First Sunday of Lent
Genesis 9: 8-15;
1 Peter 3: 18-22;
Mark 1: 12-15;
All three synoptic Gospels show Jesus going through a testing time in the wilderness where He has to face His demons, both real and metaphorical. While totally cut out from the support of His family and friends. To the people of His day, the desert wilderness was always an alien, lonely place, where evil spirits and demons lived.
Today, St. Mark's Gospel gives us a snapshot of this dramatic experience in Jesus’ life, as He goes into the wilderness to prepare for His mission and public ministry. As a faithful Jew, He had grown up observing both the law and a Iife of ritual purity, going to synagogue, studying the Scriptures, learning the ways of His faith. Now, after the thirty-odd "hidden" years of His life, He finally comes to terms with His identity as God's chosen Son and His task - who He is and what He's al1 about. Now He's able to focus His mind on the task ahead.
We live out the battle between good and evil against the backdrop of our world and society. We also have to fight the same battle within ourselves. Living with others, we have a multitude of distractions, and during Lent, we have to find our own wilderness, where we can come head to head with the distractions which draw us away from God's love. As we Iisten to today's readings, we're tempted to react, possibly with great fervour and determination, and promise to do this or that over the next six weeks. Then we go away and do absolutely nothing! And that's the biggest temptation of all, the real devil in our lives - apathy - simply not bothering. So we disregard the call of Ash Wednesday to turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel.
Most of you won't remember what the church looked like when I came here - brick boxes at the front of the church, full of concrete, stones and weeds. Now it's completely transformed, a process which took a lot of lime and effort. Just like the front of the church, our personal transformation’s is going to take a long time too, but it will certainly be worth it! It has to be an ongoing process, just like looking after a garden. Our souls need constant attention. and we have to have the same ongoing process of weeding them of evil tendencies.
At the beginning of Mass, we confess to having sinned in what we have done, and in what we have failed to do - our sins of o-mission and co-mmission. So this Lent, choose something, and stick to it. Don't allow yourselves to be overcome by apathy or indifference. While we certainly fail if we fall, there's still one "1" of a difference between those two words! So don't be afraid either. Whether we fail or whether we fall, begin again, remembering that God always walks beside us. And remember that even He fell three times on His own road to Calvary! So while we may not always be aware of His presence, He will always be there, holding you and me in the palm of His hand.
"Our pilgrim life here on earth cannot be without temptation for it is through temptation that we make progress and it is only by being tempted that we come to know ourselves. We cannot win our crown unless we overcome, and we cannot overcome unless we enter the contest and there is no contest unless we have an enemy and the temptations he brings." (St. Gregory Nazianzus)