Lent Week 1: Monday
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Today’s readings: Leviticus 19:1-2, 11-18; Psalm 19:8-10, 15; Matthew 25:31-46
At times it can be hard to see the point of some of the commandments and exhortations within the Torah. It can seem strange to us that God would not want the people of Israel to wear mixed fibres, that wives had to stop their husbands fighting in a certain way (or else lose her hand), or that you could eat a locust but not a beetle. However in today’s reading from Leviticus, God’s commandments seem to be certainly within the realm of common sense. In fact it seems rather shocking that God would have to tell people not to bear false witness, to be honest in financial transactions or not to be frightful to the disabled. In the 18th-century Immanuel Kant would argue that this sort of behaviour was not only moral but reasonable. As we all know, however, humanity’s fallen nature is inclined toward the sort of conduct forbidden by the laws in Leviticus.
This self-knowledge of the short-comings of fallen humanity make the prophecy of the final judgement given by Jesus in the Gospel of Mathew rather terrifying. As God is the source of justice, the verdict of Christ at the Second Coming will be perfectly fair. It will not be characterised by vengeance or hatred. It will be truly impartial. Nevertheless, we are fearful of God’s judgement because we feel that we will fall short of the divine commands to visit the sick and the prisoner, to feed the hungry and to clothe the naked. We worry that our sinful inclinations will keep us below the bar, but that is the beauty and glory of the paschal mystery. Christ’s death and resurrection allow us to go beyond the limitations of the Fall. Whilst our Jewish forebears were guided by the Law, we have the New Law of freedom written on our hearts. The season of Lent gives us time to examine ourselves and deepen our relationship with this true and perfect Law. When we do this we glimpse the face of Christ in all our brothers and sisters.
