~~~ Leviticus 19:1-2, 11-18 ~~~ Psalm 19 ~~~ Matthew 25:31-46 ~~~
'Amen, I say to you,
what you did not do for one of these least ones,
you did not do for me.'
This reading from Leviticus and the Gospel
from Matthew are closely connected today.
The Lord gives Moses a complete list
of what it takes to be holy...
no stealing, lying, swearing, speaking falsely,
no fraudulent behavior, cursing,
not acts of dishonesty.
Slander is condemned as well as hatred
and holding a grudge.
Be holy, for I, the LORD,
your God, am holy.
For some people this list is just
too overwhelming.
It is mostly negative and we live in the 'feel good' era.
The instructions to become as holy as God
seem to be a bitter pill to swallow.
God, however. is the reflection
of this extensive list in Leviticus.
His reflection is the resulting goodness
of the very holiness we long to attain.
Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.
His words, no matter how challenging they are,
lead us to the holiness that he believes we can reach.
Holiness is our goal...
Holiness is what keeps us
faithful to his commands...
Holiness gets us a place in heaven.
Jesus is very specific with his words in the Gospel.
Stating emphatically that when we treat
others with kindness and love;
it is God whom we are serving in disguise.
'Amen, I say to you,
what you did not do for one of these least ones,
you did not do for me.'
The positive message is what you did do
for the least ones you really did for Jesus.
If we sincerely want to be more holy
then we must operate within the
'spirit and life' of Jesus.
Let the words of my mouth and the thought of my heart
find favor before you,
O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.
During this first week of Lent let us try to see others
as a reflection of the holiness of God.
Put aside everything that is a distraction from the words
of God to be holy as he is holy.
Blessings in knowing that God
would not ask us to do the seemingly impossible
without being right there by our side.
May you have the peace of the Lord.
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