BASED ON CATHOLIC LITURGICAL READINGS
FIRST SUNDAY OF LENT, YEAR B
THEME: “THE COVENANT WITH GOD”
((Readings: 1st.Gen 9:8-15; Ps 24; 2nd,1Pet 3:18-22; Gos. Mk 1:12-15))
Today being the first Sunday of Lent, our mother church wants us to reflect on our covenant relationship with our God. A covenant is a solemn agreement between God and his people, in which God makes promises to his people and usually demands faithfulness and commitment from his people. During this period of lent, it is time to reflect on how faithful and committed we have been to our covenant relationship and renew our commitment to God.
The story of the great flood describes how God had created all people good, but little by little they had become bad; The human heart contrived nothing but wicked schemes all day long. Yahweh regretted having made human beings and grieved at heart. God saw the earth was corrupt and full of Lawlessness…God said: I am now about to destroy the earth and everything on it” (Gn 6:5-13). God destroyed the earth but Noah, who was good and upright among his contemporaries was spared. “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom 6:23).
Our first reading recounts the unconditional covenant in a new relationship between God and Noah, the just and upright man, and generally, between God and humanity. After the Flood, God promised humanity that He would never again destroy all life on earth with a Flood. God gave the rainbow as the sign of the covenant, a promise that the entire world would never flood again. It was also a reminder that God can and will judge sinners individually. (Gen 9, 8- 15; 2 Pt 2, 5).
In the second reading of this Sunday, Peter reminds us of God’s New Covenant with us through Christ. Just as Noah was saved from the waters of the flood by the ark God told him to build; The waters of baptism have the same effects as the waters of the flood in that it destroys the old person and brings forth the new. Christ paid a great price to restore us to God. In other words, Christ did not only strengthen the general covenant between God and us but also widened its horizon. He did this by opening the spring of baptism through which we were purified and restored to God as the people of the new covenant. In this regard, Lent is a season to do the following;
- LENT IS THE TIME OF RENEWAL OF OUR COMMITMENT
Baptism marks the end of sin, hate, drunkenness, and adultery and begins a new life in the spirit. However, as humans, we tend to cling back to our old sinful ways that we rejected during our baptismal promises hence breaking our covenant with God. Today we are being reminded that renewal is possible through Christ who died for our sins. He is the one who gives the spirit of life to his church. Each year, the Church, Christ’s bride, provides us the opportunity to reflect upon this covenant and renew our commitment to it through the period of Lent through the sacrament of penance and reconciliation.
- IT IS THE TIME TO ENTER THE DESERT
Every year, in the first Sunday of Lent, the Gospel is on the temptation of Jesus in the desert. “And at once the spirit drove him into the desert and he remained there for forty days and he was put to the test by Satan. He was with wild animals and the Angels ministered at him”. Immediately, Jesus received the spirit of the Lord during his baptism, he was taken off to the desert to begin his “Battle with Satan”.
When we were baptized, we equally received the spirit of the Lord which drives us to the desert of life just as Jesus did. We experience the joys, fears, and sorrows of this life. We begin our own battle with sin. Peter states this clearly: “As Gold is tested by fire, so shall your faith be (1 Pt 1, 7). Therefore, today’s gospel reminds us that as Christ was tested, so shall we, too, be tested. Every day of our lives, the devil tempts us. During Lent, we begin the battle with the sin of drunkenness, gossip, lies, laziness, sexuality, smoking, social media, pride, and anger, among other temptations. We are all on the battlefield with satan.
(C)IT IS TIME TO USE OUR SPIRITUAL WEAPONS
We should not be afraid when faced with temptations because the Holy Spirit who helped Christ is always available to help us. As we prepare to renew our covenant with God, we must persist in prayer, fasting, and abstinence like Christ. We must ask God to grant us the strength to endure until the end of our ordeal as Christ did. We must also ask the Holy Spirit to fill us with humility, courage, and patience this season.
In a nutshell, dear brethren, Lent is a period of renewal of our commitment and faithfulness to God through Penance, and battle with Satan and his temptations. It is a time to turn back and reconcile with the Lord in the sacrament of Penance. We are all empowered by the spirit we received during our baptism so that we can victoriously fight against sin. Our weapons are Prayer, Fasting, and almsgiving. When temptations come our way, we should be grateful to God for allowing us to strengthen our spirit.
Therefore, let us sincerely make use of this Lenten period to ask God for forgiveness for all the times we have not been unfaithful to our covenant with him. May God grant us the grace to resist temptations, and remain faithful to our covenant with him.
PRAYER: May I find strength in your unfailing love, O Lord. Amen
BLESSED LENTEN SEASON!! ((Contact our vocation office on +254792299140))
“May the darkness of sin and the night of unbelief vanish before the light of the word and the spirit of Grace; and may the heart of Jesus live in the heart of all the people. Amen” SVD Prayer
SVD JAMBO KENTAN 