Today's Message: 1st Sunday of Lent A
Genesis 2:7-9; 3:1-7; Romans 5:12-19; Matthew 4:1-11
Lent 2020 has arrived and we are beginning again to look at ourselves and how we can experience God’s total presence and how we can get closer to our loving God. Traditionally we do this in a sacrificial way by giving up all sorts of treats, sweets, drinks, internet use, language we do not like coming from our mouths and actions that hurt relationships ... plus much more. While all of these are good, I suggest adding one more activity: understanding the Scripture readings for each Sunday. They tell us about God and God’s total love. They tell us of the direction that God is leading us. They tell us about God’s plan, which is a far more powerful tool than giving up things.
Here is an outline* of the readings this Lent:
First Readings tell the story of humanity’s troubled relationship with God and God’s continued efforts to bring us back. They start with the human tendency to distrust God. God responds by creating a people, first by creating a couple who will experience His love and remind us of God’s love and care. But the constant -- the tendency of this chosen people to distrust, which leads to God promising a foretaste of physical resurrection [Ezekiel 37:12-14] -- endures. Isaiah leads us to an understanding of God’s response of a Suffering Servant to bring comfort [Isaiah 50:4-7]. Yet this figure suffers and dies for us, showing God’s continued efforts to lead us to Him and His love. Can I see myself turning away from God into my own wants? Can I see God’s love in His plan for my salvation?
Second Readings: These epistles consider the human condition by showing positively why God has sent Jesus. From the beginning, humanity has been captive to sin and thus condemned to physical death [Romans 5: 12-19]. Jesus has brought an end to this, bringing us out of sin and death and leading us to virtuousness and real life, making it possible to love God -- which is the basis for holiness to which we are all called. Do I respond to God by letting Him lead me in and through His love and care? Do I still turn inside and do what I want to do, which brings hurt and sin?
The Gospels investigate the question, who is Jesus? He is God … showing us God’s direction for us through the pain of life. Jesus overcomes the sins and shortcomings of the past by resisting the onslaught of Satan who wants so much for Jesus to turn away from God in selfishness and fear [Matthew 4:1-11]. But Jesus is God’s beloved with divine authority sent to the hungry, thirsty, blind, and those desperately needing to know they are loved. He does this by serving us and bringing us back from death to life, darkness to light, alienation to reunion with God [Matthew 26:14 - 27:66]. Am I letting God be God to me? Do I see He is only leading me closer? Do I want to be led?
*Source: Living the Word: Scripture Readings and Commentaries
Today’s first reading is taken from the Second Story of Creation [Genesis chapters 3 & 4]. In the first chapter we see how God created everything; God’s care is everywhere. What happens is a dramatic change in the relationship bond with God. All was ideal at the beginning. God created beauty in humanity and nature. First mentioned is the Tree of Life in the middle and the Tree of Knowledge of good and bad. God showed Adam and Eve how to cultivate and care for the garden and how to be protected from the destructive consequences by not eating from the Tree of Knowledge. But the conniving serpent questioned the woman, leading her to feel that God was jealously withholding special knowledge from them. As we are well aware of in our lives, pride and self-interest bring about this rift in their relationship with God. How often our sins take the exact same pattern: pride and self-interest … which never lead us to God but to sin, hurt, alienation.
Paul’s letter to the Romans is a must-read for all who want to advance in the spiritual life, especially chapter 8. Today Paul states the problem: There is evil in the world. Today’s complex reading states the heart of Paul’s message: the comparison between Adam and Christ showing how and why God justified and reconciled humanity to Himself. Through the disobedience of one man, sin and death entered the world. Thus began a history of rebellion, defiant disobedience and the feeling one could live apart from God. Ever since, humanity has been trapped by its own desires and finds itself in a predicament it can’t escape. But God sent His only Son, born of a virgin, a man like us in every way but sin, to do what we can not do. His obedience to the Father brought us salvation. We now have abundant grace to live our lives for God.
The great spiritual writer Fr. Henri Nouwen gives an interesting analysis of Jesus’ temptations:
The first lie: You are what you do. If Jesus is God’s son, do something spectacular. We are tempted the same way into believing that we are our careers, successes and failures. I am the master of all. God is not needed because He doesn’t care.
The second lie: You are what others say of you. The devil wants Jesus to jump dramatically so that He can be rescued. We can allow what others say and think about us to lead and tear us up and down. But it’s not about us, it’s all about God. His love leads us to love; is there anything else?
The third lie: You are what you have. The devil wants us to believe that we are what we do or possess. Then it’s all about me. Jesus is telling us to reject these lies and accept our true identity as beloved children of God ... that God needs us to show our world God’s love. If they don’t see it in me, where will they see it? Our simple love acts, kindnesses and words make others loved and show them how they can love. Withholding these brings suffering, hurt, rejection, loneliness and the continuance of evil. The tempter is that voice within us that urges us to put ourselves first, that places our wants and expectations before the needs of others. This rationalizes our greed and negates our responsibility for greater good.
So I reflect on:
“At His baptism by John, Jesus had heard the voice of God the Father identifying Him, a young village workman, as His beloved Son. During His temptation, He must have reflected on the challenges of this radically new mission. Am I tempted, like Jesus here, to put my needs first or to seek power that will make it possible for me to accomplish my goals?
“Do I want to attract notice, to be popular? A sense of power is intoxicating. Do I want to be influential, dominating others rather than serving them?”
Lent 2020 has arrived and we are beginning again to look at ourselves and how we can experience God’s total presence and how we can get closer to our loving God. Traditionally we do this in a sacrificial way by giving up all sorts of treats, sweets, drinks, internet use, language we do not like coming from our mouths and actions that hurt relationships ... plus much more. While all of these are good, I suggest adding one more activity: understanding the Scripture readings for each Sunday. They tell us about God and God’s total love. They tell us of the direction that God is leading us. They tell us about God’s plan, which is a far more powerful tool than giving up things.
Here is an outline* of the readings this Lent:
First Readings tell the story of humanity’s troubled relationship with God and God’s continued efforts to bring us back. They start with the human tendency to distrust God. God responds by creating a people, first by creating a couple who will experience His love and remind us of God’s love and care. But the constant -- the tendency of this chosen people to distrust, which leads to God promising a foretaste of physical resurrection [Ezekiel 37:12-14] -- endures. Isaiah leads us to an understanding of God’s response of a Suffering Servant to bring comfort [Isaiah 50:4-7]. Yet this figure suffers and dies for us, showing God’s continued efforts to lead us to Him and His love. Can I see myself turning away from God into my own wants? Can I see God’s love in His plan for my salvation?
Second Readings: These epistles consider the human condition by showing positively why God has sent Jesus. From the beginning, humanity has been captive to sin and thus condemned to physical death [Romans 5: 12-19]. Jesus has brought an end to this, bringing us out of sin and death and leading us to virtuousness and real life, making it possible to love God -- which is the basis for holiness to which we are all called. Do I respond to God by letting Him lead me in and through His love and care? Do I still turn inside and do what I want to do, which brings hurt and sin?
The Gospels investigate the question, who is Jesus? He is God … showing us God’s direction for us through the pain of life. Jesus overcomes the sins and shortcomings of the past by resisting the onslaught of Satan who wants so much for Jesus to turn away from God in selfishness and fear [Matthew 4:1-11]. But Jesus is God’s beloved with divine authority sent to the hungry, thirsty, blind, and those desperately needing to know they are loved. He does this by serving us and bringing us back from death to life, darkness to light, alienation to reunion with God [Matthew 26:14 - 27:66]. Am I letting God be God to me? Do I see He is only leading me closer? Do I want to be led?
*Source: Living the Word: Scripture Readings and Commentaries
Today’s first reading is taken from the Second Story of Creation [Genesis chapters 3 & 4]. In the first chapter we see how God created everything; God’s care is everywhere. What happens is a dramatic change in the relationship bond with God. All was ideal at the beginning. God created beauty in humanity and nature. First mentioned is the Tree of Life in the middle and the Tree of Knowledge of good and bad. God showed Adam and Eve how to cultivate and care for the garden and how to be protected from the destructive consequences by not eating from the Tree of Knowledge. But the conniving serpent questioned the woman, leading her to feel that God was jealously withholding special knowledge from them. As we are well aware of in our lives, pride and self-interest bring about this rift in their relationship with God. How often our sins take the exact same pattern: pride and self-interest … which never lead us to God but to sin, hurt, alienation.
Paul’s letter to the Romans is a must-read for all who want to advance in the spiritual life, especially chapter 8. Today Paul states the problem: There is evil in the world. Today’s complex reading states the heart of Paul’s message: the comparison between Adam and Christ showing how and why God justified and reconciled humanity to Himself. Through the disobedience of one man, sin and death entered the world. Thus began a history of rebellion, defiant disobedience and the feeling one could live apart from God. Ever since, humanity has been trapped by its own desires and finds itself in a predicament it can’t escape. But God sent His only Son, born of a virgin, a man like us in every way but sin, to do what we can not do. His obedience to the Father brought us salvation. We now have abundant grace to live our lives for God.
The great spiritual writer Fr. Henri Nouwen gives an interesting analysis of Jesus’ temptations:
The first lie: You are what you do. If Jesus is God’s son, do something spectacular. We are tempted the same way into believing that we are our careers, successes and failures. I am the master of all. God is not needed because He doesn’t care.
The second lie: You are what others say of you. The devil wants Jesus to jump dramatically so that He can be rescued. We can allow what others say and think about us to lead and tear us up and down. But it’s not about us, it’s all about God. His love leads us to love; is there anything else?
The third lie: You are what you have. The devil wants us to believe that we are what we do or possess. Then it’s all about me. Jesus is telling us to reject these lies and accept our true identity as beloved children of God ... that God needs us to show our world God’s love. If they don’t see it in me, where will they see it? Our simple love acts, kindnesses and words make others loved and show them how they can love. Withholding these brings suffering, hurt, rejection, loneliness and the continuance of evil. The tempter is that voice within us that urges us to put ourselves first, that places our wants and expectations before the needs of others. This rationalizes our greed and negates our responsibility for greater good.
So I reflect on:
- The newspapers, internet, TV bring us tragic stories of evil. Why is there such evil?
- Why does evil persist in my world?
- We think: Can’t this evil be overcome?
- Has this evil been overcome? How often do I read the Gospels and hear and see Jesus in action?
- As I move into this Lenten season, what does it mean for me to be true to God?
- This is an ascetic time for me to strip away the fat that weighs down my spiritual and moral life. Can I concentrate on this?
- What part of me wants to hide from God?
“At His baptism by John, Jesus had heard the voice of God the Father identifying Him, a young village workman, as His beloved Son. During His temptation, He must have reflected on the challenges of this radically new mission. Am I tempted, like Jesus here, to put my needs first or to seek power that will make it possible for me to accomplish my goals?
“Do I want to attract notice, to be popular? A sense of power is intoxicating. Do I want to be influential, dominating others rather than serving them?”
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