge: “So be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). Perfection will only be found in God, and our own search, although never fully realized in this world, must be constant and ongoing. God continues to mold and form us. In a little over a week, we will be celebrating the two feasts of All Saints and All Souls. All Saints Day reminds us of countless others who have gone before, seeking holiness of life in ordinary daily experiences. Clearly their focus was on the journey of conversion, dependency upon God, extraordinary love of God and others, and a great sense of humility about what was important in life. The trick is how we direct our own desire to be perfect. If we direct that desire toward our relationship with the Lord Jesus and, through him, to the community of faith and to the world, then we will find much more satisfaction and meaning on our complex journey of faith. On the other hand, we can be very self-absorbed, living out our fantasies about rugged individualism - fantasies which never satisfy and never fulfill. Joy and satisfaction in life are the result of relating and responding to the call of the Lord Jesus, a call to be a loving, forgiving, and generous people. Self-absorption blinds us to that call and to that promise. Insatiable desires must be channeled and directed to God. Pointing them in any other direction, hoping for satisfaction from any other source, leads to frustration, despondency, and a yearning for wholeness which will never be satisfied. We don’t have to be perfect to be loved by the Lord Jesus. To the contrary! Jesus is constantly the one who searches out those who are imperfect, who are hurting. “Those who are healthy do not need a physician. Sick people do.” In his ministry Jesus befriends all except those who reject him - and even then he is forgiving. He constantly reaches out to people so that they might be more whole, either physically and/or spiritually. His gentleness and affirmation are signs of how he deals with each one of us. We don’t need other external props to attempt to bolster our self-esteem and happiness of life. They just don’t work. Like the newspaper article showed, those lives that seem to have it all end up in disaster. As followers of Jesus, we should know where our foundation of life is built upon. As we look to our own holiness of life and our constantly searching for it through Jesus, we are mindful of St. Paul’s words when he tells us, “We are ambassadors of Christ, Christ as it were appealing through us.” As Jesus treats us with great compassion and is constantly present to us that we might have life and have it to the full, so we need to be present to one another in generosity, love, and forgiveness without end. That is where the real wisdom and depth of our spiritual lives shine forth. Every attempt to put down, exact vengeance, and demonize is contrary to being “ambassadors of Christ.” We seriously carry within every one of us the responsibility for one another, as Jesus cares for each of us. Obviously, that lifestyle is not easy. Jesus uses all of us as his instruments for the kingdom unfolding amongst us right now. With all of this in mind, perhaps we can pray daily even more devoutly the Our Father, a prayer which reminds us and encourages us: “Thy kingdom come.” May God bless all of you and give you peace.
Bishop Skylstad’s Schedule
Oct. 24: Mass, 11 a.m., National Pastoral Care Week, Sacred Heart Medical Center
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The Oct. 11 edition of USA Today included a very candid article which described the wrestling of the human heart that accompanies leadership positions in the corporate world. The reason for the wrestling was attributed to the “warped mind-set” of those who become trapped in a skewed vision about life and about themselves. One executive coach commented that, “they keep building monuments to themselves to dispose of their negative self images. That, of course, never works.” Several explanations were given as to why all of this was occurring: poor self-image; the myth that somehow convinces these individuals that they deserve it; unchecked fantasies; society’s blessing; competitiveness gone awry; lonesome soldier syndrome; boredom; and real-life examples of how power corrupts. One author commented about the situation: “Their desires became insatiable once they reached the top.”