"Normal Versus Perfect"

Today's Mass Readings

At the end of the book of Joshua (see reflection for August 18), the people had made a firm commitment and declared, “We will serve the LORD, our God, and obey his voice” (Joshua 24:24). But as the first tells us, the “abandoned” the Lord to serve Baal and Ashtaroth, the fertility god and goddess in the Canaanite religion. Just as the Lord had promised, infidelity would lead to desolation and defeat. We must understand the context in which the Israelites were so quick to “abandon “ the Lord. The Israelites had roamed about in the desert for forty years. Since the generation that entered the Promised Land were neither slaves nor sedantry, all they knew was desert life. On the contrary, life in the Promised Land was different. They had to learn farming, animal rearing and social organization. And, perhaps, there were no better teachers than the Canaanites, the original inhabitants of the land. Part of the learning process included the worship of the fertility god and goddess, Baal and Ashtaroth. The Canaanites believed that a bountiful harvest depended on pleasing Baal and Ashtaroth. The Israelites perhaps adopted the fertility cult in the desire for "normal life" as a sedantry people.

The greatest temptation is to be “normal,” like everyone else. The young man who approached Jesus and asked him a very sensible question. Jesus proposed to him that he follow the commandments. His answer suggested that he was a “normal” human person. But Jesus challenges him to move from “normalcy” to “perfection. “If you wish to be “perfect,” go sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me” (Mt 19: 21). For the young man, normal was more attractive than perfection. So, “he went away sad…” (Mt 19: 22).

God does not call us to “normalcy,” he call us to perfection.