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(9th March 2025) Homily for the First Sunday of Lent

READ: (Deut 26: 4-10; Rom 10: 8-13; Lk 4: 1-13)

REFLECT: Remember... Remember... Remember…

My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ, we are in the first Sunday of Lent. You must be wondering as what to remember. There are so many things to remember. We need not remember everything but remember the good and great things experienced in life by God directly or through various persons. When we remember the good and great things in life, the negative impulses and vibration would get rid of us. Our lives will move smoothly. So remembrance is not just mere thinking or  brooding over the  past experiences of life rather becoming aware of  the experiences and  living  lives with the lesson that it teaches or taught us. Do this in remembrance of me are the words of Jesus at the last supper. It calls for awareness of what Jesus did and living the lesson of it in life. I am sure the readings of the day invite each one us to remember the things that will take us closer to God. So on the basis of today’s liturgy, I would like to share with you three points of reflection.

1.  Remember the greatness of God

We read in 1 Chronicles 29:11, “Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, indeed everything that is in the heavens and the earth; yours is the dominion, O Lord, and You exalt yourself as head over all.” So God is great, his works and words are great. When we remember the greatness of God our life becomes pretty beautiful and meaningful. That’s what we have in the first reading from the book of Deuteronomy. The reading reminds us to remember the greatness of God to the people of Israel. Moses tells the peopel of God to give the first furits of the product of the soil and remember God’s greatness in reverance. So we have in the first reading the great works of the lord done that initially they were under Egyptian slavery but the Lord brought them out and has given them a land flowing honey and milk. They remember the greatness of God and acknowledge that it is the great work of and so gratefully they remember the greatness of God and offer the produce of the soil as an offering to the Lord.

However, offering the first fruits to God is not merely about giving what is best we cultivated or harvested rather it manifests the heart of gratitude and remembrance to God for all his  blessings done to us in  our lives. That’s what the people of Israel used to offer God, the first fruits as signs of gratitude to God for all the favours and blessings received. Therefore, we could rightly say that offering first fruits to God revealed their continued relationship, their total dependence, trust and recognition of God’s power and greatness in their life. That’s what we are invited to do to remember the greatness of God in our lives and be grateful to him always, for the innumerable blessings and gifts that we all have been blessed with, since the very beginning of life from God.

Today we need to remember the same in life too. Instead of looking at the horrible past and miserable experiences of life, just take a count of great deeds that God has worked in our lives. It is very easy to blame someone but difficult to number the goodness and greatness of someone with whom we live, from whom we have experienced every sort of goodness and favour in life. Lent is one such a time to remember with gratitude the greaness of God and goodness of God in life through various persons, places and times. Let our remembrance of God’s goodness and greatness should not remain occasionally, whenever we are happy with the situations or circumstances of life. It should become part of life, remembering God’s goodness and greatness and be grateful to God always.

Just as the Israelites were invited to remember how God freed them from slavery in Egypt by his power and providence, we should reflect as well on how God has been faithful to us through challenging times. When we go through tough times, we need to take a moment to recall past moments of struggles where God was with us, providing strength, wisdom, or comfort. Just as Moses reminded the Israelites to teach their children about God’s greatness, similarly we too need to teach the children and the younger generation about God’s greatness and faithfulness, so that, they too remember God’s greatness and honor him forever. Just as God promised the Israelites a land flowing with milk and honey, so also we need to believe in God’s promise and providence that  God will continue to provide us all that we need to make our lives prosperous and successful. Ultimately, gratitude to God makes our lives abide in abundance of grace.

That’s why Pope Francis very emphatically shares, “Gratitude to God is expressed in concrete actions, in the offering of our lives to Him. The first fruit of our work, of our labour, is what we give to the Lord, not because He needs it, but because it helps us to open our hearts to Him and to others.” Yes, when we offer to God, God grants us blessings in abundance. It is not that I keep for myself first and then give the rest to God or others rather we need to come forward in giving God first and then God gives us the rest in full measure.

2.  Remember the word of faith

We hear from the priests at every holy Eucharist, ‘the mystery of faith’ and we respond different proclamation. We proclaim the life, sufferring, death and resurrection of Jesus. So this is our faith that Jesus lived, suffered, died and rose again and he continues to remain with us. That’s what we see in the Second reading from St. Paul’s letter to the Romans, “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God has raised Jesus from the dead, you will be saved.” Yes, the saving act of God is obtained by remembering the words of faith and living it as a reality of life.  Like Jesus, we live, suffer, die and will rise again. This is the totality of human life. For us Christians, life does not end in death rather it has another turning point called resurrection by the power and grace of God, through Jesus Christ. The seasson of lent invites us to remember the words of faith and lays before us an invitation to live the faith lively, joyfully and meaningfully.

The important thing that we need to remember is confessing Jesus as Lord is a public declaration of faith. It’s something that needs to be acknowledged openly. That’s why St. Paul reminds us that salvation comes through this declaration of faith. Therefore, we need not to be scared to to share our faith in God with others. It does not matter in what medium we do, whether it is by words or, actions, we need to stand firm in faith, acknowledging that Jesus is Lord and God. Such firm faith will have positive influence and a powerful impact on others.  Thus, if we get an opportunity, we shall not miss it rather speak about the faith that we profess and make known the deeds and messages of Christ to one another in the world. So that it brings healing, transformation and renewal in life.

Further, in the second reading of the day, St.  Paul as well brings us to realization and awareness that the resurrection is very significant event and central to Christianity. We hear from St.  Paul exhorting us in his letter to First Corinthians, “Without resurrection, our faith would be in vain” (1 Cor 15:17). Yes, in our daily living, we need to realize the significance of resurrection, so that we obtain hope and optimism in life, gain mastery and victory over our fatal life. Such attitude will enable us to deal life’s trials, struggles and challenges smoothly and positively. We could say that it would offer us new hope, strength and vigor to live our faith more concretely in word and deed. Let us take to heart that faith in Christ is not merely a statement rather it is a life-style. It becomes part of us and we value Christ’s resurrection, believe in it, live it and make known the same to others, so that others as well obtain hope and strength in times of difficulties.

Today we need to remember that life, suffering, death and resurrection is part of life. This is the faith that we are not only called to confess or profess rather practice in life. As much as we believe in the word of faith, so much shall be our sanctity and saving act of God. The saving action or salvation of us will take place only if we belive that Jesus is Lord and king of our lives. So let us pray that we live the words of faith in life. We need to realize in life that confessing Jesus as Lord and God, believing in the resurrection is not just a one-time act rather it is an ongoing process that lasts forever. Thus by accepting Jesus both in hearts and by our words we accept the salvation that God offers us and we invite in turn to do the same.

As Pope Francis very aptly points out, “True faith is not an abstract belief, it is a living faith. Faith in Jesus Christ must be lived out in acts of charity, in compassion, in solidarity with the poor and the suffering.” Yes, we need to connect and manifest faith to action, because faith becomes livelier when it is lived out what’s read or said. We can be firm that true belief and confession would create an impact on everyone and every part of life.

3.  Remember the divine fibre

We all have a strong fibre or backbone that strengthens our physical fitness or elegance. Similarly, we have a divine fibre in us, which makes every activity that we do meaningful and joyful. Our life becomes steady and successful when we remember the divine fibre in us. We know that our human life is encircled by the three important aspects food, power and doubt.  Food is for the physical sustenance, power is for exercising the human responsibilities in service and doubt to clarify the unanswered areas or uncertainties of life. But the gospel reading reminds us that we need to rise above these aspects of food, power and doubt of human life to get in touch with the divine. That’s what we see in the Gospel reading as how Jesus is tempted by Satan and how  Jesus overcame the vicious circle of satan by remembering and making known to Satan that Jesus is not merely son of human person rather the Son of God, who has every power on heaven above and earth beneath.  Jesus overcomes the temptations of life by remembering God’s word in his journey as Son of God. Therefore, Jesus quotes three bible verses to counteract Satan and reminds Satan the strong divine fibre that enables him to overcome temptations of daily life or daily pleasures.

a.      A command to turn stone to bread...

Jesus quotes the scripture, “Man does not live on bread alone but needs every word that comes from the mouth of God.” Yes, true indeed, food for physical hunger is importatnt but more than the physical hunger the food of spiritual nourishment is important, because the word of God strenghtens the soul and animates life. The spiritual nourishment is obtained by God’s word. God’s word touches and quenches the thirst of human souls. It forms us daily to be convinced of what we believe and makes us transformed persons to be Christ-like in our attitudes and approaches to life.

b.      A command to worship falsely

Jesus quotes the scripture, “You shall worship the Lord your God and shall serve him alone.”  We see here the Power chaos or crisis. We all know and have experienced that power is important as long as it helps others to serve better but it fails when we used it to dominate or make others subservient to us, enslaving them and treating them without human dignity and respect. It is also a reminder that we are all not all powerful on earth because our powers are limited in many ways. It makes us to realize that God is our power and he is all powerful. Therefore, our power, position, potency is to be exercised for the better service of others. Thus, we are called to worship our God, the God of power and a powerful God of all.

c.       A command to doubt God’s saving act

Jesus quotes the scripture, “You shall not put the Lord your God to test.” It is natural that doubting the certainty of God’s existence and God’s protection is the nature of us human beings at times. We doubt because we lack clarity, we doubt because we don’t believe, we doubt because we are not open to God’s promptings through the Spirit. We doubt because we go through a hard process of denial and suffering in life at times. We doubt because we have not received what we wished for or wanted in life.  But, whatever it may be, the Lord reminds us of our safety and security is for sure in the Lord. Therefore, we need to believe and not to put the Lord our God to test.

Let us remember today, that however rich we may be as human beings but we have limitations as human persons. Because physical hunger, power and doubt are basic and part of human life. There are people who can do anything to satiate physical hunger, to obtain power to rule and doubt the power of God. The Lenten season reminds us that although we are created beings but we are created in God’s image. The image of God calls for holiness. The image of God calls for a movement from human nature and live the divine nature in us. We need to realize one thing that temptations are natural to us human beings but what makes us special and strong is overcoming them and being faithful children of God at all times. Thus, if we remember the right thing, we shall reside in the love of God. So let us remember the greatness of God and be grateful, remmber the word of faith and believe in Jesus and remember our human nature and take a leap towards the divine nature in us to be complete as God’s creation and God’s children.

RESPOND:

Do we remember the greatness and goodness of God and remain grateful to God for all his blessings always?

Do we remember the word of faith in Christ and translate or put them to practice in life?

Do we realize that we have a divine fiber in us and such approach transforms and forms us daily to be a true disciple of Christ?

Let us remember God’s greatness, proclaim our faith in word and deed, and realize the divine fiber in us to be God’s children always. Amen.

God bless us all! Live Jesus!