Reflections of a beloved son

We are asked to be perfect.   What does that mean? Perhaps when we hear it, we think of acing everything.   Perfect attendance.   100’s.   No mistakes. No faults, no weaknesses.   But how?   We are human. How can Jesus ask that of us? In the Greek, the word translated into “perfect” actually comes from the word meaning “end.”   Not the end of something, but the end for which we were created.   And we were created for love and joy.   So perhaps Jesus was not saying that we MUST be perfect and make no mistakes, but rather we must always remember that we were loved into existence and that love and God is our end, that which our lives are directed. We are sinners and we are human – we will make mistakes but that doesn’t make God love us any less. God is our end. May we live our lives knowing this truth – the truth that our end is joy and peace and love, life with the Father, and when we live striving for that we will have reached our end. ...

It's true isn't it?  We sometimes only hear what we want to hear .  If it sounds similar to what I would say, then yes I am all in, "I hear ya."  But if what is offered is criticism , words that are hard to swallow, then "No thank you.  Didn't hear what you said."  Have you ever experienced that? Why is it so hard to listen to, let alone receive, criticism?  I know it's hard for me because it attacks my pride and selfishness .  I want to present myself as perfect , and when someone hints slightly that I am not, I get frozen, unsure how to respond, and do not listen.  In telling me that I was not as good as I believed I was, it attacks my pride; in sharing with me thoughts and ideas I could improve upon, it attacks my selfishness.  I think these two qualities are a dynamic duo, but a bad one, an unhealthy one, one that can lead to fractured relationships and destructive self image .  In today's Gospel reading , Jesus said to the Jewi...