Still a Work in Progress
Anything worth doing often comes with trial and error or failure at first. When I was in Grade 3 I remember wanting to do a back handspring. I remember my friend Steven spotting me and I tried and tried to do this on my front lawn after school. It wasn’t pretty…I had many failed attempts, and I do remember my parents telling me not to break my neck. It took a few weeks, but eventually, I did it! It was so satisfying and it made me feel strong and powerful! As an adult, working in the service industry I also remember the struggle of learning how to create the perfect latte and create the foam art. This is a skill I continue to work on. I am much more consistent with the foam, but the art…is still a work in progress.
I also remember starting out in youth ministry and feeling like I knew nothing about faith. I can remember the self-doubt that often crept in because I couldn’t quote the Bible like some of my colleagues, or even some members of the congregation. I thought that going to Theological College would help, and it did, but I still have moments of fear and doubt. Maybe that is one of the reasons I have always appreciated the disciple Peter. Peter is far from perfect. He is impulsive. He asks questions. He misunderstands Jesus. He says the wrong thing. He has moments of incredible courage and moments when fear completely takes over. He gets out of the boat and walks toward Jesus—and then he sinks. He promises that he will never abandon Jesus—and then denies him three times. And yet Jesus never seems to give up on Peter.
Peter keeps showing up. And maybe that is what faith looks like more often than we realize. Not having all the answers. Not getting everything right. Not reaching some point where doubt disappears and we finally become the perfect Christian. Maybe faith is about continuing to show up, continuing to ask questions, continuing to learn, and continuing to take the next step.
Which makes something Jesus says in Matthew's Gospel rather challenging: “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Creator is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48) Perfect? Really?
That word has always bothered me because perfection seems like an impossible standard. But the Greek word translated as “perfect” is teleios. It can also mean complete, mature, or reaching toward the purpose for which something is intended. In the context of Matthew 5, Jesus is talking about love—a love that keeps expanding beyond the people we naturally find easy to love. Maybe Jesus isn't demanding flawlessness. Maybe Jesus is inviting us to keep growing toward wholeness. That brings me to a line that a member of the congregation shared with me recently from last week's episode on Ted Lasso: “Continuous improvement is better than delayed perfection.” I love that.
How much of our lives do we delay because we are waiting until we are ready? Until we know enough? Until we're confident enough? Until we have the perfect plan? I know there have been times when my own fear of getting something wrong has made it harder to simply begin. Peter reminds me that following Jesus has never required perfection. It requires a willingness to get out of the boat—even knowing we might sink. It requires enough humility to admit when we get it wrong, enough courage to try again, and enough trust to believe that failure doesn't have to be the end of the story.
My back handspring took weeks. My latte art is still questionable. My faith is definitely still a work in progress. And I think I'm becoming more comfortable with that. Because perhaps the goal isn't to finally arrive at some perfect version of ourselves. Perhaps the goal is simply to keep becoming—more loving, more compassionate, more courageous, more forgiving, more fully alive.
Continuous improvement rather than delayed perfection.
Or, in the much simpler words of Jesus: “Follow me.”
Blessings, Rev. Karen