February 21, 2021

Homily for the FIRST SUNDAY OF LENT

FEBRUARY 21, 2021

AMDG

(Please read: Genesis 9:8-15)

“Through the words of the Gospel, may our sins be wiped away.”

During the liturgical year, we follow Jesus throughout his entire life. We even go through many of the experiences that Jesus had during his time on this earth.

One of the most important times that we experience with Jesus is found in the season of Lent.

During the forty days of Lent, we follow Christ during his own forty days in the desert.

Lent is a very difficult time for us. Yet, in a certain sense, I love the season of Lent because there is a simplicity to this season. And, we also know what these 40 days are about.

There is no confusion during Lent. It is a time to repent. It is a time for conversion.

During Lent, we go through what Jesus experienced so that you and I can become more like Jesus.

Lent is a difficult time. It is a time of discipline as we fast from large meals and snacks, and abstain from meat on certain days.

It is a time of spiritual growth as we observe our Lenten penances that we choose to follow.

It is also a time of deeper prayer as we come to the Stations of the Cross on Friday evenings, and also to Eucharistic Adoration throughout each Friday of Lent. Or, maybe we choose to attend an extra Mass on a weekday throughout Lent.

It is a time to receive the Sacrament of Confession with a heart that is longing to actually change for the better as we seek to be more like Christ.

Lent is a tough time. But it is also a time of great blessings as we see ourselves actually becoming true Christians in the way that we live our lives.

This year, as it sometimes happens, Lent began with a weather pattern that put us deep into the heart of winter. Snow, extreme cold temperatures, and frigid winds brought in this year’s season of Lent.

But, at the same time, we all know that when Easter arrives, we will be in the season of Spring. Warmer temperatures and longer days, along with the new life budding forth as trees will be growing new leaves, and flowers will be starting to blossom.

When we think of Lent, we know that winter will become spring. That is the great promise of this season of prayer, fasting and almsgiving.

In today’s readings, we see that same pattern of death giving way to new life. We see promises of hope being made during great disasters. We see suffering leading us to God who cares for us.

In the Gospel, we hear that Jesus went to the desert for forty days. The gospel of St. Mark tells us that Jesus went to the desert because “the Spirit drove Jesus out into the desert.”

For us, the season of Lent is not by choice, is it? When the time comes, we are also driven by the Holy Spirit into this season. It has to happen, just as it had to happen for Jesus, as well.

And while Jesus was in that dry, barren desert, he was tempted by Satan. He was also “among wild beasts.” Yet, “the angels ministered to him.”

The 40 days in the desert were hard, long days of temptation. Jesus was alone in the desert. He had no friends to rely on. Instead, he was surrounded by wild beasts.

Yet, in this horrible time, Jesus was accompanied by the angels who ministered to him.

The forty days in the desert found Jesus being confronted by Satan and threatened by wild beasts. But, during these days, Jesus was not without the angels to care for him.

For us as well, during these Lenten days, we will also find ourselves tempted to not take these days so seriously. The wild beasts of our imaginations will threaten to harm us if we try to live the words of Christ - if we try to “repent, and believe in the gospel.”

But, if we are faithful, if we persevere, we will find that the angels of God will be with us. They will protect us and care for us if we are faithful to God.

Fear – and the well-founded hope for protection from fear: this is what Lent is all about. And we have the witness of the Sacred Scriptures to show us what we need to believe.

For example, in today’s first reading, we heard the story of Noah and the ark at the end of the great flood.

The flood had destroyed and killed every living being on earth, except the family of Noah, and all of the animals placed in the ark.

In this passage, God speaks to Noah and his sons. God gives them a sign in the sky that the flood waters will soon begin to disappear. The dry land would appear again.

And the sign in the sky was a rainbow. The rainbow is a reminder that “the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all mortal beings.”

During that time of the great flood, the entire earth was destroyed and all life was ended.

But, now, a rainbow stands as a divine promise that no flood will ever again destroy all mortal beings.

God tells Noah that the rainbow is a sign of His covenant that will never end. God says, “this is the sign that I am giving for all ages to come, of the covenant between me and you and every living creature with you. I set my bow in the clouds to serve as a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.”

Finally, in St. Peter’s letter in today’s second reading, we hear that the sufferings of Christ point to a deeper covenant which is the new and eternal covenant established by Christ as he shed his blood on the cross.

St. Peter writes, “Christ suffered for sins once, the righteous for the sake of the unrighteous, that he might lead you to God.”

The sufferings of Christ are beyond anything that our minds could ever conceive. Yet, everything that Jesus experienced on the cross was offered for us – to lead us to God.

“Put to death in the flesh, he was brought to life in the Spirit.” This is a message of tragedy that gives life to hope.

Death leads to life; flesh to Spirit – this is the path that Christ followed. This is the path that we are also walking on during these forty days of Lent.

Do not be afraid. Yes, Satan will raise up every temptation against you – he knows your weaknesses. Yes, you will be surrounded by wild beasts – and it will sometimes feel as though you have no friends during these coming days.

But, remember: the angels will minister to you. The rainbow will glisten in the rain-soaked sky. The covenant with God will never disappear – it will hold you firm.

And, above all, dying in the flesh gives life in the Spirit.

That is the meaning of Lent.

Lent is a very difficult time. That is true.

But, above all, Lent is a time to hear God promise us life that sustains us beyond this passing moment.

This promise of God is as true and real as the hope-filled understanding that in the weeks ahead, Easter will bring with it – without doubt - the joy of the season of Spring.

PRAY EVERY DAY!