INTRODUCTION
The theme linking the three readings of this First Sunday of Lent is the destruction of the world ruled by evil and the beginning of a new world and a new humanity. The First reading captures this theme through the story of the purifying flood (deluge) giving rise to a new people of the covenant. The Second Reading translates the theme to Baptism as a sacramental flood that marks the birth of new creatures in Christ. The Gospel reading concludes the whole discourse by placing Christ as the One who destroys evil (no longer the flood) and calls his own to a new life in God. This new life is what the Church tries to achieve as a central goal of Lent by leading her children to metanoia or true “repentance,” by reordering their priorities, and the changing of their values, ideals, and ambitions through fasting, prayer, almsgiving which are the traditional pillars of the lenten season.
FIRST READING: Genesis 9:8-15
God will never rest as long as sin persists.
If we want to have a full grasp of the story of the great deluge and eventually the nature of the Noahic covenant, we must take a step back to how it all began. The Chapter 3 of the book of Genesis accounts for the origin of sin by telling of the Fall of man. Chapter 4 continues the dark story by telling of the murder of Abel by his brother Cain. Chapter 5 lays the groundwork for Noah’s story by providing his genealogy. Chapter 6 tells of the wickedness of the people of the world and God’s determination to “destroy man whom I have created from the surface of the ground” (6:7)—but it also tells of Noah, who pleased God. Chapter 7 tells of the Great Flood, and chapter 8 tells of the subsiding of the flood waters and God’s promise, “I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake, because the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; neither will I ever again strike everything living, as I have done” (8:21). Chapter 9 begins with God blessing Noah and his sons and giving them “every moving thing that lives” for food (9:3). Then God says, “Be fruitful and multiply. Increase abundantly in the earth, and multiply in it” (9:7)—effectively reestablishing the human community begun earlier with Adam and Eve.
God’s covenant with Noah was a birth of a new humanity. It was the second time God made a promise to man after the first promise in the Garden of Eden.
God’s encounter with Noah continues the phase of a unilateral type of covenant. It is a covenant in which God alone vows for faithfulness while the voice of the other party (man) remains silent (though implicitly involved). Thus, it is God Himself who initiates this covenant. He obligates himself not to destroy all life by floodwaters again. He does not say to Noah, “I will agree not to destroy all life by floodwaters again IF you will do thus and so.” God simply says, “I will establish my covenant with you: all flesh will not be cut off any more by the waters of the flood, neither will there ever again be a flood to destroy the earth“ (v. 11)—end of sentence—no “ifs,” “ands,” or “buts”—no response required from Noah. (Sermon writer).
The phase of unilateral covenant ended when for the very first time in the book of Exodus God decided to introduce a bilateral type of covenant that is, a covenant that requires God’s consent and the consent of the people. In any case, it is also in the book of Exodus that God used the word “my people” for the very first time (Ex. 3:7).
Today’s first reading reveals to us that the one-way God’s covenant to Noah is demonstrative of his providential relationship with all of natural creation. It consisted mainly of God’s promise to care for the earth and not to destroy it again by a flood. Through the sign of the rainbow, God promised Noah that He would love and care for Noah’s descendants and for the earth that they inhabited. The rainbow phenomenon often gives the impression of linking heaven and earth. That is why the rainbow is a sign of the second covenant joining Heaven and earth. The sign of the rainbow may help us to understand better the pivotal place of Jesus in salvation history. Like the rainbow, Jesus, the Incarnate Son of God, is the link between God and humankind, and between Heaven and earth. The story of the salvation of Noah and his family from the waters became an inverse symbol of Baptism: through the waters of Baptism in which we die to sin, we become incorporated into the Church, the Body of Christ, the living Christian community, and a transformed race through the covenant already sealed in the blood of Christ.
SECOND READING: 1 Peter 3:18-22
This letter was addressed to the persecuted Christians of the Church and was intended to bolster their Faith. It will do the same for us. Peter reminds us all of our place in the larger history of God’s providence in order to help us see our present sufferings in a larger context. He says an outward sign of the Covenant that God made with his people through Jesus is Baptism. Baptism not only removes Original Sin but is also our birth into Christ – the way we become adopted children of God, heirs of heaven, and temples of the Holy Spirit. Peter points out that the waters of Baptism are an antitype of the waters of the flood. The flood waters destroyed almost all the people except Noah’s family. The waters of Baptism on the other hand are the cleansing agent that saves all. Using already traditional formulas of Faith, Peter affirms that in the Paschal Mystery Jesus made it possible for all humankind to enter a right relationship with God (justification) and to live their new life in the Holy Spirit (sanctification).
The odd picture of Christ going “to preach to the spirits in prison” (“He descended into hell” in the Apostles’ Creed), probably refers to the risen Christ making known to imprisoned souls his victory over sin and death. (Fr. Anthony Kadavil).The Gospel of Matthew accounts for how the death of Christ caused the tombs of the dead to open and how many holy people were made to rise from the dead (Mt. 27:52-53).
Peter’s message about Christ going to preach to the spirits in prison was meant to demonstrate to the Christians who were afraid of the fate of those who had lost their lives as a result of persecution that death is not an obstacle to the saving power of the risen Lord. In fact, the Apostle further demonstrates that the resurrection of Christ was a glorious exaltation to an authority and power in which the angels and all authorities and powers are subjected to because He now sits at the right hand of God. This alludes to words of Psalm 110:1, which says, “Yahweh says to my Lord, ‘Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool for your feet’” (see also Romans 8:34; Ephesians 1:20; Hebrews 8:1).
In his theology of Kenosis, the Apostle Paul uses similar language to talk about authorities and powers (1 Corinthians 15:24-25; see also Ephesians 1:21).
This was very much evident in his letter to the Philippians when he said:
“Therefore God has highly exalted Him (Jesus), and gave to him the name which is above every name; that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth, and under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:9-11).
GOSPEL:Mark 1:12-15
All the synoptic Gospels agree that Jesus experienced a period of temptation. The letter to the Hebrews 4:15 also testifies to Jesus’ temptation episode. While Matthew and Luke give graphic descriptions of Jesus’ temptations in the desert during his forty days of fasting and prayer following his baptism in the River Jordan, Mark just reports that the Spirit led Jesus to the desert and he was tempted by Satan. The desert was the place where, in Moses’ time, ancient Israel was tested for 40 years. The 40 days of Jesus’ fasting may also recall the 40-day fasts undertaken by Moses (Dt 9:18) and Elijah (1 Kgs 19:8). Mark does not mention that Christ fasted for the forty days and nights but the “desert” seems to imply this. Nor does Mark specify the various “temptations,” as Matthew and Luke do. The temptations described by Matthew and Luke and hinted at by Mark refer probably to the main temptation Jesus faced during his public life, namely, the temptation to become a political messiah of power and fame (according to the Jewish expectation), to use his Divine power for personal comfort, and to avoid suffering and death. The temptations Jesus faced, and defeated, help us to understand the conflicts that were in Jesus’ own life, and which will be found in ours, too. Instead of yielding to the temptations, Jesus said a firm “Yes” to his Father’s plan, even when it came to giving over his life.
Why was Jesus tempted after his baptism? The temptation of Jesus was part of the revelations of His being born in the flesh. In fact, it offers the Church the dogmatic impetus to affirm the Creed of “the truly Man and truly the truly God” of the dual coexistential natures of Christ as a response to some of the earliest Christian heresies such as Docetism, (from Greek dokein, “to seem”), which affirmed that Christ did not have a real or natural body during his life on earth but only an apparent or phantom one (encyclopaedia britannica).
Meanwhile, the author of the letter to the Hebrews used the temptation narrative to show that the Incarnate Son of God wanted to experience human life to the full, except for sin. Since temptation and how we respond to it are integral parts of our lives, Jesus experienced them also. The Fathers of the Church explain that Jesus’ temptations are described after his baptism to teach us why we are tempted and to show us how we should conquer temptations. Baptism and Confirmation give us the weapons we need to do battle with Satan. God never tempts people, and never permits them to be tempted beyond their strength. But He does allow them to be tempted. Why? Here are the five reasons given by the Fathers of the Church:
i) so that we can learn by experience that [with God] we are indeed stronger than the tempter;
ii) to prevent us from becoming conceited over having God’s gifts;
iii)that the devil may receive proof that we have completely renounced him;
iv) that by the struggle we may become even stronger; and
v) that we may realize how precious is the grace we have received.
“Repent and believe in the Good News of God’s Kingdom.” Mark here gives us the first public words of Jesus, his Messianic mission’s basic keynote speech, which has four specific messages: “The time is fulfilled. The Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent. Believe in the Gospel.” This message summarizes the purpose of Jesus’ ministry. In this statement Jesus is not asking his audience to do or not to do something to shape their future in Heaven. He is concerned with the here and now. Repentance, (metanoia) is a change of mind and heart, a lifelong process of transformation. The Good News Jesus announced is that God is already working here among us, so close to us that we can reach out and touch Him in the person of Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of Man. But we will be able to experience Jesus as Son of God only if we undergo a complete change in our value system and priorities by means of true repentance. Jesus announces, “the time has come,” meaning that the long-expected “Kingdom of God” is present in the person of Jesus of Nazareth.
“The Kingdom of God” announced by Jesus and brought to earth by him is not a place, still less Heaven, but the loving Power and Personal rule of God, to which we are all invited to submit ourselves. This Kingdom/Kingship has arrived in the Person of Jesus, our King and Lord. The presence of this loving power of a merciful and forgiving God is evident in the teaching and healing ministry of Jesus. The presence of God’s Kingdom in Jesus is revealed also by the liberation of people from the destructive forces in their lives, by the bringing back of the rejected and the outcast, by the forgiveness and reconciliation given to repentant sinners and finally by the supreme act of self-giving love of Jesus’ passion, death and Resurrection. “Believing in the Gospel” means a total commitment to the way of life presented in the Gospel and a sharing, and living out, of its vision of life.
LIFE MESSAGES:
1) Let us make Lent a time of renewal of life by penance and prayer:
Formerly the six weeks of Lent meant a time of severe penance as a way of purifying ourselves from our sinful habits and getting ready to celebrate the Paschal Mystery (the passion, death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ), with a renewed commitment to follow Christ. Now the Church leaves the Lenten practice of penance to the good will and generosity of individual Christians. However, Lent should be a time for personal reflection on where we stand as Christians in accepting the Gospel challenges in thought, word and deed. It is also a time to assess our relationships with our family, friends, working colleagues, and other people with whom we come in contact, especially those of our parish. We should examine whether we are able to make any positive contribution to other people’s lives and to eradicate the abuses which are part of our society.
2) Let us convert Lent into a time for spiritual growth and Christian maturity by:
a) participating in the Mass each day, or at least a few days in the week;
b) setting aside some part of our day for personal prayer;
c) reading some Scripture, alone or, better still, with others;
d) setting aside some money that we might spend on ourselves for meals, entertainment or clothes and giving it to an organization which takes care of the less fortunate in our society;
e) abstaining from smoking or alcohol;
f) receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation in Lent and participating in the “Stations of the Cross” on Fridays;
g) visiting the sick and those in nursing homes (when such visiting is again allowed), and doing some acts of charity, kindness and mercy every day in the Lent.
3) Let us use Lent as a time to fight daily against the evil within us and around us:
Repenting and fighting against temptations and evil is a lifetime’s task. Jesus did not overcome Satan in the wilderness; he achieved that only in his death. Lent reminds us that we have to take up the fight each day against the evil within us and around us, and never give up. Jesus has given the assurance that the Holy Spirit is with us, empowering us, so that final victory will be ours through Jesus Christ. (Fr. Anthony Kadavil).
4) Lent makes the weakness of God more visible:
The only thing that makes God “weaker” than man is His inability to say No to love. He is much engrossed in the love for us to the point that He cannot help Himself anymore. Who could imagine sending His only Son to suffer and to die for the sinners and those rebel against his love? It was simply an act of weakness over love. The sins of His people makes him restless. The vow He made to Noah in the first reading shows how generously large His heart is for His people.
Lent is a period in which we are called to enter into the mystery of this love. It is deeper than any deep. To understand it, we must be eternal like Him. God loves us visibly and concretely in and through His Son whose passion message we are called to live during Lent. Thus, Lent is meant to initiate us into true love for God through Christ and to understand that God’s love for us does not depend on what we do but on whom He is. It’s not based on our performances because no matter what we do, we cannot stop Him from loving us.
There is simply nothing we can do to make God love us less. He loved us enough to have created us. And it is this love that makes Him “weak” before us because His project is that we be with Him forever.
Let us make this Lent a payback moment to the God who loves us. We can express a return love to God through a repentant heart and a heart that goes out to meet others in need. This is part of the message of the Holy Father Pope Francis for this year’s Lenten message as he writes: “Love is a gift that gives meaning to our lives. It enables us to view those in need as members of our own family, as friends, brothers or sisters. A small amount, if given with love, never ends, but becomes a source of life and happiness. Such was the case with the jar of meal and jug of oil of the widow of Zarephath, who offered a cake of bread to the prophet Elijah (cf. 1 Kings 17:7-16); it was also the case with the loaves blessed, broken and given by Jesus to the disciples to distribute to the crowd (cf. Mk 6:30-44). Such is the case too with our almsgiving, whether small or large, when offered with joy and simplicity. Hence, to experience Lent with love means caring for those who suffer…(no.3).
PRAYER
Father, You saved us through the waters of baptism. We ask you to grant that we may offer our lives to You this Lent as a pledge to the eternal covenant which You sealed with the blood of Your Son in exchange for our sins, who live and reign with the Son and the Holy Spirit, One God forever and ever. Amen.
PAX VOBIS!
