Breaking the Word

1^st week in Lent, Saturday – 24^th February 2024 – Deut 26,16-19; Mt 5,43-48

Mutual Covenant

Today’s first reading introduces one of the many covenants that God made with humanity and his people – the Covenant of Deuteronomy. Compared to the original covenant at Mount Sinai, which was the ‘First Law’ this covenant was a lesser covenant and was given because of Israel’s hardness of heart. Their idolatry, apostasy and their sins led them away from God. This Deuteronomy covenant had the purpose of restoring and rehabilitating the twelve tribes after their apostasy at Baal-Peor. This second law, given by Moses, wanted Israel to recognize its weakness and inability to achieve holiness without God’s help. The path that leads to this holiness of life is marked out by the Lord’s statutes, commandments, and decrees. This path is characterized especially by docile obedience to the voice of God. This is mutually binding contact.

1^st week in Lent, Friday – 23^rd February 2024 – Ezekiel 18,21-28; Mt 5,20-26

Blessed by the Final Choice  

The first reading from the prophet Ezekiel speaks about the need for individual repentance and conversion from sin.  While the Book of Leviticus gives guidelines for an annual repentance of the past sins by the community of Israel, Ezekiel calls for double points of conversion to take place in an individual even at the end of their lives. The fact remains that the sinner can convert to good just as the righteous person can turn to evil. Ezekiel teaches a message of hope: God does not rejoice when the wicked die in their sin. Rather, God rejoices when a person turns away from sin and begins to enjoy new life. Our past sins, once they are forgiven by God, are not a cause for despair. God gives us free will and then will judge us on our final choice at the end of our lives. Just because people have been faithful most of their lives, if they reject God in the final moment of their lives God will respect their final choice. Likewise, if sinful individuals turn from their sinful ways and turn toward God at the end of their lives, God will grant them life based on their final choice. Yet it is not easy to make a 180 degree turn in the last moments of our lives. God expects that we make the best choice to be faithful throughout our lives.