Fifth Day of Lent

Camden, New Jersey

I was thirsty….

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February 19, 2024

Collect and lections from the Episcopal Lesser Feasts and Fasts Holy Women, Holy Men:  Celebrating the Saints

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Follow the assigned readings with me this Lent….

Kenneth Randolph Taylor

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Leviticus 19:1-2, 11-18 (New Jerusalem Bible):

Yahweh spoke to Moses and said: Speak to the whole community of Israelites and say:

Be holy, for I, Yahweh, am holy:

You will not steal, nor deal deceitfully or fraudulently with your fellow-citizen.  You will not swear by my name with intent to deceive and thus profane the name of your God.  I am Yahweh. You will not exploit or rob your fellow.  You will not keep back the labourer’s wage until the next morning.  You will not curse the dumb or put an obstacle in in the way of the blind, but will fear your God.  I am Yahweh.

You will not be unjust in administering justice.  You will neither be partial to the poor nor overawed by the great, but will administer justice to your fellow-citizen justly.  You will not go about slandering your own family, nor will you put your neighbour’s life in jeopardy.  I am Yahweh.  You will not harbour hatred for your brother.  You will reprove your fellow-countryman firmly and thus avoid burdening yourself with a sin.  You will not exact vengeance on, or bear any sort of grudge against, the members of your race, but will love your neighbour as yourself.  I am Yahweh.

Psalm 19:8-14 (New Jerusalem Bible):

The precepts of Yahweh are honest; joy for the heart;

the commandment of Yahweh is pure, light for the eyes.

The fear of Yahweh is pure, lasting for ever;

the judgements of Yahweh are true, upright, every one,

more desirable than gold, even more than finest gold;

his words are sweeter than honey, that drips from the comb.

Thus your servant is formed by them;

observing them brings great reward.

But who can detect his own failings:

Wash away my hidden faults.

And from pride preserve your servant, never let it be my master.

So shall I be above reproach, free from grave sin.

May the words of my mouth always find favour, and the whispering of my heart,

in your presence, Yahweh, my rock, my redeemer.

Matthew 25:31-46 (New Jerusalem Bible):

[Jesus said,]

When the Son of man comes in his glory, escorted by all the angels, then he will take his seat on his throne of glory.  All nations will be assembled before him and he will separate people one from another as the shepherd separates sheep from goats.  He will place the sheep on his right hand and the goats on his left.  Then the King will say to those on his right hand, ‘Come, you whom my Father has blessed, take as your heritage the kingdom prepared for you since the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you made me welcome, lacking clothes and you clothed me, sick and visited me, in prison and you came to see me.’ Then the upright will say to him in reply, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and make you welcome, lacking clothes and clothe you? When did we find you sick or in prison and go to see you?’ And the King will answer, ‘In truth I tell you, in so far as you did this to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it to me.’

Then he will say to those on his left hand, ‘Go away from me, with your curse upon you, to the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.  For I was hungry and you never gave me food, I was thirsty and you never gave me anything to drink, I was a stranger and you never made me welcome, lacking clothes, and you never clothed me, sick and in prison and you never visited me.’ Then it will be their turn to ask, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty, a stranger or lacking clothes, sick or in prison, and did not come to your help?’ Then he will answer, ‘In truth I tell you, in so far as you neglected to do this to one of the least of these, you neglected to do it to me.’ And they will go away to eternal punishment, and the upright to eternal life.

The Collect:

Almighty and everlasting God, mercifully increase in us your gifts of holy discipline, in almsgiving, prayer, and fasting; that our lives may be directed to the fulfilling of your  most gracious will; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.

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I feel succinct today, for repeating the contents of the readings would be merely redundant.

Three points come to mind.  The first is a repeat of what I have written in earlier posts:  unless we love our fellow human beings, whom we can see, we cannot love God, whom we cannot see.  The second is also a rerun:  Good orthopraxy is indistinguishable from proper orthodoxy.  My third point is this:  The Roman Catholic Church is correct in its theology with regard to salvation:  we need both intellectual faith and visible works.  For more details on this point, read the entire Letter of James.

KRT

Written on February 19, 2010

Edited on October 27, 2010

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