Lenten Day V [Day]

Lenten Day V [Monday]

Collect of the Day [Rite I]

Almighty and everlasting God, mercifully increase in us thy gifts of holy discipline, in almsgiving, prayer, and fasting; that our lives may be directed to the fulfilling of thy most gracious will; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.

Assigned Lesson

Leviticus 19:1–2,11–18 [ESV]

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, "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. "You shall not steal; you shall not deal falsely; you shall not lie to one another. You shall not swear by my name falsely, and so profane the name of your God: I am the Lord . "You shall not oppress your neighbor or rob him. The wages of a hired worker shall not remain with you all night until the morning. You shall not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block before the blind, but you shall fear your God: I am the Lord . "You shall do no injustice in court. You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor. You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not stand up against the life of your neighbor: I am the Lord . "You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him. You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord .

http://bible.com/59/lev.19.1-18.ESV

Lenten Reflection

When I read this what I hear is the ringing out of the Decalogue, the Ten Words of God inscribed by the finger of God on tablets of stone for Moses to carry back to the people.  This reading speaks an affirmation on a good many of these words, especially in that section that deals with human interaction amongst ourselves.

This reading is a reminder that our faith drives us to press for high character.  Good behavior is not enough.  The Scriptures expect greatness and call us to put everything we have into such conduct.

There are two sections as I see it in this conduct: word and deed.

The section on deed needs not the same attention.  We don't always do very well at fairness in deed, but most of us know we should.

But how much thought do we give to the spoken word?  We do well to never forget that words are powerful.  They can be instruments of healing.  But words can also be sharper than swords, causing great suffering and hardship.  Perhaps the greatest lie ever told and believed is that famous children's line: "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me."

And yet how many people, not just children, have we witnessed in tears, broken in spirit and pierced into the depths of their being, through words spoken in slander and hatred?  We have now what this is like for dare I say we have done more than observe others on that moment.  At times it has been us who have received such blows to our soul delivered by those around us.

From that remembrance, we find a place where we can hear God saying: "you shall love your neighbor as yourself."

Would we want someone to say about us what we are about to say?  Would we receive well what we are about to do if someone were about to do the very thing to us?  The high character expected here isn't intended to be so much a challenge as it is an invitation to continuous examination of the self and pondering our intentions with the goal of being beyond reproach and exemplifying the righteousness of God.

Left to ourselves we could never do this, and this high character would be too high, indeed it would not be achievable.  But even in Lent we are reminded that we are never alone, for God is a always near, equipping us for the life to which we have been called by none other than God.