Moses speaks to Israel with solemnity.

“This day the Lord your God commands you to do these statutes and rules.
You shall therefore be careful to do them
with all your heart and with all your soul.”

Obedience is not presented as a suggestion.
It is covenant.

God has chosen Israel.
And Israel has agreed to belong to God.

“You have declared today that the Lord is your God…
and the Lord has declared today that you are a people for his treasured possession.”

This is not a contract between equals.
It is a relationship.

God commits Himself to His people.
And the people are to commit themselves to His ways.

Holiness is not decoration.
It is belonging.

To be God’s possession
means to live differently.

“To walk in his ways…
and to be a people holy to the Lord your God.”

This prepares us for the Gospel,
where Jesus shows us
how demanding that holiness truly is.

“You have heard that it was said,
‘You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy.’
But I say to you,
Love your enemies
and pray for those who persecute you.”

This is not refinement of the Law.
It is its fulfilment.

To love those who love us
requires little conversion.

To love those who oppose us
requires a new heart.

Jesus does not pretend
this is natural.

It is not.

It is divine.

“So that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven.”

The standard is not society.
It is God.

“For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good,
and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.”

God’s generosity
is not selective.

His love
is not tribal.

He does not wait
until people deserve light or rain.

He gives
because He is good.

And Jesus draws the conclusion:

“You therefore must be perfect,
as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

This is not about flawlessness.
It is about completeness.

A heart that loves only part of the time
is divided.

A heart that loves only its friends
is limited.

The perfection Jesus speaks of
is likeness to God.

And God loves without calculation.

This is where the Gospel becomes difficult.

We can accept the command
not to hate.

But Jesus goes further.

He commands prayer
for those who harm us.

Not tolerance.
Not distance.
Prayer.

That means bringing the enemy
into the presence of God.

Not to accuse.
But to entrust.

This does not excuse injustice.
It does not deny pain.

But it refuses to let hatred
have the final word.

Moses says the people
are to be God’s treasured possession.

Jesus shows what that possession looks like.

Not privilege.
But resemblance.

To belong to God
is to act like God.

And this exposes the temptation of Lent.

To think of holiness
as self-improvement.

Better habits.
Better discipline.
Better image.

Jesus is not asking
for cosmetic virtue.

He is asking
for transformed relationships.

The enemy is not a theory.
It is a person.

A neighbour who wounds.
A family member who betrays.
A voice that mocks faith.

And Christ places that person
inside the command of love.

Not because they are right.
But because God is.

Deuteronomy says:

“You are to be a people holy to the Lord your God.”

Holiness is not separation from sinners.
It is separation from hatred.

It is the refusal
to let evil determine how we live.

This is why Jesus links enemy-love
to sonship.

So that you may be sons of your Father.

Children resemble their father.

The Christian is not meant
to resemble the world’s logic.

The world says:
Protect yourself.
Retaliate.
Withdraw.

Christ says:
Pray.
Bless.
Love.

This does not make us weak.
It makes us truthful.

Because God does not win the world
by force.

He redeems it
by mercy.

Lent is the season
when this is tested.

Not in theory.
But in memory.

Who do we avoid?
Who do we resent?
Who do we silently condemn?

Jesus does not ask us
to feel affection.

He asks us
to will the good.

To place even the enemy
within the reach of prayer.

Moses says:
You belong to God.

Jesus says:
Then live as God lives.

The covenant
is not only a privilege.

It is a pattern.

God is holy.
God is generous.
God is merciful.

To be His people
is to learn the same way.

So the question today is not:

Do we love God?

It is:

Do we allow His love
to pass through us
even to those we would rather avoid?

“You shall be a people holy to the Lord your God.”

“You must be perfect
as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

They are not two commands.

They are one.

To belong to God
is to love as God loves.

And Lent
is the time
to begin again.