Be Holy

Monday of the First Week of Lent

The LORD said to Moses, “Speak to the whole assembly of the children of Israel and tell them: Be holy, for I, the LORD, your God, am holy.”  Leviticus 19:1-2

“’Then they will answer and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to your needs?’ He will answer them, ‘Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.’  And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”  Matthew 25:44-46

Piety

Lord, help us to “be holy.”  You do not ask for part-time disciples.  Bring us wholly into your flock.  In holiness, at all times, let us recognize you and your children around us – all who reflect the holiness you instilled in each of us when you created us.   

Study

Pardon me for mixing my metaphors but today we have a veritable “yin and yang” of Christian behavior.  Leviticus takes the approach of detailing what NOT to do.  Matthew on the other hand, provides a little rulebook of what positive actions to do.

Both of these complementary lists fit together and revolve around the recognition of what is holy.  The Lord is holy as are all things made in God’s image.  Therefore, all must be treated with love and respect. 

When you recognize what is holy, you will not steal from them.  You will respect their property.  You will not lie to them or swear but will respect them.  You will not enter into any fraud against them.  You will not stand idly by when something bad happens but, like the Good Samaritan, will render aid when it is needed.

The readings from the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament are related and connected.  But they also point out how Jesus took the traditional rules and extended them.  Leviticus set forth the rule, “Take no revenge and cherish no grudge against your own people. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.”  (Leviticus 19:19) 

Jesus extended that commandment of love even to our enemies.  “But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.”  (Matthew 5:44-45)

Action

If Lent is about practicing how to walk in the ways of the Lord, today we have two comprehensive lists about how to do that. 

Feed the hungry.

Quench the thirsty.

Welcome the stranger.

Clothe the naked.

Visit the lonely and imprisoned.

Care for the ill.

Which actions can you incorporate in your Lenten pilgrimage?