Monday of the First Week of Lent
(Leviticus 19:1-2.11-18; Matthew 25,31-46)
Today’s first reading is taken from the famous “Holiness
Code” in the Book of Leviticus. The code
lists a series of precepts that are to be followed so that one may become holy like
as God. The precepts mirror the
Decalogue, but today’s reading has a striking peculiarity. It tells the reader not to show “partiality
to the weak.” Doesn’t this conflict with
the blessing that Jesus bestows on those who serve the needy in the gospel
reading?
It doesn’t if one considers the context of the prohibition
of partiality. The command applies to judicial
proceedings. A criminal suspect should
be judged guilty or innocent according to the evidence, not according to socio-economic
status. Nevertheless, a poor or sick
person should be assisted in meeting physical needs. In the gospel Jesus extends the scope of
beneficiaries. They are not only members
of one’s family or community but strangers as well.
Despite our reluctance to think of ourselves as holy,
achieving holiness is our vocation in life.
It is also the immediate objective of Lent. We recognize that it is a long road that
often seems endless. But through the
years and with continual effort, progress becomes evident.
