Homily. 1st Sunday of Lent. Cycle A:
The Dead Sea, along the Jordan Valley, not far from where Jesus was Baptised,
and where he then went into the wilderness to fast and pray.
(insert pictures here)
Might Jesus have taken a swim in this Sea, from which one could not drink, but which looks so inviting?
Our Lenten journey of Prayer, penance and acts of practical charity and love, has well and truly begun……. And what better way to begin than with the wonderful scene of Jesus being ‘led by the Spirit’ out into the bleak, uninviting wilderness of the desert for 40 days… where he neither ate not drank……. When I was in the dead sea it struck me…. I reckon Jesus came and swam here…. Its cool, its relaxing its beautiful…. The waters are inviting… but they are deadly…. You cannot drink it… we were told… taste it.. its unbelievable.. so I dipped my finger into the salt water and took the tiniest taste….. it was like battery acid…. The smallest amount janged away in my mouth so that by the time I got out of the water … I rushed up to me room and washed my mouth out several times… yecchhhh!!!!!! One of the few luxuries Jesus probably had was to swim in the waters that Cleopatra once came to for its therapeutic and health qualities….. but it would not have satisfied any deep thirst or hunger either physically or spiritually….
The gospel says that Jesus was tempted in three ways….
“These three temptations presented to us in the Gospel today speak of hunger, spirituality and power.
We humans hunger after many things, not just food. We have all kinds of appetites and Lent is a good time to recognize the appetites that run our lives or are most important in our lives. For some people, it is the hunger for recognition. For others, it may be a hunger to be better than others. Another person may hunger for an emotional relationship. Some people hunger after money.// Whatever appetites we have, we are more able to work with them for God’s glory if we recognize them and how they work within us.
Spirituality is a wonderful gift for all of us. On the other hand, we must be sure that it is “Gospel spirituality” and not something else, (something indulgent). The basic spirituality of the Gospel is loving others and being willing to serve them, even when they reject us or despise us (and even when we get nothing out of it ourselves). The devil in today’s Gospel is pushing a spirituality of the miraculous. Surely God will save the Lord. That is never in question. But the Lord recognizes that His Father wants Him to act normally and to embrace a normal spirituality. If God has not given a very special gift to someone, and a gift that is verified by others as being truly of God, then that person should never presume to put God to the test. …God can do the wonders, but that is a free gift to us at a time and place of God’s initiation and desire, not ours. When we insist on the miraculous, we misunderstand God.1.
And we humans can have the unfortunate habit of constantly wanting God to prove his love, his care and his presence to us….. many know how a healthy relationship can slowly but surely be chipped away by a person constantly questioning and demanding signs that the other person loves them, and cares for them…. It becomes a form of distrust that pushes the beloved far away….. we can distance ourselves from God in the same way….. we need to keep trusting in the truth of God’s closeness to us… and that God only ever wants what is for our good (always)…
“To anyone who thinks God is remote and aloof, let them read today's Genesis account of Creation. How close is God? Imagine this: God bends low to the earth and scoops up handfuls of clay. He works the clay, forms it, shapes it, sculpts it into human form. Then, leaning close, he breathes heavily into the nostrils of this clay figure, and this first human comes alive. If you've ever worked in clay you know that it gets on your hands and your fingerprints are all over it. It's perhaps the most intimate art form imaginable. That's how close and connected and intimate God is with all of humanity. His breath still animates us every moment of our life.” 2.
Power is such an illusion and such a temptation. Jesus tells us that the only real power is the power of love. The devil offers a different kind of power, the power of dominion. Dominion is when I insist that you work for my good rather than my looking for your good. True love is a willing of the good of the other person in preference to my own good. True love always accepts sacrifices on my part for the good of the other person. Dominion expects the other person to sacrifice themselves for me.
The first reading, from the Book of Genesis, simply confirms that from the beginning there has been this tension among humans about whether we really want to serve or do we want others, including God, to serve us.
The second reading, from the Letter to the Romans, is clear that the only way to regain the spiritual and moral freedom, (that Adam and Eve had before their fall), is to obey Jesus Christ and live in love.
May this Lent help each one of us understand what we must do to love more and to live in Christ.”1.
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<![if !supportLists]>1. <![endif]>The Monastery of Christ in the Desert Homily for March 9 2011. 1st Sunday of Lent. Abbot Philip. OSB.
<![if !supportLists]>2. <![endif]>Prepare the Word Resource. “How Close is God” From resources for 13th March, 2011.
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