The Holy Martyr Lucillianus and those with him
Romans 1:7-12; Matthew 5:42-48
Read Matthew 5:42-48
Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory forever!
Jesus entrusts us with two apparently impossible mandates “to be perfect” and “to love our enemies,” which seem to be totally unrealistic for any human being with his or her natural limitations. Why when Jesus demands from us something we are not capable of accomplishing? Does He only encourage us to desire that perfection and unconditional love and constantly strive to achieve the unachievable? Or does he actually believe that by the grace of God we may become able to fulfill these most radical commandments?
In order to achieve more clarity in this matter, we should turn to the original Koine text of the Gospel. The Greek word for perfect is τέλειος (teleios), which has very little to do with our common understanding of abstract philosophical perfection and in fact is very practical, achievable and functional. The sheep without any blemish ready to be sacrificed in the Temple is τέλειος, as well as a healthy man who reached his adulthood or a student at the time of his graduation can be referred to as being τέλειος. In fact the word τέλειος is a derivative from the word τέλος meaning an end or a goal. Therefore, to be perfect means to achieve an ultimate aim by full realization of our vocation and fulfilling the purpose for which we were created. It may not be an easy task to complete, but with God’s grace, it is certainly an attainable one.
As for the commandment of “loving our enemies,” we can once again remind ourselves that there are at least four words in Koine that correspond to a single English word “love.” Love that exists between parents and their children can be designated as στοργή (storgi) or family love. Physical love that involves sexuality is expressed by the well known Old Greek word ἔρως (eros), while for love between the dearest friends Greeks would use the word φιλία (filia). The fourth word for love in Koine is ἀγάπη (agape), which is used in this passage of the Gospel and it means unsurpassable benevolence and inviolable goodwill, and that is with this kind of love Jesus encourages us to love our enemies. He understands that we are not capable to love them as those who are dearest (φιλία) and closest (στοργή) to us, but He encourages us to put aside the emotions of our hearts and to love every person including those who persecute us by our will and determination of our mind. Therefore, once again loving our enemies might not be an easy task to fulfill, but by the grace of God it is achievable.
God does not demand from us the impossible things, but he encourages us to attain the goals to which we were called as His followers.