The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today declare that our relationships with the people in our environment define the holiness that we seek through our faith tradition.
The reading from the Book of Leviticus details various rules of conduct that define ritual and moral holiness.
* [19:11–13] Cf. the Decalogue commandments against stealing (Ex 20:15; Dt 5:19), wrongly using God’s name (Ex 20:7; Dt 5:11), and swearing falsely against another (Ex 20:16; Dt 5:20).
* [19:14] In Dt 27:18 a curse falls on the head of the one who misleads the blind.
* [19:17–18] These verses form a unit and describe different attitudes and actions towards one’s fellow Israelites. A separate passage is necessary to advise a similar attitude toward aliens (vv. 33–34). Cf. 25:39–46. The admonition at the end of v. 18 came to be viewed in Judaism and Christianity as one of the central commandments. (See Mt 22:34–40; Mk 12:28–34; Lk 10:25–28; cf. Mt 19:19; Rom 13:8–10; Gal 5:14). The New Testament urges love for enemies as well as neighbors (Mt 5:43–48; Lk 6:27–36; cf. Prv 25:21–22). (Leviticus, CHAPTER 19, n.d.)
Psalm 19 praises God’s Glory in Creation and the Law.
* [Psalm 19] The heavenly elements of the world, now beautifully arranged, bespeak the power and wisdom of their creator (Ps 19:2–7). The creator’s wisdom is available to human beings in the law (Ps 19:8–11), toward which the psalmist prays to be open (Ps 19:12–14). The themes of light and speech unify the poem. (Psalms, PSALM 19, n.d.)
The Gospel of Matthew describes the Judgement of the Nations.
* [25:31–46] The conclusion of the discourse, which is peculiar to Matthew, portrays the final judgment that will accompany the parousia. Although often called a “parable,” it is not really such, for the only parabolic elements are the depiction of the Son of Man as a shepherd and of the righteous and the wicked as sheep and goats respectively (Mt 25:32–33). The criterion of judgment will be the deeds of mercy that have been done for the least of Jesus’ brothers (Mt 25:40). A difficult and important question is the identification of these least brothers. Are they all people who have suffered hunger, thirst, etc. (Mt 25:35, 36) or a particular group of such sufferers? Scholars are divided in their response and arguments can be made for either side. But leaving aside the problem of what the traditional material that Matthew edited may have meant, it seems that a stronger case can be made for the view that in the evangelist’s sense the sufferers are Christians, probably Christian missionaries whose sufferings were brought upon them by their preaching of the gospel. The criterion of judgment for all the nations is their treatment of those who have borne to the world the message of Jesus, and this means ultimately their acceptance or rejection of Jesus himself; cf. Mt 10:40, “Whoever receives you, receives me.” See note on Mt 16:27. (Matthew, CHAPTER 25, n.d.)
Sara Schulte-Bukowinski shares her takeaway: know the call.
For me, for Christians, this means getting increasingly familiar with Jesus’ voice and learning to recognize it in contrast to other voices. Jesus’ voice calls towards a deepening of faith, hope and love. It is a voice that calls towards the corporal (embodied) works of mercy: feeding, giving drink, providing clothing, caring for and visiting the isolated. Sometimes I have to strain the ears of my hearts to hear the familiar call in the particularities of my own life. What does it look like for me, here and now? In Ignatian Spirituality we call this discernment. It helps me practice differentiating one voice from another in a world that pulls me in many directions. This is I believe what Pope Francis is calling the entire Church to do in the process of synodality. He has asked the whole Church to listen intently for the voice of the shepherd in our lives and in our community, and to try to distinguish it from the other voices of the world, not just as individuals but as the Body of Christ. (Schulte, 2024)
Don Schwager quotes “Gathering and Separating,” by an anonymous early author from the Greek church.
"And he will separate them one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats." So then, people on earth are intermingled, and not only intermingled in that the righteous live side by side with the wicked, but they are also indistinguishable. Between the righteous and the wicked there is no apparent difference. Even as in wintertime you cannot tell the healthy trees apart from the withered trees but in beautiful springtime you can tell the difference, so too each person according to his faith and his works will be exposed. The wicked will not have any leaves or show any fruit, but the righteous will be clothed with the leaves of eternal life and adorned with the fruit of glory. In this way they will be separated by the heavenly shepherd and Lord. The earthly shepherd separates animals by their type of body, whereas Christ separates people by their type of soul. The sheep signify righteous people by reason of their gentleness, because they harm no one, and by reason of their patience, because when they are harmed by others, they bear it without resistance. He refers to sinners as goats, however, because these vices characterize goats - capriciousness toward other animals, pride and belligerence." (excerpt from INCOMPLETE WORK ON MATTHEW, HOMILY 54, the Greek fathers). (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on Leviticus 19:1-2, 11-18 comments that just as God’s holiness is a matter of who he is and not what he does, the same is true for us. Through our time spent with the Lord, he makes us into a new creation. This transformation isn’t the result of our own moral fortitude or strength of will; it can only come about through a deep and abiding friendship with God. He is the only One who can truly heal our hearts and fill us with his own goodness and mercy.
As with all relationships, growing as a friend of God takes humility and time. It requires commitment on our part—we need to set ourselves apart from the world each day to be with him. It also means accepting that we will make mistakes along the way.
But thankfully, we do not just pursue friendship with God; he is pursuing friendship with us. Because of his great love, his deepest desire is to be with us. In that communion of love, he can do what we could never do on our own: he can make us holy as he is holy.
“God, give me the grace to look more like you every day.” (Meditation on Leviticus 19:1-2, 11-18, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler notes the shift in Leviticus from proclaiming the transcendental nature of God to a holiness code that exhorts the people to “Be holy as I am holy.” The coordinated message between the Hebrew and New Testament declares that our faith is also horizontal. Friar notes that judgement based on compassion is a theme in Matthew’s Gospel that opens with the compassion of Joseph for Mary.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, identifies the heroic journey as a type of “falling upward” into a new way of being. Falling down and moving up is the most counter-intuitive message in most of the world’s religions, including Christianity. We grow spiritually much more by doing it wrong than by doing it right. That just might be the central message of how spiritual growth happens, yet nothing in us wants to believe it.
By denying their pain and avoiding the necessary falling, many have kept themselves from their own spiritual journeys and depths—and therefore have been kept from their own spiritual heights. Because none of us desire, seek, or even suspect a downward path to growth, we have to get the message with the authority of a “divine revelation.” So, Jesus makes it into a central axiom: The “last” really do have a head start in moving toward “first,” and those who spend too much time trying to be “first” will never get there (Matthew 19:30). Jesus says this clearly in several places and in numerous parables, although those of us still on the first journey just cannot hear this. It has been considered mere religious fluff, as much of Western history has made rather clear. Our resistance to the message is so great that it could be called outright denial, even among sincere Christians. (Rohr, 2024)
We ponder the idea that true holiness is a matter of the compassion and goodness we share with others on our journey.
References
Leviticus, CHAPTER 19. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved February 19, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/leviticus/19?1
Matthew, CHAPTER 25. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved February 19, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/25?31
Meditation on Leviticus 19:1-2, 11-18. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved February 19, 2024, from https://wau.org/meditations/2024/02/19/898372/
Psalms, PSALM 19. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved February 19, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/19?8
Rohr, R. (2024, February 19). Falling Down and Moving Up — Center for Action and Contemplation. CAC Daily Meditations. Retrieved February 19, 2024, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/falling-down-and-moving-up/
Schulte, S. (2024, February 19). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved February 19, 2024, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/021924.html
Schwager, D. (n.d.). Eternal Life Versus Eternal Punishment. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved February 19, 2024, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2024&date=feb19
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