1st Sunday of Lent - Cycle A

When you think of the season of Lent, what do you think of?  When you ask most Catholics, they will usually say that it’s a season where we’re supposed give something up.  Others may say that it is for prayer and for giving alms.  These are all right, of course, but not entirely.  According to the Constitution of the Sacred Liturgy promulgated from the Second Vatican Council, “The season of Lent has a twofold character: primarily by recalling or preparing for baptism and by penance, it disposes the faithful, who more diligently hear the word of God and devote themselves to prayer, to celebrate the paschal mystery.”  While those who are preparing for Baptism use this season of Lent as a period of “Purification and Enlightenment,” all of us Catholics are called to remember our own Baptisms as a primary focus for Lent in addition to penance.  With that emphasis in mind, let us see how baptism plays into our readings for this first week of Lent:

The Word for the 1st Sunday of Lent
Genesis 2:7-9; 3:1-7
Psalm 51:3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 17
Romans 5:12-19
Matthew 4:1-11

As would be fitting for the beginning of Lent, our readings also start at the beginning with the creation of man and woman, and their fall from grace.  In a passage from the book of Genesis, we learn first of how the Lord God created man and placed him in the Garden of Eden.  Then the text skips ahead to the story of the woman and the serpent, and how the creature entices the woman and the man to eat of the forbidden fruit.  This is the familiar story of man’s fall from grace.  Why is this story important on this particular Sunday?  The Easter Proclamation we hear at the Easter Vigil, the Exsultet, tells us in the line where we sing, “O necessary sin of Adam.”  Why do we say “necessary?”  Because without it we would not have salvation through Jesus Christ.  This sin of Adam is the not so much man’s fall from grace as it is the beginning of our story of salvation.  A salvation entered into through our own free will, just as our baptism, entered into freely, is the beginning of our own salvation.  And just as baptism cleanses us of sin, it does so with God’s grace, for as our Psalm reminds us, God’s mercy is there for the asking as we sing, “be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.”  

Understanding our story of salvation is also key to understanding the importance of Jesus Christ.  This is exactly what St. Paul is explaining in our second reading.  Here Paul gives us a very succinct outline of the story of salvation and the entire purpose of our ministry, first by recalling Adam’s sin, but how it is through Christ that we are redeemed.  While it is an important lesson, it is also an example of Paul’s sometimes very convoluted writing style, spanning some 30 lines within only 4 sentences, so you may wish to take it very slowly and go through it several times so you can better see his point.

Our Gospel from Matthew gives us another “origin story” – the beginning of Jesus ministry as marked by his temptation in the desert.  This is the quintessential Catholic understanding of Lent.  Jesus is lead into the desert for 40 days to face the devil.  As we hear the narrative unfold, it is interesting to note the wordplay between the Devil and Jesus, and how both of them use Scripture to justify their arguments.  Remember, Matthew is speaking to a primarily Jewish audience, so the verses they are quoting are well known to his flock.  Also for Matthew this is an opportunity to remind us of the epic nature of this battle between the forces of light and the forces of darkness.  Jesus is not just another prophet, he is the chosen one, the Son of God, the champion of the forces of light.  But where is the reference to baptism in this story?  Remember what happens just before Jesus goes out into the desert?  He is baptized by John, giving him the strength to face the devil and begin his mission.

Final Thoughts:
I was born shortly after the Second Vatican Council was called into session.  As such, my growing up Catholic has been a time of transition for the Church, and even in the 60 years since, we’re still in a period of transition.  I grew up with a traditional understanding for the Season of Lent – Pray, fast, give.  Nowhere in my catechesis was there discussion of the importance of Baptism in relation to Lent, even though it is made quite clear in the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy.  So why did it take so long for me to learn about this aspect of Lent?

The reason is simple – people hate change.  People will always fall back on what they know.  Even Peter did this after the resurrection.  Frustrated with not knowing what to do, Peter turns to his friends and says, “I’m going fishing.”  (John 21:3).  Their lives as disciples of Christ was changing, and like many of us, were afraid or unsure of what to do next.  So to this day many people only see the “pray, fast, give” model of Lent.  To think about one’s own baptism is seemingly a step too far.  One step into the realm of the uncomfortable.  For you see, remembering our baptisms (or remembering why we were baptized as infants) turns the conversation back on us.  The Church telling me to “pray, fast, give” is an external response – it doesn’t require a lot of internal thought.  But asking us to think about our baptism, now I have to look into my own heart and soul, which for many people is an uncomfortable position.

But that’s the whole reason for Lent – to what we who work in Initiation Ministry call the period of “purification and enlightenment.”  It is only through some of this discomfort that truth is revealed.  Truth that we’re not as good in our faith lives as we should be.  Truth in that we’ve been ignoring our obligations as Christians.  Truth in that we don’t talk to God often enough.  Lent is meant to lead us to the renewal of Easter!  No one said the journey would be easy.  Jesus had to die on a cross.  Maybe in the bigger picture, a little honest self-examination isn’t too much to ask.