THE WORD BECAME FLESH

Monday of the first week of Lent, 2022

Lev19:1-2,11-18

Ps 19

Matt 25:31-46

You did it to me

Dear friends in Christ, do we have to wait, to see Jesus, the way he has been portrayed in the Gospels, to treat him differently, from those who lived at his time? Do you think now, that they were convinced, he was the Messiah and treated him like that? What shows that we have learned from the experience of those who lived at the time of Jesus if we fail to do what he asked?

Our first reading today is taken from the book of Leviticus (19:1-2.11-18). This is a further explanation of the ten commandments. It however begins with a charge, “Be holy, for I the Lord your God, am holy.” If we believe that God is beauty, truth, goodness, and love, we can then appreciate why the commandments and their explanations, most times are expressed in the language of what you shall not do, “You shall not oppress your neighbor or rob him. The wages of a hired servant shall not remain with you all night until the morning…You shall not curse the deaf…You shall not do injustice in judgment, you shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great…You shall not stand forth against the life of your neighbor…You shall not take vengeance…” Sometimes it is even easy to say, I am not guilty of any of these. The positive side of the laws is however more challenging. The final judgment before God, may not come in this format and Jesus teaches that in the Gospel.

Our Gospel today comes from Matthew 25:31-46 and gives us a hint on the final judgment. “When the son of man comes in his glory,… then he will sit on his glorious throne… and will say…Come O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom…for I was hungry, you gave me to eat, I was thirsty, you gave me to drink, I was a stranger…I was naked…I was sick…I was in prison you came to me.” Even the righteous in this passage, had to question when they met Jesus in the conditions mentioned and came to his help. “As you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.” Isn't that surprising and wonderful, at the same time? Jesus comes incognito every day. We do not have to say, if we lived in the time of Jesus we would not have treated him badly, are you treating those around you fairly? Think of what you do to your husband, wife, children or parents, workers or boss? All of these you’ve done to Jesus. It is not about what you do to the priest or bishop or highly ranked persons in the society alone—most importantly, it is the way you treat the weak and lowly, the poor and defenseless of the society, the voiceless and the abandoned of the world.

Let us pray: Lord, give us a generous heart that will see you in those around us and respond to your need. Amen. 

+Remain blessed