Wednesday
Third Week of Lent
Deuteronomy 4: 1,5-9
Matthew 5: 17-19
In today’s first reading, Moses exhorts
the people to keep the law or Commandments.
There are two reasons to keep the law:
First the law is the source of life, the way to life with God. If they keep the law they will live; second
the law is of divine origin and a source of wisdom. It gives the ability to recognize the true
values of life. The law is not a burden,
but an expression of God’s love for Israel.
The gospel is related to the plea of
Moses to the people to obey the law.
Moses meant the commandments.
Christ would have us go a step further and try to understand the spirit
of the law which originated in God’s love for us and the love we should have
for our brothers and sisters.
This is what Christ meant by saying that
he came to perfect the law, to deepen our understanding of it, to enable us to
see divine law as a means to salvation.
With this understanding Christ could
very adequately sum up the law in two principles: Love of God and love of
neighbor as oneself.
Perhaps at this stage in Lent we could
meditate on how we follow law. Do we
follow the letter or the spirit of the law?
Do we truly love God and our neighbor (meaning every person on this
earth)? What steps can we take this Lent
to improve?
By Fr. Bill Kramer
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