Feb. 21st

Post date: Mar 02, 2021 7:25:22 PM

February 21, 2021 Homily by Fr. Karl Schray

Just as Noah and family spent 40 days in the Ark, so now Jesus spends 40 days

in the desert being tempted. But that’s not all!

God made a new covenant under a rainbow with Noah and his family.

God made a new and permanent covenant through his Son, Jesus Christ.

Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus goes into Galilee and begins to preach.

The first words out of his mouth, as Mark reports them, serve as a sort of summary statement of his life and work: “This is the time of fulfillment.

The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the gospel.”

The moment has arrived, the privileged time, the Kairos, something that human

beings have been longing for and striving after and hoping to see has appeared,

and the time is now for a decision, for action. Jesus’ first words are

a wake-up call, a warning bell in the night, and a summons to attention.

This is not the time to be asleep, not the time to be languishing in complacency

and self-satisfaction, not the time for delaying tactics, for procrastination and second guessing.

In the Byzantine liturgy, we find the oft-repeated call to ‘be attentive’,

and in the Buddhist tradition, there is a great emphasis placed on wakefulness.

The initial words of Jesus’ first sermon are an invitation to psychological and

spiritual awareness; there is something to be seen, so open your eyes!

Reflect: Is there anything that

you have been putting off that you believe Jesus wants you to do?

What can you do this week to address your procrastination?