Scripture:
Deuteronomy 4:1, 5-9
Matthew 5:17-19
Reflection:
Amnesia: A medical condition characterized by a partial or total loss of memories, facts, information and experiences.
In today’s scripture selections from the Book of Deuteronomy and the Gospel of Matthew, there are some serious references to the Law that comes from God. Moses is on the banks of the Jordan River imploring the people to not forget the commands of the Lord as they prepare to enter a new land after leaving captivity in Egypt. Jesus implores his disciples to stay faithful to the Law. But even Jesus understood that he needed to boil the Law and Commandments down to the essentials:
Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.
Yet we seem always to be afflicted with amnesia. Time and again we forget. We create and then worship idols. We imagine that others should be made in our, not God’s image and likeness. We raise up as contemporary “golden calves” pop stars or influencers or politicians.
Lent, at its best, is an opportunity to remember, that is, to be mindful of God’s goodness to us even when we fail to remember the source of all that is good. Even when we place our trust in idols made from our own hands or crafted from our prejudices, we can take a moment to remember…to be mindful again and hence make real again in our lives…that it is God and God’s love that gives meaning and joy to our lives.
Robert Hotz is a consultant with American City Bureau, Inc. and was the Director of The Passion of Christ: The Love That Compels Campaign for Holy Cross Province.