Wednesday of the Third Week in Lent
By Colleen O'Sullivan
“Therefore, I teach you the statutes and decrees as the Lord, my God, has commanded me, that you may observe them in the land you are entering to occupy. Observe them carefully, for thus will you give evidence of your wisdom and intelligence to the nations, who will hear of these statutes and say, ‘This great nation is truly a wise and intelligent people.’ For what great nation is there that has gods so close to it as the Lord, our God, is to us whenever we call upon him? Or what great nation has statutes and decrees that are as just as this whole law which I am setting before you today?” (Deuteronomy 4:5-8)
Jesus said to his disciples: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.” (Matthew 5:17)
Piety
O Lord, you have always been present to us, generations ago in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, today in the bread and wine of the Eucharist. Help us to see your loving presence in your law as well.
Study
Remember when you were a kid and you wanted to do something, but your mother or father told you no? And then you whined, “why not? why can’t I?” The answer would often be a quick “because I said so!” A less exasperated, deeper response from our parents might have been, “because I am your parent and I love you, and what you think you would like to do isn’t in your best interest.”
God is the Ultimate Parent. No matter how old we are, we remain God’s children. Because God loves us with an overwhelming love, he gives us his law to help us uphold our part of the covenant he has made with us. God is our God and we are his people. God’s law guides us in living as his sons and daughters. I don’t think we’ll ever hear an arbitrary “because I said so” from the Lord. The way of life God sets before us in his law is designed to bring us closer to him. In fact, in today’s Old Testament reading, Moses tells the people of Israel that other nations will look at them and envy their law and the close relationship they have with their God.
At heart, like children, we crave boundaries and guidance. Years ago, I remember talking to a 6-year-old whose parents had just separated. She and her brother were living with their mother. Understandably, everyone’s lives, including the mom’s, had been turned upside down. She told me, “Mommy lets us kids do whatever we want. I mean anything! Especially when she’s on the phone.” That’s someone wishing for boundaries and direction. That’s you and me when life gets a little crazy. Fortunately, God has already set before us the way of life and never gets too preoccupied to listen to our prayers for guidance.
In the Gospel reading today, Jesus tells the disciples that he hasn’t come to do away with any part of the Law. He has come to fulfill it. Jesus was always getting into confrontations with the Pharisees over the Law. By the time Jesus came into the world, the scribes and Pharisees had added many of their own rules, regulations and traditions to God’s Law and elevated all of it to the status of the way of life God has set before us. In Mark’s Gospel, Jesus quotes Isaiah: “In vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines human precepts.” (Mk 7:7) For example, God told us to keep the Sabbath holy. Those of a legalistic bent then went on to define what work could be done on the Sabbath and got into all sorts of arguments about whether it was permissible to wear jewelry, lift a lamp from one place to another, cure the sick, etc. They got so caught up in the obscure details that they missed the forest for the trees. They weren’t bringing people closer to God with all their scrupulosity. Later in Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus says, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Mt 22:37-39) That’s God’s Law briefly summarized.
Action
During Lent we are called to repentance. We are invited to take an honest look at our thoughts and actions and ask ourselves if we are, in fact, living according to God’s Law. If what you and I are doing isn’t honoring God, respecting ourselves as God’s sons and daughters, or showing love to our neighbors, we’ve sinned and gone off-track. There’s no time like the present to ask God’s forgiveness and to pray for the grace to live in greater conformity with God’s will.
When you have time, take a moment to review your plan for observing Lent. Is what you’re doing bringing you closer to God? There’s still time for tweaking your plan a bit if you need to.
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