Reflection
Our Scripture readings for today are rather straightforward. At the end of our first reading from Leviticus, it says, “Love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.”
In the preceding verses, we are told what not to do in order to obey the commandment to love: “You shall not steal. You shall not lie or speak falsely to one another…You shall not defraud…You shall not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block in front of the blind…You shall not act dishonestly in rendering judgment…You shall not bear hatred for your brother in your heart…”
In our Gospel reading, Jesus presents an image of the last judgment. The people are separated into groups. One group enters the kingdom, and one group does not. On what basis were they separated? They were separated according to how they treated “these least ones.”
Jesus tells us what we are to do:
Feed the hungry, clothe the naked, welcome the stranger, visit the sick and those in prison.
By mentioning the “least of these,” Jesus challenges us to expand our understanding about who is the neighbor we are called to love.
These are some very basic texts. And yet, they still present a challenge. The season of Lent is not meant to throw us into despair of never meeting the standards to which we are called. It is meant to call us to repentance and to turn to God to give us what we need to follow God’s commands.
May we accept God’s love and mercy in Jesus Christ and share that love and mercy with all our “neighbors.”
