Reflection for Friday of the Third Week of Lent
Return. The prophet Hosea calls on the people of Israel to return to the Lord. How hard it is to return to what is right and leave behind what is evil! We mortals find it easy to observe others in hard situations and think we have the answer for them. We come to realize that returning to what is good is not so easy when we are the ones who fall “off the good path.” Robert Merton described what is called the “Matthew Effect” in which those who have wealth will gain more, and those who have less will lose what they already have. Another way to phrase it is that if you’re going down the wrong path, you will continue to experience negative consequences. The upside is that if you find the right path, you will continue to gain more, as long as you offer what gave you success to begin with.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus shows us the best way to return to God. When asked what commandment is the greatest, He says simply to love the Lord your God with all your heart and to love your neighbor as yourself. The scribe who posed this question to Jesus filled in the gap. He declared this Commandment “worth more than all burnt offerings.” And indeed it is. All the worship and sacramentals in the world cannot replace the love we owe to God and neighbor. St. Basil said the love of God and love of neighbor are not separate. One contributes to the other. No Christian can worship God in love and then hate his neighbor.
Let us return to the Lord. As Israel was called to do, let us do as well. Examine your life. Make a good examination of conscience this Lent. Ask yourself if you are truly living out the Commandment to love God and to love your neighbor.
Reflection by Br. Matthew Marie, OSB
Posted in Daily Reflections, Lenten Resources