The readings for the first Monday of Lent pair the Holiness Code from Leviticus (“be holy for I the Lord, your God, am holy”) with the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats (“Whatsoever you do to the least, that you do unto me.”) The Old Testament lesson reminds us of the importance of acting with integrity individually and giving justice toward everyone, not showing “partiality to the weak nor deference to the mighty.” The Gospel reminds us that “the weak” have a special claim on us since they possess the very face of Christ. As Anatole France once remarked: “The law, in its majestic equality, forbids rich and poor alike to sleep under bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal their bread.”
