“Not Too Clean, Please”
Lent 2010 – Day 10; Saturday, February 27.
Deshi Ramadhani, SJ
Do you believe that if you clean your ear or nose too well, you might create an infection right there? I’ve had both, nose infection, and some years later, ear infection. Do you know what the doctor said? “Clean it, but not too clean!” Well, fair enough. My ear or nose needs that greasy, disgusting, yellowish substance to protect itself.
Loving my enemies, forgiving them, even praying for them don’t always come easy. Many times I’ve asked God to help me to forgive them. Yet, I know they are still there. What if those painful experiences actually need to be there to make me function well? Could they be like that greasy substance in my ear or nose?
Dreaming of a clean new life is understandable. But, I’m afraid, that I might want it too clean, that I unintentionally create a spiritual infection harder to heal?
3 comments:
Dear Romo Deshi,
An interesting blog. I have a question though. On today's reading from the Gospel of St. Matthew 5:43-48, on the last verse Jesus said:
"So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect".
If Romo said that we need to be "clean but not too clean" then Jesus's calling to be perfect like our heavenly Father will be an impossible task. What shall we do then to be "perfect like our heavenly Father" if we cannot be "spotless & shiny"?
cheers,
Arthur
Thanks for your comment. I'm sure that becoming perfect is not totally my responsibility. God is the main actor. Sometimes I really want to make myself perfect. But my standard of perfection may not be the same as God's. What I need to learn is to do all that I can, and leave the rest to God. Moreover, I need to be ready to find out that surprisingly, again, God's standard of perfection is simply different.
I suppose the Pharisees were also interested in being perfect (and clean), perhaps that's the only thing that they interested in. And, to the best of my knowledge about them, the way that the Pharisees do it was by following the Torah perfectly. That's how they keep themselves "clean". But then Jesus criticize them because they're clean on the "outside" but not in the "inside". I wonder if the word "clean" and "perfect" refers to the same condition that we should be aiming for?
So, Romo Deshi, when Jesus call us to be perfect like God is perfect then it must be something that we, sinful man & woman - the not so clean, can achieve right? I believe Jesus will never give us an impossible task. In what way then we can be perfect like the Father? Well, I just had this so much thing in my head the more I thought about it. Perhaps I'll make this Mat. 5:48 as my personal theme for this lent. I hope romo could give me some direction. Seems that cleaning job is a very interesting job after all hahahaha.
have a blessed Sunday.
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