Deacon Larry

  March 1, 2009

1st Sunday of Lent

Gen 9:8-15: 1 Pet 3:18-22; Mk 1:12-15

Dc. Larry Brockman

This is the time of fulfillment!  That’s what Jesus said as he emerged from the desert after 40 days.  My prayer is that you and I can do the same- that we can emerge from our Lenten desert experience with joy and the sure knowledge that we are in the age of fulfillment.  But, that will only happen if you take Lent seriously, and use it as a time to reflect on what is important for you to do with the rest of your life, so that you can feel that you have reached the time of fulfillment.  And, we have the full forty days of Lent to do that.   

Just what is the significance of the number 40?  Well, recall that Noah endured a flood which lasted 40 days and 40 nights.  That flood purified the earth of the evil that had angered the Lord.  Noah and his family emerged after that 40 days with the first of God’s Covenants with man.  The gift God gave was a new chance for his people to start anew once the evil that had plagued the world before the flood was washed away forever.  That is what we are being called to do during Lent- to be purified of whatever evils plague us in our lives and respond anew to God’s love with our lives.   

The evils that we need to purge can be many things- things like complacency that dulls our sense of what God’s will is for us; attachments that interfere with our spiritual journey to grow closer to God; or fear about taking a step in a new direction that would help us to grow in our relationship with God.  These are just three things, but in all these cases, we are being challenged to a change of heart because it is the evil in our hearts that must be purified if we are to make significant changes in our lives.   

Now the Church advises that we use three tools during Lent to help us to deal with a change of heart.  They are fasting, prayer, and almsgiving.   

What about fasting?  Fasting can be any form of self denial; it doesn’t have to be food.  You could give up TV, give up beer, give up playing cards.  Fasting is giving up something that gratifies you.  Why should you do it?  Because when you fast, you learn to appreciate the hunger that so many people experience in this world.  Fasting gives you a sense of compassion for the suffering of others because the new sacrifice you make helps you to identify with the suffering of others.  And in this way, fasting can open up your hearts to the needs of others that God wants you to act on.   

The second tool is prayer.  You first need to enter the equivalent of the desert to pray.  That means you need to get away from things and people so you can spend some quiet time praying.  You need an environment that is devoid of distractions so that when you pray, you can hear God speak to you.  And, you need some time for the dialogue that follows, so that you can respond from the heart.  And so, by following Jesus into a type of desert during these 40 days, your prayers can be much more meaningful.   

The third tool is almsgiving.  Now, if almsgiving means dropping a few extra coins in the collection basket or sending a check to your favorite charity, then you’ve missed the point.  Almsgiving is intended to prepare you for your response to the calling you hear in your prayers.  Almsgiving is a sacrifice you make to help someone else.  If you give something freely out of your hearts in almsgiving, then it will be that much easier to give of yourselves in the response  God is calling you to make in your prayer.   

The Gospel tells us that Jesus was tempted over the forty days.  Indeed, all of you will be tempted as well.  All of you will find the road to abandon your desert experience of fasting, prayer, and almsgiving, as wide and well defined as a six lane freeway.  But the road through the desert will be ill defined and difficult.  The thing to remember is that end game.  You see Jesus emerged from his desert with great enthusiasm and happiness, proclaiming that the time of fulfillment was now, and that the Kingdom of God was at hand.  Jesus did that knowing what his mission was going to be. 

None of us would want the pain and suffering of Jesus mission.  None of us, fortunately, will have to endure that kind of suffering.  But, when you emerge from the Lenten desert knowing what God wants for you.  You will experience real joy, no matter what the consequences.

This entry was posted on Sunday, March 1st, 2009 at 7:37 am and is filed under Westminster Tower. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.