1st WEEK OF LENT (A) : Monday 23rd February 2026

In the Old Testament, love was a very practical thing. You treated others as you would like to be treated. Love was a verb rather than a noun – it was ‘doing.’ In other words, love was shown more in action than anything else. In the New Testament, Jesus joined the command from Leviticus – love your neighbour as yourself – with the Shema in Deuteronomy – Hear, O Israel, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, and strength. By doing this, he signalled that loving God and loving others go together and can never be separated.

This is illustrated dramatically in the judgment of the nations in Matthew. Those who were admitted to God’s kingdom were totally unaware of having done anything special or religious. They merely saw human suffering and need, and responded to it in concrete ways, no questions asked. In other words, they had loved others. Those turned away from the kingdom were rejected not for anything they had done, but for what they had not done. They saw the suffering and need, but ignored it. They were unbelievably selfish. And there is no room for selfishness and lack of compassion in God’s kingdom.

PRAYER: Lord, may I always be sensitive to human suffering.