+ What a powerhouse of recommendations and suggestions and
requirements these readings of Lent place before us! Indeed! And
the Gospel passage hits the proverbial nail right on the head!: the way you treat, regard, respect and care
for one another quite literally and liberally is what you will be judged on at
the Particular Judgment that you will face when you draw your last breath
and Jesus stands before you, silently, and reviews such actions, and words and
the inner recesses and workings of your heart! What will you say to him – as
your soul becomes eternal at that point – and he stands waiting – maybe even
tapping his foot – LISTENING TO YOU?
The passage goes on to
enumerate things that had better be on your list:
For I was hungry and you
gave me food; I was thirsty and you gave me drink; I was a stranger and you
made me welcome; naked and you clothed me, sick and you visited me, in prison
and you came to see me.” Then the virtuous will say to him in reply, “Lord,
when did we see you hungry and feed you; or thirsty and give you drink? When
did we see you a stranger and make you welcome; naked and clothe you; sick or
in prison and go to see you?” And the King will answer, “I tell you solemnly,
in so far as you did this to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you
did it to me.”
But the first reading from the
Book of Leviticus: paints a very specific picture for those awaiting the
arrival of the Messiah and Lord: it is a kind of “practice” if you will – for
when Jesus would inaugurate the Magna Carta of the Faith: “The Beatitudes” and
then finish the Magnificent Sermon on the
Mount: the heart and essence of who he is, holy, and who and what he and
his Father expects us to be!, holy, and he gives us the very real actual power
to be it, when needed, and that would be: HOLY.
“You must not steal nor deal
deceitfully or fraudulently with your neighbour. You must not swear falsely by
my name, profaning the name of your God. I am the Lord. You must not exploit or
rob your neighbour. You must not keep back the labourer’s wage until next
morning. You must not curse the dumb, nor put an obstacle in the blind man’s
way, but you must fear your God. I am the Lord.
‘“You must not be
guilty of unjust verdicts. You must neither be partial to the little man nor
overawed by the great; you must pass judgement on your neighbour according to
justice. You must not slander your own people, and you must not jeopardise your
neighbour’s life. I am the Lord. You must not bear hatred for your brother in your
heart. You must openly tell him, your neighbour, of his offence; this way you
will not take a sin upon yourself. You must not exact vengeance, nor must you
bear a grudge against the children of your people. You must love your neighbour
as yourself. I am the Lord.”’
Our challenge this Lent is to
find time to quietly and reflectively ponder these words, this message, this
exhortation: so that “it pierces our hearts” open so our sins and failures can
leak out, and God magnificent grace can pour in and heal our wounds!
Yes,
we must “shake off our sins, and make for ourselves a new heart and a new
spirit! – it is the Lord who speaks!
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