…I have come not to abolish but to fulfill… [Matthew 5:17-19]
It seems
that Jesus was forever being accused of breaking the law – healing on the
Sabbath [Matthew 12:9-14]; why do you not wash your hands as the law proclaims?
[Matthew 15:2]; how is it that you and
your disciples pick the wheat on the Sabbath? [Matthew 12:1-2] The law in
those days stemmed from the Ten Commandments, the Pentateuch and the whole of
Scripture. The Law was really more
about principles than about rules and regulations. Principles to help guide life in community. Scribes and Pharisees made it their business
to reduce the principles to rules and regulations so that they could enforce
them. In fulfilling the Law, Jesus was
getting back to the principles of respect and reverence. Reverence for God, respect for
parents, neighbors, life and truth.
This
reverence and respect is rooted in mercy and love. The mercy and love we experience from God,
modeled in Jesus and called forth in every one of us to share in community.
Lent is an
opportunity for us to reconnect with the principles of life – of love – and of
mercy. It’s a season inviting us to
something deeper – we’re called to live the Ten Commandments through the lens
of the Beatitudes. To be deeply present
to God and to one another, Lent is a time to allow God to lift us out of our
old ruts, help us refocus and reframe our lenses so that we can be channels of
healing, opportunity and possibility. So
that we can accompany and companion those tempted to shrink from their crosses. So that we can walk with deeper reverence,
respect and compassion. The fulfillment
of the law that Jesus promised.
My most
high Jesus, You have called us to a new height of holiness. You have called us to perfection. Enlighten my mind, dear Lord, so that I may
understand this high calling and pour forth Your grace, so that I may embrace
my moral duty to the fullest extent. Jesus, I trust in You.
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