GOD’S WORD FOR THE DAY (based on Catholic Liturgical Readings)
DATE: 6TH MARCH 2017
MONDAY OF THE FIRST WEEK IN LENT
FIRST READING: Leviticus 19:1-2, 11-18
PSALM: Psalm 19:8-10, 15
GOSPEL: Matthew 25:31-46
THEME: BE HOLY
It is amusing pondering over the various barometers and yardsticks that people use in measuring holiness. Often these measuring rods are man-made and as such imperfect.
Some people pride themselves in the fact that they do not smoke, get drunk or “chase” women (men); therefore they are holy. There are others too who in pursuit of holiness alienate themselves from other human beings so that they are not contaminated by “sinful” humanity. In some instances, holiness is reduced to theatrical performances. You see this drama, for example, in the use of perfunctory clichés, mode of walking and the way and manner some carry themselves in public.
In our First Reading, the Lord tells Moses, “Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them: You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy” (Lev 19:2).
The word, “holy”, both in Hebrew and Greek, connotes that which has been set apart for a sacred purpose. A holy person is therefore one who is set apart to fulfill a divine purpose.
No holy person is set apart for him/herself; we are set apart for others. To be holy is to become an instrument of God’s love and mercy to the human family. Holiness is expressed through reaching out to a brother or sister in need. The beauty of holiness shows forth when we give food to the hungry and water to the thirsty. Holiness is making a stranger feel welcome and clothing the naked. It is visiting those who are sick and in prison. In sum the yardstick for measuring holiness is the way and manner we treat our fellow human beings. We cannot claim to be on the path of holiness, if we willfully ignore the justified needs of our brothers and sisters.
Jesus says, “In truth I tell you, in so far as you did this to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it to me” (Mat 25:40).
PRAYER: Lord Jesus, keep me from pretense in the pursuit of holiness and give me a heart that expresses true love in service of my brothers and sisters. Amen
Andrews Obeng, SVD
DIVINE WORD MISSIONARIES
BIBLICAL PASTORAL MINISTRY
(Ghana Province)
“May the darkness of sin and the night of unbelief vanish before the light of the Word and the Spirit of grace. And may the heart of Jesus live in the hearts of all people” (St. Arnold Janssen)