HOMILY FOR FIRST SUNDAY OF LENT, YEAR B. 21.02.2021.
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| Flood of the days Noah and Baptism of Baptism |
THE RICH SPIRITUALITY OF THE SEASON OF LENT
Today the church
celebrates the first Sunday of lent, a new liturgical season that began with
Ash Wednesday. Lent commemorates the forty days Christ spent in the desert immediately
after his baptism. It is a great moment of retreat for the Church as a whole
and as individuals. In view of this, today’s liturgy presents to us the rich
spirituality of the season of lent. First, it presents the covenant of God with
man in the Old Testament (OT), God’s covenant not to destroy man by water
anymore. Second, is the realization of this covenant to save man through the
water of baptism as seen in the second reading and lastly is the triumph of
good over evil in the person of Christ, after his forty days of fasting in the
wilderness.
In God’s plan to
save humanity from evil in the world, he entered into covenant with man on
various instances. God initially made a covenant with Abraham, which was the
sign of circumcision and was limited to the descendants of Abraham (Gen. 17:8).
God also made a covenant with Moses, which entailed the fidelity of the people
of Israel to the Law (Ex. 19:5). In the first reading of today, we have the famous
story of Noah and the flood. God established a new covenant with Noah and his descendants,
“…never again shall all flesh be cut by
waters of flood, and never again shall there be flood to destroy the earth.”
This covenant was sealed with a rainbow as a sign of God’s faithfulness. Each time
this sign appears in the cloud, it reminds us of God’s covenant, his mercy and judgments.
In the second
reading, Peter reminds us of the flood in the days of Noah and how few were
saved through water and the covenant that followed suits. He reminds us of God’s
new covenant with us through Christ, which is realized in baptism, through
which we are purified and restored to God. Peter presents this covenant as “the baptism that saves us, not as removal of
dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a clear conscience.” The flood/water in the first reading is
taken to be the Old Testament purification rite, a way of purifying the earth
from its sinful and corrupt nature in the story of Noah. Similar vein, we have
this purification rite through our baptism with water. In baptism, we also
have the profession of faith, which serves as the new covenant God makes with
us, to reject Satan, his works and empty promises just as Christ did in the
Gospel of today when tempted by the devil after his fasting and prayers for
forty days.
In the Gospel
pericope, we were told the Spirit led Christ to the wilderness, he was there
for forty days and was tempted by Satan. This brings to mind, the spirituality
of this season. Being led or driven by
the Spirit is an indication that all Christ did while on earth was through the
prompting and inspiration of the Holy Spirit. From birth, he was conceived by
the Holy Spirit and at death on the cross, he gave up the Spirit. He never
walked alone.
In other to
carry out the plan of God to save humanity, he stayed in the wilderness for
forty days, which represent a long period. It
indicates the necessary time for something new that will happen, such as:
the promise of rain to Noah for forty days and nights that will purify or wash
the earth from its sinful and corrupt nature; Moses staying up on the mountain
for forty days and nights with nothing to eat nor drink just to receive the
stone tablets of the covenants; it represents the forty days journey of Elijah
to mount Sinai; and this long period of time is also represented by the forty
years of the Israelite’s journey to the promise land. Christ’s fasting for
forty days is a preparation for his mission, which is something new to humanity
and after his resurrection, he stayed forty days before his Ascension to
heaven. Hence, forty indicates an important period in our journey of faith,
particularly this season of lent.
Finally, in the
temptation narrative of Mark, he is so direct that he did not present the dialogue
between Jesus and Satan in his Gospel. Christ
going into the wilderness signifies a place of emptiness and isolation. As such,
we like Christ shall lack comfort, convenience and consolation this season of
lent and beyond. We will need to give up many things in order to travel light on this
forty days journey. As Satan in the wilderness tempted Christ, we too shall be
tempted by the devil this season in various ways. Let us remember that the devil
tempts us through the most beautiful things around us. The devil will tempt us
through our families, friends and neighbours. Know it that the devil is a coward,
he attacks during our weakest moments, when he knows our resistance to sin is very
weak. That is why; we must stand up to him, strong in faith and good works with
the ingredients that spices up this season: prayer, almsgiving and fasting. May
God deliver us from all that is evil and lead us not into temptation through
Christ our Lord. Amen!
Have a grace
filled Lenten season!
Fr. Ken Dogbo,
OSJ
well done Fr.
ReplyDeleteHappy Sunday