Daily Mass Reading & Meditation for Monday, 10 March 2014 - Catholic Meditations
Meditations: Leviticus 19:1 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to all the congregation of the children of Israel, and tell them, ‘You shall be holy; for I, Yahweh your God, am holy.
11 “‘You shall not steal.
“‘You shall not lie.
“‘You shall not deceive one another.
12 “‘You shall not swear by my name falsely, and profane the name of your God. I am Yahweh.
13 “‘You shall not oppress your neighbor, nor rob him.
“‘The wages of a hired servant shall not remain with you all night until the morning.
14 “‘You shall not curse the deaf, nor put a stumbling block before the blind; but you shall fear your God. I am Yahweh.
15 “‘You shall do no injustice in judgment. You shall not be partial to the poor, nor show favoritism to the great; but you shall judge your neighbor in righteousness.
16 “‘You shall not go up and down as a slanderer among your people.
“‘You shall not endanger the life[a] of your neighbor. I am Yahweh.
17 “‘You shall not hate your brother in your heart. You shall surely rebuke your neighbor, and not bear sin because of him.
18 “‘You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people; but you shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am Yahweh.
Footnotes:
a. Leviticus 19:16 literally, “blood”
1st Week of Lent
You shall love your neighbor as yourself. (Leviticus 19:18)
We are familiar with what Jesus calls the “two great commandments” of the Law: “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart… . You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37, 39). But these commandments can seem so vague that we may not know how to observe them.
Here in Leviticus, where these words first appear, there are plenty of specifics. Don’t steal or cheat. Don’t take advantage of the poor. Don’t disparage those with disabilities or make things more difficult for them. Don’t stand by idly when you could be helping someone in need. Instead of hanging on to resentment or seeking revenge, tell your neighbor what he’s done wrong, and then let him resolve it with the Lord.
Jesus is just as specific. We may sometimes wonder how we can love a Messiah who is invisible and who lives up in heaven. He can seem so distant to us, so different from the people we encounter every day.
Or is he? If you want to see Jesus, look into the eyes of someone who is poor, hungry, homeless, sick, or imprisoned. Look into the eyes of a friend or family member who is suffering in some way. Listen carefully to what this person is saying—and is not saying. Stay long enough to find Jesus, so that you will end up treating him or her as you would treat the Lord.
This can seem overwhelming, especially when we think about how limited our own resources are. How can I possibly show this person real love? The key comes in God’s word to the Israelites: “I am the Lord” (Leviticus 19:18). It is as if Jesus is telling us, Here I am, looking through the eyes of this man’s homelessness, that woman’s poverty, this child’s woundedness. They are all “these least brothers of mine,” and when you look at them, you see me. When you serve them, you serve me. When you love them, you are loving me.
Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta would often say that it was a privilege to care for the poorest of the poor because they offered her so many opportunities to meet Jesus. May we all find this same privilege as we minister to the needy ones among us—even those in our own families!
“Jesus, open my eyes so that I can see you and love you in my neighbor.” Amen!
Psalm 19: 8 Yahweh’s precepts are right, rejoicing the heart.
Yahweh’s commandment is pure, enlightening the eyes.
9 The fear of Yahweh is clean, enduring forever.
Yahweh’s ordinances are true, and righteous altogether.
10 More to be desired are they than gold, yes, than much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey and the extract of the honeycomb.
15 Let the words of my mouth be acceptable,
the thoughts of my heart before you,
LORD, my rock and my redeemer.
Matthew 25: 31 “But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. 32 Before him all the nations will be gathered, and he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will tell those on his right hand, ‘Come, blessed of my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; 35 for I was hungry, and you gave me food to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me drink. I was a stranger, and you took me in. 36 I was naked, and you clothed me. I was sick, and you visited me. I was in prison, and you came to me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry, and feed you; or thirsty, and give you a drink? 38 When did we see you as a stranger, and take you in; or naked, and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick, or in prison, and come to you?’
40 “The King will answer them, ‘Most certainly I tell you, because you did it to one of the least of these my brothers[a] , you did it to me.’ 41 Then he will say also to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels; 42 for I was hungry, and you didn’t give me food to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me no drink; 43 I was a stranger, and you didn’t take me in; naked, and you didn’t clothe me; sick, and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’
44 “Then they will also answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and didn’t help you?’
45 “Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Most certainly I tell you, because you didn’t do it to one of the least of these, you didn’t do it to me.’ 46 These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
Footnotes:
a. Matthew 25:40 The word for “brothers” here may be also correctly translated “brothers and sisters” or “siblings.”
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