It is not unusual for us to hear Jesus calling us to a higher standard of morality. We are to do unto others what we would want done for us, not just avoid doing things we would not like to have done to us. We are to love one another not just in our actions but also in our hearts. The list goes on and, at least to some extent, the standards Jesus articulates for us seem like something we might be able to achieve if we work at it. But today Jesus sets a standard that we all know is simply beyond us. He says we are to be "perfect, as (our) heavenly Father is perfect." (Mt 5: 48) Really? Perfect? As God is perfect? Can't be done. We can't be perfect, and certainly can't be perfect as God is perfect. So is Jesus just setting us up to fail, to fall victim to some sort of guilt-trip by assigning us a task that is simply beyond us? Why does Jesus give us this impossible command? A couple of thoughts. First of all, it isn't a bad thing to have a goal that is beyond our abilities, or, as the old expression puts it, "our reach should exceed our grasp." Where we set our goal is a big determiner of where we will end up, so trying for something impossible isn't necessarily bad. Runners would never have broken the seemingly-impossible 4-minute mile barrier if they hadn't established the goal of trying to do so. Sometime these days we get told that "pretty good" is good enough. "You did your best," folks say to cushion the blow when someone fails in some task. Everyone is a winner; everyone gets a trophy; we're all to be celebrated for our achievements. I understand the need to console folks, and I appreciate that there is a benefit in just showing up and trying. But if that's our goal-- just to show up and try-- we'll never get very good. As Yoda (in the Star Wars movies) said: "Don't try. Do." So perhaps Jesus is giving us the ultimate goal-- to be perfect-- as a way to get us to be the best possible people we can be from a spiritual and moral perspective. Yes, we will fail from time to time, but maybe we'll fail less often, and in less serious ways, if we have as our goal to be perfect, rather than settling for a goal of being "pretty good" or "good enough." Secondly, having a goal we can't achieve by ourselves reminds us of our need to rely on God. If we want to be "perfect" like our Heavenly Father, the only way to get there-- or even close to there-- is through God's grace. If we want to be "good enough," we might be able to get there on our own-- through spiritual discipline, fasting, prayer and such. All those things can make us better from a spiritual perspective. But there is a danger in focusing on those things, and that is that we will think we can somehow pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps and don't need God. We imagine that we are righteous, when we are only self-righteous. We think we are holy, when we are only displaying outward signs of holiness. If we remember that our challenge is to be perfect, not just good (or even very good), and if we're being honest with ourselves, we are driven to the realization that anything close to perfection can only happen if we cooperate with God's grace, not through our own efforts. So let's take up the challenge Jesus gives us today. Let's try to be perfect, in each decision we make and in all that we do. And when we fail, as we all will to some extent, let's not wallow in guilt but remember our need for God's grace. Be perfect!