“Therefore, you shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength. Take to heart these words which I enjoin on you today.” (Deuteronomy 6, 5-6).
On the Third Sunday of Lent, we heard about God delivering the Ten Commandments to His people. It can be helpful to remember the origin of the Commandments. The Israelites were fleeing Egypt and heading for the Promised Land. While in Egypt, they were under Pharoah, enslaved, faced with oppressive inequality, and facing death as a constant threat. The Commandments were given in order that they might begin to live under God, with freedom, blessed with radical equality before God, and with an opportunity to embrace life in all its fullness. The Israelites needed to be encouraged to make God dearer than anything else they valued in life, including life itself. Do we need the same encouragement?
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A Lenten lesson: it seems that Jesus himself often turned to the Book of Deuteronomy in forming His own response to life and all of its possibilities. Apparently, Deuteronomy was among His favorite texts for its emphasis on compassion for our neighbors and devotion to God each passing day. Whether in the temptation scene (Matthew 4, 1-11) or in answering the questions about the first and greatest law (Mark 12, 28-34), Jesus used this book and this can help us appreciate Jesus’ reflection: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets, but to fulfill them . . . not the smallest part of a letter of the law shall be done away with until it all comes true.” Lent is opening the door to growing into the mind of Christ, so that every wish which comes from God will become our guide to living. Let us continue to turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel.
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¿Qué sentido tienen para nosotros los Mandamientos de la Ley de Dios? Para algunos, son el resumen y la cima de toda moralidad. Para otros, regulaciones estrechas y fuera de moda. Y aún para otros, obstáculos para la libertad del Evangelio.
Para los Israelitas, eran la expresión de fidelidad a Dios y al pueblo entero, como parte de la Alianza con Dios. Los mandamientos eran el camino para liberarse de toda forma de esclavitud: de los otros dioses, del egoísmo, del rencor, y de la explotación de una persona por otra. Eran el signo de pertenencia del pueblo a Dios, y de la cercanía de Dios al pueblo. Y testificaban que el amor a Dios y el amor al prójimo no pueden separarse.
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En Cristo, todo esto queda cumplido, y mucho más. Los mandamientos permanecen, y se convierten en un paso fundamental, no hacia la salvación por medio de observancias externas, pero para buscar comunicación con Dios en Cristo y comunión con nuestro prójimo – y están animados por el amor.
Que el gran Mandamiento que nos dio Jesús guíe nuestra vida y la haga rica y hermosa. Lo recordamos: “Amen a Dios, y a su prójimo como a ustedes mismos.” Contamos con la fuerza y la gracia del Señor.
