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   Jesus’ rebuff of the rich man’s salutation, “Good teacher” (Mark 10:17), takes us by surpise. It also seems to have put off one of the other evangelists. For Matthew changes the rich man’s question to read: “Teacher, what good deed must I do, to have eternal life?” (Matthew 19:16), and he has Jesus respond, “Why do you ask me about what is good?”
(v. 17).

But Jesus’ refusal in Mark’s gospel to be called “good” is instructive. For if the one whom Christian tradition regards as the perfect, sinless man is not to be called “good,” what is to be said about our striving for goodness, let alone perfection?
Matthew has Jesus admonish his disciples, “Be ye perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). But if God alone is good, this exhortation is doomed to frustration.

This perfectionist double-bind has been the source of some of the most difficult debates in religious history, revolving around the issue of faith and works. And yet we continue to feel, as Christians, the obligation to be perfect, if not now, then at least at some future point in time.

The Religious life, which I followed for 30 years in the Jesuit order, was called “the way of perfection.” But the pursuit of a goal which is unattainable cuts us off from the reality of who we are and what we are.

It is worth noting that Luke’s version of the perfectionist command reads quite differently: “Be ye merciful, as your Father also is merciful” (Luke 6:36). Imitating God is risky business. The serpent tempted Eve in the garden with the fallacious promise, “Ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:5). Imitating God’s mercy is one thing; imitating God’s perfection is quite another.

Carl Jung sought to solve the problem by rendering the Greek word teleios as “whole” or “complete,” rather than “perfect.” Teleios comes from telos (“end” or “goal”). Unlike Freud, who believed that our actions are determined by sexual impulses and the traumas received in childhood, Jung believed in the principal of teleology: all human activity is directed towards a goal (telos).

The goal of each one of us is different. Each of us is a work in progress. Our lives lead us into paths which end God knows where. In the words of the hymn:

Keep thou my feet; I do not ask to see
The distant scene—one step enough for me.

The distinction between good and evil is the basis for all morality, but when it comes down to cases, the distinction is often relative, rather than absolute, and there is usually room for ambiguity. The guiding principle of life is not the pursuit of perfection but the call to love. As Paul teaches us, “To those that love God, all things work together for good” (Romans 8:28), including our imperfections.

July 24, 2005

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