Feb. 18, 2018 - First Sunday in Lent
May the Lord Jesus bless you, especially this Lenten season as you are renewed in your covenant relationship with GOD.
Lent comes from a word which means “springtime.” Springtime is when the deadness of winter begins to blossom with new life. It happens each year. We see signs that what seemed gone is brought back. After they have the dead branches clipped, trees begin to sprout leaves. Bulbs which have shown no life are buried in the ground so that flowers can bloom.
Lent is a time of spiritual re-birth. We are given the opportunity to focus on what is essential in our covenant relationship with our GOD. That which is dead and non-productive must be removed and buried so that new life which comes from the death and resurrection of Jesus can take effect in our lives. If we make GOoD use of the next 40 days, we will be able to celebrate the paschal mystery of our salvation during the Triduum of Holy Thursday, GOoD Friday, and the Easter Vigil.
May the Lord Jesus bless you, especially this Lenten season as you are renewed in your covenant relationship with GOD.
Lent comes from a word which means “springtime.” Springtime is when the deadness of winter begins to blossom with new life. It happens each year. We see signs that what seemed gone is brought back. After they have the dead branches clipped, trees begin to sprout leaves. Bulbs which have shown no life are buried in the ground so that flowers can bloom.
Lent is a time of spiritual re-birth. We are given the opportunity to focus on what is essential in our covenant relationship with our GOD. That which is dead and non-productive must be removed and buried so that new life which comes from the death and resurrection of Jesus can take effect in our lives. If we make GOoD use of the next 40 days, we will be able to celebrate the paschal mystery of our salvation during the Triduum of Holy Thursday, GOoD Friday, and the Easter Vigil.
Readings can be obtained from: http://usccb.org/bible/readings/021818.cfm
Blessed John of Fiesole: https://www.franciscanmedia.org/blessed-john-of-fiesole/
Readings: Genesis 9: 8-15; Psalm 25: 4-5, 6-7, 8-9; 1 Peter 3: 18-22; Mark 1: 12-15
The focus of our readings not only for today, but for all the Sundays of Lent this year, is the relationship GOD establishes with the people through covenants. Covenants are the binding agreement between GOD and those whom GOD has chosen. The covenant of old which takes center focus today is the covenant between GOD and Noah after the Flood. Thus, our first reading is an account of that covenant. The psalm is a prayer asking GOD to continue to reveal the compassion and love which was manifested of old. In his letter today, Peter speaks of the Covenant with Noah as a type (prefigurement) of the relationship which comes about through the waters of Baptism. In the Gospel today, Jesus is tempted by Satan. That is followed by Jesus beginning His public ministry of proclaiming the GOoD News of GOD – the GOoD News that GOD is establishing a new Covenant (Testament) with all people through Jesus.
Our reading from Genesis reminds us that after the flood, GOD makes a covenant with Noah. Never again will GOD destroy humans and all animal life on earth through water. GOD shows the divine favor with Noah’s obedience both before the flood and during the flood. As with all ancient covenants, GOD presents a sign of this covenant – GOD’s bow in the sky (the rainbow).
The psalmist today prays that he might come to a better awareness and knowledge of GOD’s plan. This is a promise of obedience – hearing GOD’s message and acting on it. It is also an act of faith in the fact that GOD will be as loving and compassionate as when GOD established the covenants of yesteryear.
In the second reading, St. Peter sees the events of the Flood as a sign of what was to come. Just as water destroyed all the evil people in the world, so baptism destroys the evil in the lives of those who are washed clean in the water. The baptismal cleansing is not for surface dirt, but for the dirt of sinfulness in one’s life. And just as GOD established a covenant sign of new life after the Flood, so GOD has given the sign of new life in the resurrection of Jesus.
Mark’s account of the temptation is short, not specific in regard to what the temptations were, and open-ended in not mentioning that this was the only temptation by the devil. The temptation in Mark’s Gospel, as well as the parallel accounts of the temptation in the other Gospels, is the preparation for Jesus’ public ministry. As Jesus is tempted, He realizes the need to proclaim the GOoD News of the Reign of GOD. The Reign of GOD is the New Covenant (New Testament) in which GOD establishes a new bond – GOD binds divinity again to humanity in and through the person of Jesus, true GOD and true human. This binding again is true religion (re [again] ligio [binding]). It is the New Covenant in and through Jesus’ ministry, teaching, healing, suffering, death, and resurrection.
As I reflect on the readings and the theme of covenant, I recall what a covenant is. A covenant is the official statement of a relationship – a bond – between two parties, usually two unequal parties, in which the greater party takes the first step. As far as the Bible is concerned, a covenant is the declaration of a relationship between GOD and the people. Biblical/divine covenants have four elements: initiative, terms, response, and sign.
In reference to initiative, a biblical covenant always begins with GOD. GOD promises to be faithful to the relationship. GOD will act as GOD has said. GOD can established a new, more powerful covenant, but GOD cannot, and will not, renege or cancel the old covenant(s). With Noah, the divine initiative is evident. GOD proclaims the covenant. “See, I am now establishing My covenant with you and your descendants. . .”
The terms of the biblical covenant are established by GOD, not by mortals. GOD sets the conditions which must be followed. Humans do not have a say in what the covenant will cover. The terms of covenant with Noah are simply that GOD will never destroy the world again with water.
The response is the part in which the people act. They are called to be obedient to the covenant. The understanding is that the people will respond in a certain way, but even if they do not, GOD is still bound by the covenant. The people may forfeit some of the benefits of the covenant by not obeying and responding, but the covenant is still binding. The response to the covenant with Noah is that the people realize GOD’s relationship with them when they see the sign of the covenant.
All covenant have a sign – a visible manifestation that the covenant has taken place. In the covenant between GOD and Noah, the sign is that of the rainbow which is reminder to Noah that GOD has established the covenant and will fulfill the divine side of the covenant.
I was also impressed by Peter’s comparison of the Flood to Baptism. The key element of both experiences is water. Water is both destructive and life-giving. Just as water destroyed the evil people in the Flood, the waters of Baptism destroy the evil and sinfulness in one’s life at the time of Baptism. And just as GOD established a covenant and gave new life to Noah after Flood, so also a new covenant is established by GOD for those who rise out of the waters of Baptism.
I also recalled that the passage that occurred before today’s Gospel was Mark’s account of Jesus’ Baptism in the River Jordan by John the Baptist. After His Baptism, Jesus is immediately “driven” out into the desert by the Holy Spirit. The time in the desert (40 days) was a time of both temptation and a time of preparation. Because of both the challenge of the temptations and the deepening of the relationship with His Abba-Father and the Holy Spirit, Jesus emerges from the experience with feelings of being renewed, committed, and ready to obey His Abba’s plan of announcing the GOoD News of the Reign of GOD by His very life, words, and actions, and ultimately His death on the cross.
What does all this say to me as we begin the first full week of Lent – a time of 40 days? I sense that I too must be willing to go out into the desert (and I don’t mean to Palm Springs or Las Vegas) where I can focus on what my Baptism means and the covenant to which I was committed because of my Baptism. The desert is to be my time of prayer and reflection, carved not in the hot and barren sands, but carved out of my busy schedule. I need to think about the covenant which GOD has established with me and with others through the ministry, life, suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus. I am to be plunged (in Greek baptizo) into the mystery of Jesus’ death. I am to die to self. I can expect to be tempted as Jesus was. And I must respond with obedience and re-commitment of myself to doing the will of the Abba – proclaiming the GOoD News of the Reign of GOD. Lent should be a time of renewing my commitment to the New Covenant, in and through Jesus.
I pray that all of us may make use of this Lenten time (the spring time that has been lent to us) to recommit ourselves to living out the New Covenant. May we be able to say throughout this Lenten season the words of today’s psalm: “GOoD and upright is the LORD, thus the LORD shows sinners the way. The LORD guides the humble to justice, and GOD teaches the humble the divine way.”
Blessed are You, LORD GOD, ever mindful of the covenants You have established with us. Through Your GOoDness, You calls us to reflect during this season of Lent on the New Covenant You have made in and through Your Son, Jesus. You have taken the initiative to create a bond between Yourself and us. You have set the terms and conditions of this covenant through the Word of Your Son: “Love one another as I have loved You.” You have promised that You will love us and forgives if we fail to fully live out the covenant. You call us to respond to this covenant relationship by being obedient. You have given us the greatest sign possible of this covenant of love: the sign of the cross and the resurrection. Through the driving force of the Holy Spirit, helps us to make GOoD use of our Lenten desert time, so that we can be renewed. Strengthen us when we are tempted, as we can expect temptations to come to us as they did to Your Son. May we re-commit ourselves to the promise of our Baptism when we (or our parents) accepted the relationship with You as we were plunged into the relationship with You, Your Son, and the Holy Spirit. We make this prayer in the name of Jesus, Your Son and our Brother, the One Who has gone before us into the desert and emerged renewed and recommitted to the announcing of the GOoD News of Your Reign. He is the One Who is the Way back to You, the Bond with You, and He is now living and reigning with You and the Holy Spirit, our one and only GOD, for ever and ever. Amen.
Song of the Day: Covenant Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWt1w2qQuno
National Anthem of Vatican City: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXJucfwzY00
(Words of anthem below video in Latin and in English)
Video of the Day: Fra Angelico - Blessed John of Fiesole:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siSh9StTKWk
© rjk, 01-05-18
Downloadable .pdf copy of the reflection is below:
Blessed John of Fiesole: https://www.franciscanmedia.org/blessed-john-of-fiesole/
Readings: Genesis 9: 8-15; Psalm 25: 4-5, 6-7, 8-9; 1 Peter 3: 18-22; Mark 1: 12-15
The focus of our readings not only for today, but for all the Sundays of Lent this year, is the relationship GOD establishes with the people through covenants. Covenants are the binding agreement between GOD and those whom GOD has chosen. The covenant of old which takes center focus today is the covenant between GOD and Noah after the Flood. Thus, our first reading is an account of that covenant. The psalm is a prayer asking GOD to continue to reveal the compassion and love which was manifested of old. In his letter today, Peter speaks of the Covenant with Noah as a type (prefigurement) of the relationship which comes about through the waters of Baptism. In the Gospel today, Jesus is tempted by Satan. That is followed by Jesus beginning His public ministry of proclaiming the GOoD News of GOD – the GOoD News that GOD is establishing a new Covenant (Testament) with all people through Jesus.
Our reading from Genesis reminds us that after the flood, GOD makes a covenant with Noah. Never again will GOD destroy humans and all animal life on earth through water. GOD shows the divine favor with Noah’s obedience both before the flood and during the flood. As with all ancient covenants, GOD presents a sign of this covenant – GOD’s bow in the sky (the rainbow).
The psalmist today prays that he might come to a better awareness and knowledge of GOD’s plan. This is a promise of obedience – hearing GOD’s message and acting on it. It is also an act of faith in the fact that GOD will be as loving and compassionate as when GOD established the covenants of yesteryear.
In the second reading, St. Peter sees the events of the Flood as a sign of what was to come. Just as water destroyed all the evil people in the world, so baptism destroys the evil in the lives of those who are washed clean in the water. The baptismal cleansing is not for surface dirt, but for the dirt of sinfulness in one’s life. And just as GOD established a covenant sign of new life after the Flood, so GOD has given the sign of new life in the resurrection of Jesus.
Mark’s account of the temptation is short, not specific in regard to what the temptations were, and open-ended in not mentioning that this was the only temptation by the devil. The temptation in Mark’s Gospel, as well as the parallel accounts of the temptation in the other Gospels, is the preparation for Jesus’ public ministry. As Jesus is tempted, He realizes the need to proclaim the GOoD News of the Reign of GOD. The Reign of GOD is the New Covenant (New Testament) in which GOD establishes a new bond – GOD binds divinity again to humanity in and through the person of Jesus, true GOD and true human. This binding again is true religion (re [again] ligio [binding]). It is the New Covenant in and through Jesus’ ministry, teaching, healing, suffering, death, and resurrection.
As I reflect on the readings and the theme of covenant, I recall what a covenant is. A covenant is the official statement of a relationship – a bond – between two parties, usually two unequal parties, in which the greater party takes the first step. As far as the Bible is concerned, a covenant is the declaration of a relationship between GOD and the people. Biblical/divine covenants have four elements: initiative, terms, response, and sign.
In reference to initiative, a biblical covenant always begins with GOD. GOD promises to be faithful to the relationship. GOD will act as GOD has said. GOD can established a new, more powerful covenant, but GOD cannot, and will not, renege or cancel the old covenant(s). With Noah, the divine initiative is evident. GOD proclaims the covenant. “See, I am now establishing My covenant with you and your descendants. . .”
The terms of the biblical covenant are established by GOD, not by mortals. GOD sets the conditions which must be followed. Humans do not have a say in what the covenant will cover. The terms of covenant with Noah are simply that GOD will never destroy the world again with water.
The response is the part in which the people act. They are called to be obedient to the covenant. The understanding is that the people will respond in a certain way, but even if they do not, GOD is still bound by the covenant. The people may forfeit some of the benefits of the covenant by not obeying and responding, but the covenant is still binding. The response to the covenant with Noah is that the people realize GOD’s relationship with them when they see the sign of the covenant.
All covenant have a sign – a visible manifestation that the covenant has taken place. In the covenant between GOD and Noah, the sign is that of the rainbow which is reminder to Noah that GOD has established the covenant and will fulfill the divine side of the covenant.
I was also impressed by Peter’s comparison of the Flood to Baptism. The key element of both experiences is water. Water is both destructive and life-giving. Just as water destroyed the evil people in the Flood, the waters of Baptism destroy the evil and sinfulness in one’s life at the time of Baptism. And just as GOD established a covenant and gave new life to Noah after Flood, so also a new covenant is established by GOD for those who rise out of the waters of Baptism.
I also recalled that the passage that occurred before today’s Gospel was Mark’s account of Jesus’ Baptism in the River Jordan by John the Baptist. After His Baptism, Jesus is immediately “driven” out into the desert by the Holy Spirit. The time in the desert (40 days) was a time of both temptation and a time of preparation. Because of both the challenge of the temptations and the deepening of the relationship with His Abba-Father and the Holy Spirit, Jesus emerges from the experience with feelings of being renewed, committed, and ready to obey His Abba’s plan of announcing the GOoD News of the Reign of GOD by His very life, words, and actions, and ultimately His death on the cross.
What does all this say to me as we begin the first full week of Lent – a time of 40 days? I sense that I too must be willing to go out into the desert (and I don’t mean to Palm Springs or Las Vegas) where I can focus on what my Baptism means and the covenant to which I was committed because of my Baptism. The desert is to be my time of prayer and reflection, carved not in the hot and barren sands, but carved out of my busy schedule. I need to think about the covenant which GOD has established with me and with others through the ministry, life, suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus. I am to be plunged (in Greek baptizo) into the mystery of Jesus’ death. I am to die to self. I can expect to be tempted as Jesus was. And I must respond with obedience and re-commitment of myself to doing the will of the Abba – proclaiming the GOoD News of the Reign of GOD. Lent should be a time of renewing my commitment to the New Covenant, in and through Jesus.
I pray that all of us may make use of this Lenten time (the spring time that has been lent to us) to recommit ourselves to living out the New Covenant. May we be able to say throughout this Lenten season the words of today’s psalm: “GOoD and upright is the LORD, thus the LORD shows sinners the way. The LORD guides the humble to justice, and GOD teaches the humble the divine way.”
- The personal question/action for today: What is my response to the New Covenant GOD has made with me through the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus? How will I spend the 40 days of Lent? What will be the desert into which I will go, so that I can draw closer to the Lord Jesus? How will I handle the temptations which I will face during this special time in the desert? How can I help others make GOoD use of the next 40 days, so that they will realize the importance of the covenant GOD has made with all of us?
Blessed are You, LORD GOD, ever mindful of the covenants You have established with us. Through Your GOoDness, You calls us to reflect during this season of Lent on the New Covenant You have made in and through Your Son, Jesus. You have taken the initiative to create a bond between Yourself and us. You have set the terms and conditions of this covenant through the Word of Your Son: “Love one another as I have loved You.” You have promised that You will love us and forgives if we fail to fully live out the covenant. You call us to respond to this covenant relationship by being obedient. You have given us the greatest sign possible of this covenant of love: the sign of the cross and the resurrection. Through the driving force of the Holy Spirit, helps us to make GOoD use of our Lenten desert time, so that we can be renewed. Strengthen us when we are tempted, as we can expect temptations to come to us as they did to Your Son. May we re-commit ourselves to the promise of our Baptism when we (or our parents) accepted the relationship with You as we were plunged into the relationship with You, Your Son, and the Holy Spirit. We make this prayer in the name of Jesus, Your Son and our Brother, the One Who has gone before us into the desert and emerged renewed and recommitted to the announcing of the GOoD News of Your Reign. He is the One Who is the Way back to You, the Bond with You, and He is now living and reigning with You and the Holy Spirit, our one and only GOD, for ever and ever. Amen.
Song of the Day: Covenant Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWt1w2qQuno
National Anthem of Vatican City: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXJucfwzY00
(Words of anthem below video in Latin and in English)
Video of the Day: Fra Angelico - Blessed John of Fiesole:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siSh9StTKWk
© rjk, 01-05-18
Downloadable .pdf copy of the reflection is below:
feb._18_2018_-_lent_-_1_-_s_-_b.pdf | |
File Size: | 1040 kb |
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