Liturgical Readings for : Wednesday, 6th March, 2024
Wednesday, Third Week in Lent
The Laws of Moses are a great treasure to be carefully guarded as a sacred trust.
The laws of Christ are more insightful and will never be out of date.
FIRST READING
A reading from the book of Deuteronomy 4:1. 5-9
Take notice of the laws, and observe them.
Moses said to the people:
‘And now, Israel, take notice of the laws and customs that I teach you today, and observe them, that you may have life and may enter and take possession of the land that the Lord the God of your fathers is giving you. See, as the Lord my God has commanded me, I teach you the laws and customs that you are to observe in the land you are to enter and make your own. Keep them, observe them, and they will demonstrate to the peoples your wisdom and understanding. When they come to know of all these laws they will exclaim, “No other people is as wise and prudent as this great nation.“
And indeed, what great nation is there that has its gods so near as the Lord our God is to us whenever we call to him? And what great nation is there that has laws and customs to match this whole Law that I put before you today?
‘But take care what you do and be on your guard. Do not forget the things your eyes have seen, nor let them slip from your heart all the days of your life; rather, tell them to your children and to your children’s children.’
The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God
Responsorial Psalm Ps 147
Response O praise the Lord, Jerusalem!
1. O praise the Lord, Jerusalem! Zion, praise your God!
He has strengthened the bars of your gates, he has blessed the children within you. Response
2. He sends out his word to the earth and swiftly runs his command.
He showers down snow white as wool, he scatters hoarfrost like ashes. Response
3. He makes his word known to Jacob, to Israel his laws and decrees.
He has not dealt thus with other nations; he has not taught them his decrees. Response
Gospel Acclamation Jn 8:12
Glory to you, O Christ, you are the Word of God!
‘I am the light of the world,’ says the Lord,’ anyone who follows me will have the light of life.’
Glory to you, O Christ, you are the Word of God!
or Jn 6:63, 65
Glory to you, O Christ, you are the Word of God!
Your words are spirit, Lord, and they are life; you have the message of eternal life.
Glory to you, O Christ, you are the Word of God!
GOSPEL
The Lord be with you. And with your spirit
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew 5: 17-19 Glory to you, O Lord
The man who keeps them and teaches them will be considered great in the kingdom of heaven.
Jesus said to his disciples:
‘Do not imagine that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have come not to abolish but to complete them. I tell you solemnly, till heaven and earth disappear, not one dot, not one little stroke, shall disappear from the Law until its purpose is achieved.
Therefore, the man who infringes even one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be considered the least in the kingdom of heaven; but the man who keeps them and teaches them will be considered great in the kingdom of heaven.’
The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
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Gospel Reflection Wed. Third Week of Lent Matthew 5:17-19
In today’s first reading, Moses is portrayed as asking the question, ‘What great nation is there that has is gods so near as the Lord our God is to us whenever we call upon him?’ Even though the people of Israel had a very strong sense of the otherness of God, God’s distance from them, they also had a sense of God’s nearness to them, God’s presence in the midst of their lives.
As followers of the Word who became flesh, we have an even stronger sense of the nearness of God to us, through his Son. Jesus came among us as Emmanuel, God-with-us, and he promised to be with us until the end of time. Even more than Moses, we can ask the question, ‘What great nation is there that has its gods so near as the Lord our God is to us whenever we call upon him?’ It is because Jesus knew himself to have a unique relationship with God, to be God-with-us, that he claimed the authority to reveal God’s will for our lives fully.
Up until the time of Jesus, it was believed that the Jewish Law revealed God’s will for the lives of his people. However, Jesus claimed to be a fuller revelation of God’s will for our lives than the Jewish Law. That is why Jesus says in today’s gospel reading,
‘Do not imagine that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them’. Jesus would complete the role of the Jewish Law by revealing God’s will for our lives more clearly and completely. That is why we stand up for the reading of the gospel. Because we believe that God is speaking to us through Jesus in a uniquely complete way, we spend our lives taking the word of Jesus to heart, so that it shapes all of our living.
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The Scripture Readings are taken from The Jerusalem Bible, published 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd.
