Monday of the First Week of Lent 2023
The law of the LORD is perfect,
refreshing the soul.
The decree of the LORD is trustworthy,
giving wisdom to the simple.
The precepts of the LORD are right,
rejoicing the heart.
The command of the LORD is clear,
enlightening the eye.
-Psalm 19:8-9
Over the years, a good friend of mine has shared with me her frustration with the notion of “laws” within religion. For much of her life, she saw the many laws enumerated in Old Testament texts and Jewish tradition as man-made accretions that firmly placed all emphasis on compliance and submission. And, I have to admit, from the perspective of 20th- and 21st century Christians in America, there does seem to be some truth in this. However, when we read the texts of the First Reading and Gospel for this Monday of the First Week of Lent in light of the Responsorial Psalm (taken from Psalm 19), we are invited to change see things differently.
“The Prophet Moses,” Kizhi Monastery, Russia (18th c.)
For the People of Israel, the laws they observed were intimately connected with their identity and were an expression of the special bond (covenant) they had with the God who had chosen and freed their ancestors. The observances of the laws and customs that tradition said had been revealed by God to Moses were a fundamental expression of who and whose they were. Even the “Thou shalt nots” of the Decalogue (the “Ten Commandments”) were a sign of God’s special favor. The Catechism of the Catholic Church summarizes it in this way: “the ‘ten words;’ point out the conditions of a life freed from the slavery of sin. the Decalogue is a path of life” (no. 2057). The laws, which might seem oppressive or limiting to many today, were, in fact, an expression of true freedom: the freedom to live as people delivered from the demands or expectations of others and to live only for the things of God.
In today’s liturgy we hear one of the few readings from the Book of Leviticus included in our Lectionary. It is significant that it is paired with the well-known passage from Matthew’s Gospel in which the glorified Son of Man will separate the “sheep” from the “goats” on the day of judgment. In both readings, we are being presented with a vision of the life of faith which challenges us to expand our gaze, moving beyond the limits of a sort of privatized “me and Jesus” relationship. Rather, the Readings today invite us to recognize that our faith must be lived in a way that not only brings us into right relationship with others, but which also becomes a blessing for them.
“Let us not labor to heap up and board riches while others remain in need… He has given abundantly to all the basic needs of life, not as a private possession, not restricted by law, not divided by boundaries, but as common to all, amply and in rich measure.”—Saint Gregory Naziazen
The other, perhaps more difficult message in today’s liturgy is that our decisions also have consequences. Our willingness—or lack thereof—to provide for others does have an ultimate meaning and effect. And yet, as with our spiritual ancestors, we recognize even in the words of Jesus and expression of freedom. Because of graces we receive in the sacraments—most especially in the transforming power of the Eucharist—and in our encounter with Christ in the Word of God and in the life of the Church, we are also free to choose the good, to live into the mystery of who and whose we are. Rather than being a burden for us, God’s law and revelation are a source of blessing, as we proclaim in the antiphon of the Responsorial Psalm: “Your words, Lord, and Spirit and Life” (cf. John 6:63b).
On this Lenten Monday, we are being invited to be true to our vocation and call: to be unworldly—other-worldly—in our attitudes, speech, and actions and to embrace a poverty and detachment that free us to be with and for others, imitating Jesus’ life and mission.
Convert us, O God our Savior,
and instruct our minds by heavenly teaching,
that we may benefit from the works of Lent.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever. Amen.
-Collect for the Monday of the First Week of Lent
