1st week in Lent, Monday – 19th February 2024 – Leviticus 19,1-2.11-18; Mt 25,31-46
Emptying of Love
The first reading presents to us part of the Holiness Code that demands holy actions. It details and teaches the Israelites how to be holy in their daily life, with obvious links to the Ten Commandments. Every Israelite was called to be holy for the Lord God is holy. Apparently, the measure of our holiness is that of God himself. Israel’s call to divine holiness meant separating themselves from sin and uncleanliness and dedicating or consecrating themselves to God. While it commands many things that we should not do, the passage concludes with something that we should do and what Jesus declared as the second greatest commandment: “You shall love your neighbour as yourself”.
In the context within Leviticus, “neighbour” means a fellow Jew, but for Jesus, James and Paul in their letters, it would mean to embrace every single person. Strict Pharisees interpreted “loving the neighbour” should include “hate the enemy”. But for those who understood Jesus’ invitation to “love our neighbour”, it should extend to those who want to harm us. Today’s gospel makes it clear that the neighbour is particularly to be identified with any person who is in need of any kind. Later, Jesus pushed this command further to love each other, not in as much as we love ourselves, but to the degree that he loved us – by ‘emptying’ himself and giving his life for everyone. Therefore, “love your neighbour” is an invitation, not something to be even remotely achieved in our lifetime; rather, it is an ideal to be constantly aimed at as we continually try to raise our focus towards God.
