Be Perfect?

"Be perfect as the Father is" the weary scholar would translate,
And somehow Jesus' meaning missed:
"Be caring, be compassionate".

Deep in your bowels you shall feel,
Your fellow's anguish, grief and pain;
Perfection's icy cold and chill,
Could not the Universe sustain.

Stirred deeply, moved with empathy,
Your heart let it be rent,
By human pain and agony,
This is what Jesus meant.