Wednesday of the Third Week of Lent
The Book of the Law (Torah) was the foundation for the faith of ancient Israel. God established a sacred covenant with His chosen people, setting them apart as His unique possession, promising them a land flowing with milk and honey, and offering divine protection. As their side of the agreement, the Israelites were pledged to obey the Lord’s commandments and worship only Him. God’s law was highly revered: “He has proclaimed his word to Jacob, his statutes and his ordinances to Israel. He has not done thus for any other nation” (Ps 147:19-20).
We are familiar with the tumultuous history of God’s people throughout the Old Testament. Repeatedly, His chosen ones strayed to worship other gods and failed to honor the Lord’s commands. Over time, they forsook the Torah, resulting in exile to a foreign land as captives of the Babylonian nation. Yet God promised His people a new covenant: “See, days are coming—oracle of the Lord—when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah” (Jer 31:31).
Jesus, a descendant of David, arrived in due time to fulfill this New Covenant and restore the original intent of the Law. “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 (Mt 5:17-18). Jesus, the new lawgiver and new Moses, does not discard the Torah, but perfects it by bringing it to fulfillment: “This is my commandment: love one another as I love you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (Jn 15:12). Jesus clarifies this profound meaning at the Last Supper: “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which will be shed for you” (Lk 22:20). This renewed covenant is a law of love, demonstrated by Christ’s sacrificial death for us on the Cross.
Lent challenges us to evaluate our lives, not just by outward traditions, but by the covenant of love we share with God and our brothers and sisters. In what ways can we renew this commitment? How can we more faithfully live out the law of love?
Reflection by Br. Michael Marcotte, OSB
Posted in Articles for Lent, Daily Reflections