Our readings for Wednesday in the Third Week of Lent comes from Deuteronomy 4:5-10, and Matthew 5:17-19. In Matthew, obeying the commands of God is paramount. Jesus says he has come to fulfill the law. Fulfilling the law says to me you become the law’s standard bearer. You must live it show it and teach it. The law looks like you. You become the good example of the law.

The Old Testament reading tells us the law is to be revered and respected. Deuteronomy 4:9-10 explains further. it says do not forget the things your eyes have seen. Ensure they do not fade from your heart as long as you live. Being exemplars of the law is to always have it at the forefront of the mind. Teach it, Deuteronomy says. Teach them to your children and to their children after them. Verse 10 emphasizes telling others so that God’s words may be revered. The commandments are sacred.

We see in Jesus’ ministry and in the way he lived how he understood the law. He understood that the law was not a shackle. The law was about maintaining good relationships. It was also about caring for others. The law was love. The law was not like a doctor’s prescription taking exact doses at recommended times. Rather, it was a description of what our lives should look like. It is living a life of integrity. Yes, we sometimes get it wrong. But we pick ourselves up and put on the sackcloth and ashes. We ask for forgiveness, brush off. We forgive ourselves, and start again. We pay attention to how we behave.

Jesus says that the practicality of the law is love God and love your neighbour, in the same way you love yourself. He is very clear that showing that love means treating persons as you would want to be treated. He says elsewhere, we are to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit those in prison and welcome the stranger. Here he says we must teach others how to live out the commandments. We must treat all persons with dignity. We should love them and guide them in the care of their souls. Show them how to relate to others.

we follow Jesus we are not afraid to love despite the possibility of rejection misunderstandings and persecution. Jesus teaches that life happens. We, are each called to live our best lives, unshackled in spirit and mind. We are called to be free thinkers coming more and more into the understanding of God. we should be showing the sacrificial love that Jesus exemplifies. We may not be called to give up our life like Martin Luther King. However, we too, might find ourselves in a place where standing up for what is right, makes us seem like the wrongdoer. This can be challenging. It requires courage and conviction.

Both Deuteronomy and Matthew suggest that the law is not to be abandoned, but is to be lived out fully and with a deep understanding. There is a Higher Standard of Righteousness to be attained. This right living is expressed in how we treat others. Jesus emphasizes that true righteousness goes beyond doing for doing sake. It is not just going through the motions, but making the laws be in your blood. It is a commitment rain or shine. People can trust your word and actions. That takes time to develop. As the Sunday School song says, “I feel god in my head, I feel him in my feet, I feel him all over me.” We become God in us. We live with a healthy respect for God.

Both passages highlight the importance of teaching and passing on God’s word and commandments to others, particularly future generations. We are to ensure that the knowledge of God and God’s law is preserved. we cant teach what we don’t know or understand. And if we keep learning, observing and reflecting, we will unlearn the wrong and keep focused on the right things. The love of God will keep you safe and secure.

We do so by binding unto yourself today
“the power of God to hold and lead,
his eye to watch, his might to stay,
his ear to hearken to my need;
the wisdom of my God to teach,
his hand to guide, his shield to ward,
the word of God to give me speech,
his heavenly host to be my guard.

Binding unto yourself the name,
the strong name of the Trinity,
by invocation of the same,
the Three in One, and One in Three,
of whom all nature hath creation,
eternal Father, Spirit, Word.
Praise to the Lord of our salvation:
salvation is of Christ the Lord.”

Amen