Word to the Wise
Wednesday, January 6, 2010 - Christmas Weekday
[1 John 4:11-18 and Mark 6:45-52]God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him. In this is love brought to perfection among us, that we have confidence on the day of judgment because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment, and so one who fears is not yet perfect in love.
Many of us can remember the Baltimore Catechism teaching about "perfect" and "imperfect" contrition. "Imperfect" contrition was sorrow based on fear of hell, and "perfect" contrition was sorrow based on having offended someone we should love - God! Any parent can probably speak of instances of that in their children as well! The traditional Act of Contrition seemed to cover both bases: I detest all my sins because I dread the loss of heaven and the pains of hell; but most of all because they offend thee, my God, who are all good and deserving of all my love.... (with local variations!) It would seem that we have been trying to "straddle" the perfect and the imperfect for centuries. The plain fact is that we can't do that. Since none of us is God, we are by definition "imperfect" but we are good because we are made in the image and likeness of God. What we can do is address as best we can the fears that keep us from loving better. The subject is immense and religious and secular bookstores are full of self-help books on how to love! I can only point to a possible path, and then only to the beginning of it. When we think about God, do we experience any "fear" in that thought? What is that fear, and where does it come from? Do we have any similar fears in our personal relationships with others? Where do those fears come from? If "perfect love" casts out all fear, at least our imperfect love can help us to address some of those fears, and if we keep trying, we may find ourselves doing about as good as we can in this life to enjoy the love of God and neighbor instead of being afraid of them! AMEN