Word to the Wise
Monday, March 14, 2011 - 1st Week of Lent - Mon
[Lev 19:1-2, 11-18 and Matt 25:31-46]The Lord said to Moses, "Speak to the whole assembly of the children of Israel and tell them: Be holy, for I, the Lord, your God, am holy." [Leviticus] Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me. [Matthew]
A visitor to the Sistine Chapel in Rome will not fail to turn toward the wall above the altar and behold Michaelangelo's dramatic fresco of THE LAST JUDGMENT! It is an "awesome" (in the best sense of the word) scene! One figure that stands out is the person who has just realized a terrible fate awaits him and the look on his face is one of horror at what awaits and realization of what might have been if only he had responded to God's grace! This scene usually comes to my mind whenever the passage from Matthew's gospel, which inspired the artist is read. The scripture from Leviticus which comes first today is from what is known by scripture scholars as the "Holiness Code" from the words in the lines quoted above. What I think many people miss is the connection between holiness and justice that the passage teaches. The reason may be that culturally we associate holiness with obvious acts of religious piety such as frequent church attendance and intense prayer. These may indeed be "signs" of holiness but the scripture today (and on many other occasions) reminds us that the holiness by which God will judge us consists of our attentiveness to the needs of our neighbor. This does not mean that we "earn" our way to heaven by good deeds, but rather that real holiness means our recognition of Christ in our brothers and sisters in need and responding to it. Thus, the words of the "judge" in the gospel do not refer to the number of pious acts we perform but to the pattern of our recognition of Christ when we meet him in the hungry, thirsty, naked, imprisoned, sick neighbors we have all around us and seeking to help them. The ways in which faith and holiness are expressed may indeed include what we consider "religious" acts such as prayer and sacraments, but Leviticus and Matthew today remind us that holiness is dependent on what we do when we are not in church! Lent offers us an opportunity to learn that lesson well and avoid the fate of the figure in the Last Judgment! AMEN
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