Skip to main content

1st Sunday of Lent - Cycle B

By

The Season of Lent is now upon us.  When you think of Lent most Catholics will say that it’s a season of penance, for giving something up, for prayer and for giving alms.  In fact, the phrase, “Pray-Fast-Give” has become a popular expression of Lent for many Christians.  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 Catholics are called to remember their own Baptisms.  As such, we will be looking to see where in our readings during this season the theme of Baptism becomes apparent.

The Word for the 1st Sunday of Lent
Genesis 9:8-15
Psalm 25:4-5, 6-7, 8-9
1 Peter 3:18-22
Mark 1:12-15

Our readings for Lent always have an overarching theme that bind the readings for every Sunday together.  This year for Cycle B (Gospel of Mark), that theme is covenant.  Covenant is that agreement between God and his people that marks the special relationship we have with our God.  It is a word we will hear in our readings this Sunday and a word we will continue to hear in our readings throughout this Lenten season.

Our first reading for this 1st Sunday of Lent starts with one of the first covenants between God and his people – that between God and Noah at the end of the great flood.  Also known as the Noahic covenant, this is the promise that God makes to Noah and all the people that he will never again destroy all life on Earth with a flood.  While this covenant was initially made with Noah, it is also a promise to all humankind, established with the rainbow as a reminder “for all ages to come” of that promise.  Our Psalm this week continues this theme of covenant by reminding us that the Lord’s ways “are love and truth to those who keep that covenant.”

Our second reading comes from the 1st Letter of Peter, wherein he draws a direct connection between the covenant with Noah and the new covenant through Jesus Christ.  He draws a parallel between the salvation of Noah and his family through the waters of the flood with the salvation that Christ offers through the waters of Baptism.

Following this reflection on Baptism, our Gospel from Mark takes us to that moment just after Jesus’ baptism where he is driven out into the desert.  Mark tells us Jesus spent forty days in the desert where he was tempted by Satan.  This is reflective of our forty-day journey through Lent where we are meant to face-down our demons find reconciliation with our Lord.

Final Thoughts:
The covenant with Noah and the subsequent covenants in the Bible between God and his people give us a special status.  We are a people of the covenant:  Beloved and chosen by God.  But a covenant is also like a contract – one where we the people of God also have responsibilities under this covenant.  What are those responsibilities?  Quite simply, to live our lives according to God’s commandments, or as Jesus taught, to love God and love our neighbor.  Simple in theory, but as we all know, much more difficult in practice.  So how are we going in keeping up our end of that covenant?  This is the question we must ponder during this Lenten season.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

3rd Sunday of Ordinary Time - Cycle C

By
“In the beginning there was the Word…”  These are the dramatic opening lines from the Gospel according to John, and though we will not be reading from John’s Gospel this Sunday, these words ring true for our readings for this 3rd Sunday of Ordinary time.  The people are in the midst of something new, a new beginning that, as our readings will show, begin with The Word… The Word for the 3rd Sunday of Ordinary Time Nehemiah 8:2-4a, 5-6, 8-10 Psalm 19:8, 9, 10, 15 1 Corinthians 12:12-30 (or 1 Corinthians 12:12-14, 27) Luke 1:1-4; 4:14-21 Our first reading is from the book of the Prophet Nehemiah.  Nehemiah, along with the priest/prophet Ezra, are the architects of the Restoration of Israel.  Their great Exile in Babylon is over and through the grace of the Persian King, Cyrus the Great, Israel is free to return to their land, to rebuild the Temple and to rebuild their lives as the people of God.  In an effort to guild them in this new beginning, Nehemiah and Ezra g...
Post a Comment
Read more

Feast of the Presentation of the Lord

By
February 2nd is the date chosen by the Church to celebrate the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord.  When a significant feast day falls on a Sunday, the Church sets aside the readings for that normal week to celebrate the feast with these special readings: The Word for the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord Malachi 3:1-43 Psalm 24: 7, 8, 9, 10 Hebrews 2:14-18 Luke 2:22-40 or 2:22-32 While the Catholic Church today refers to this day as the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, traditionally it has also been called the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple, Candlemas, the Feast of the Purification of the Virgin, and the Meeting of the Lord .  Prior to the Second Vatican Council, Candlemas was a time where beeswax candles were blessed for use throughout the year, a tradition still followed in some parish communities.  Today the celebration focuses more on the prophecy of Simeon, and Pope John Paul II chose it as a time for renewal of religious vows (not to be confused...
Post a Comment
Read more

8th Sunday of Ordinary Time - Cycle C

By
As with last week’s readings, our readings for the 8th Sunday of Ordinary Time are usually passed over for other feast days, but since Easter is somewhat late this year, we get to finish out this stretch of Ordinary Time with some readings we rarely get to hear during Sunday Mass: The Word for the 8th Sunday of Ordinary Time Sirach 27:4-7 Psalm 92:2-3, 13-14, 15-16 1 Corinthians 15:54-58 Luke 6:39-45 Our first reading comes from the book of Sirach, also known as the Wisdom of Ben Sira, a great sage from Jerusalem who embraced the Wisdom tradition.  The work was originally finished around 175 BCE and was later translated into Greek by the author’s grandson sometime after 117 BCE during the Jewish diaspora that flourished in the later Ancient Greek Empire.  Since our earliest manuscripts for this book were found in Greek, it does not hold the same canonical status for Jews and Protestants, but more recent archeological finds have verified its Hebrew origins.  Like all Wisdo...
Post a Comment
Read more