3rd week in Lent, Wednesday – 15th March 2023 – Deut 4,1.5-9; Mt 5,17-19
Laws of Intimacy
Moses reminds the Israelites of the great treasure they have in their laws and customs, a treasure full of “wisdom and understanding.” The first reading calls attention to the loving intimacy between God and the people among whom he lives: “Indeed, what great nation is there that has its gods so near as the Lord our God is to us? What great nation is there that has laws and customs to match this whole law?” The precepts of the Lord are not meant to restrict us and our freedom, but to draw us closer to God. They are meant to be yet another sign of God’s love for the people whom God has chosen. In other words, the laws are life-giving and a reminder by God to establish relationships with the chosen people. The greatness of any society can be measured, first, in the quality of its legal system, and second, in how its laws are administered and observed. This involves mutual cooperation between law-makers, enforces of the law, interpreters of the law and observers of the law. It is in the law that God is with his people. Through its observance, the people express their closeness to him.
