Perfection of Charity: Growing into the Full Stature of Christ
October 26, 2024 - Saturday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time
Ephesians 4:7-16
In various letters, Saint Paul speaks about spiritual gifts. In the letter to the Romans, we find the gifts of prophecy, service, teaching, exhortation, contribution, leadership, and doing acts of mercy (see Rom. 12:6-8). In the letter to the Corinthians, we hear about the gifts of wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, working of miracles, prophecy, discernment of spirits, speaking in various languages, and the interpretation of those languages (see 1 Cor. 12:8-10). In today's excerpt from the letter to the Ephesians, we have five types of service to build the Church: apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers (see Eph. 4:11).
A few things need to be said about these gifts. Some can be considered "extraordinary," like working miracles, but most of them are "talents" that many people are gifted with. Yet, all of them come from the same source—the Spirit of God. Paul states that "Grace was given to each of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift" (Eph. 4:7). Our Catechism defines grace as "favor, the free and undeserved help that God gives us to respond to his call to become children of God, adoptive sons, partakers of the divine nature and of eternal life" (CCC, 1996). In this case, "grace" refers to the specific spiritual gifts and abilities given to each of us. These gifts are given in varying measures and types according to Christ's own wisdom and purpose. Each person receives a unique portion, tailored to their calling and role within the body of Christ.
The purpose of these various gifts is to reach maturity, "the full stature of Christ" (Eph. 4:13). In Paul's theological thought, Jesus is the "last Adam"—the Hebrew "Adam" means "human being." The first Adam, created in the image and likeness of God, got us into trouble by transgressing God's commandment (see Gen. 3). Regarding Adam, Paul writes that "sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned" (Rom. 5:12). On the other hand, the last Adam, Jesus Christ, brought justification for our transgressions and new life to all who believe in Him (see Rom. 5:17). Moreover, we can either resemble the first Adam or the last Adam: "The first man Adam became a living being; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. . . . As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven" (1 Cor 15:45, 48-49).
Our aim is to emulate the last Adam in our lives. Christ is the measure of our humanity. This statement is extremely important because the world presents different personalities as measures of our humanity and tells us to follow them. We simply cannot, because all of them are flawed. On the other hand, as Christians, we are called to strive for the perfection of charity, and only Jesus Christ is the embodiment of this perfection. We can only become perfect like our heavenly Father (see Matt. 5:48) by meditating on the life of Jesus, the perfect icon of the Father, and imitating Him in our lives.
What does this entail? How can we emulate Jesus Christ in our lives? The answer is simple: What motivated Jesus? His love for us. By building ourselves in love, we "grow in every way into him who is the head, Christ" (Eph. 4:15). That is the aim of our life as followers of Christ: "All Christians in any state or walk of life are called to the fullness of Christian life and to the perfection of charity" (Lumen Gentium, 40). Jesus Christ is our "rule of life." We are called to follow Him and conform ourselves to Him in life to become "another Christ."