1St Sunday of Lent
On the First Sunday of Lent having placed the ashes on our heads on Ash Wednesday we have embarked on our annual time of renewal. In every area of our lives there is an ongoing need for mending, renewing and refocusing. Lent is the annual spring clean of our spiritual lives renewing our faith as a preparation for celebrating the faith giving events of Holy Week and Easter. In the first reading Moses instructs the people to offer their first fruits to God, remembering their ancestors’ journey, oppression in Egypt, and God’s deliverance and gift of the promised land. The Responsorial Psalm tells us to Trust in God, Our refuge, our stronghold who protects and rescues those who call on Him. He commands His angels to guard us and promises to be with us in trouble. In the second reading we are told to Confess that Jesus is Lord and believe God raised him, and we will be saved. There is no distinction; all who call on the Lord will be saved.
In our Gospel the reading from Luke details the temptation of Jesus in the dessert. Before Jesus set out to do his Fathers work he went out into the dessert for forty days of fasting and prayer and during this time he was tempted by the devil. The devil tempted him to use his power to take care of himself, prove his identity by performing astounding signs and make alliances with political and military powers to get himself and his message across. It is immediately after His time in the desert that Christ began His work, of proclaiming the kingdom of God. In proclaiming the message of the Kingdom Jesus gives all of us the good news of truth, hope, peace, and salvation and this enables us to live life to the full and conquer sin. As well as this there is great encouragement for all of us to know that Jesus not only shared our human nature but, like us, he was subject to temptation. In the course of our daily lives we too face temptations to put comfort and material possessions over the sacrifices involved in being a disciple. As we begin Lent we ask ourselves how do we face the temptations of life? When times get rough and we feel alone, do we still trust in God? When our life just seems empty, do we still believe in the Father who loves us? Are we willing to risk everything for the sake of the Gospel, or do we settle for guarding our own security? These are questions that all of us need to ask ourselves and Lent gives us the opportunity to do this.
God’s desire for us on this first Sunday of Lent in the Holy Year of hope is that we Come back to him with all our heart. God does not want empty words but full hearts. Hearts full of remorse for things that we shouldn’t have done; hearts full of trust as we face the realities about ourselves and our world; hearts full of love as we realize how much we are loved by those around us our families and friends, and especially loved by God; hearts full of joyful hope as we journey towards Easter. Over the next few weeks may we make good use of our Lenten journey so at the end of Lent we will be able to hear and understand the messages that Holy Week and Easter have for us renewed in heart mind and spirit and then put them into action in our own lives in the times ahead.
Fullerton T 