Bible Diary

Daily Reading

Wednesday of the Third Week of Lent

LECTIONARY
239

FIRST READING

DT 4:1, 5-9

Moses spoke to the people and said:
"Now, Israel, hear the statutes and decrees
which I am teaching you to observe,
that you may live, and may enter in and take possession of the land
which the LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you.
Therefore, I teach you the statutes and decrees
as the LORD, my God, has commanded me,
that you may observe them in the land you are entering to occupy.
Observe them carefully,
for thus will you give evidence
of your wisdom and intelligence to the nations,
who will hear of all these statutes and say,
'This great nation is truly a wise and intelligent people.'
For what great nation is there
that has gods so close to it as the LORD, our God, is to us
whenever we call upon him?
Or what great nation has statutes and decrees
that are as just as this whole law
which I am setting before you today?

"However, take care and be earnestly on your guard
not to forget the things which your own eyes have seen,
nor let them slip from your memory as long as you live,
but teach them to your children and to your children's children."

PSALM

PS 147:12-13, 15-16, 19-20

Response: Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.

Glorify the LORD, O Jerusalem;
praise your God, O Zion.
For he has strengthened the bars of your gates;
he has blessed your children within you.

He sends forth his command to the earth;
swiftly runs his word!
He spreads snow like wool;
frost he strews like ashes.

He has proclaimed his word to Jacob,
his statutes and his ordinances to Israel.
He has not done thus for any other nation;
his ordinances he has not made known to them.

GOSPEL

MT 5:17-19

Jesus said to his disciples:
"Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets.
I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.
Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away,
not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter
will pass from the law,
until all things have taken place.
Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments
and teaches others to do so
will be called least in the Kingdom of heaven.
But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments
will be called greatest in the Kingdom of heaven."

Daily Reflection

Those who look at the Commandments as a burden that must be carried have failed to understand the intention of the Law. All the Commandments of the Lord are meant as a help to live a fuller life and in harmony with all of creation. The Law covers all aspects of life – reverence for God, respect for self, property, goods and neighbours, lest selfish and harmful desires take over.

The readings, today, talk about the importance of the Law. Moses tells the people of Israel to observe and practice God’s Law as it is rooted in love. They were also to teach it to their children and their children’s children.

In the Gospel, Jesus assures the people that He has come to fulfill the Law and that in fulfilling them we too will be “great in the kingdom of heaven”. Jesus also warns those who mislead others to violate the Law, that they will bring destruction upon themselves.

Perhaps if we seek to truly understand the tenets of our faith, we will realise that they could become a way of life!