A preacher who appeared with a cut on his face announced
that he had focused so much on practicing his Lenten homily while shaving that
he accidently cut his chin. He then gave a 45-minute
homily. After mass, a parishioner advised him: “Next time focus on your
face and cut your homily!” Good
advice.
We
have begun our Lenten journey from ashes to Easter. It is a time to reflect
upon our purpose in life and to make sure we have our priorities straight.
Baseball great Babe Ruth had a saying: "Yesterday's home runs don't win today's games." In other words, we
have to step up to the plate daily and try to do our best.
Last Wednesday we may have heard,
“Remember, you are dust and to dust you will return.” Dust symbolizes
nothingness. It’s everywhere; it’s commonplace. Yet God became dust in Jesus.
Jesus charged dust with the grandeur of God through his death/resurrection. The
triune God abides in us and we in
God by virtue of baptism.
The word of
God in the book of Deuteronomy focuses on identity
and reminds the ancient Hebrews of their roots: they were once at-risk nomads,
exploited as cheap labor in Egypt. Then they became “free at last’; brought
into a place of abundance, and grateful to the God who saved them.
Do we know our Christian identity? In baptism, we were transformed into “new
creatures,” sons and daughters of God, called to live a God-like life. That’s our identity.
St. Paul, in
his letter to the Christian community in Rome, proclaims fundamental truths: Jesus is our Lord to whom we owe our
allegiance; Christ lives; and because he lives, we live. Through the gift of faith, we have eternal friendship with God.
In the Gospel, Jesus was tempted in the wilderness.
The
devil, as a seductive voice, tempted Jesus to use his divine powers to satisfy his hunger. But Jesus’s food is
not bread alone, but also God's word.
Then
the devil offers Jesus earthly power if he will only worship him. Jesus brushes
the devil aside. To God alone belongs
worship.
The
devil finally asks Jesus to do a performance that will make him famous. Jesus refuses to test God by
asking for such a display. God's will be
done.
In
some form or other, these are temptations that we face: seeking only self-indulgence, or power or fame. Jesus
remains true to his identity and mission.
He will serve God alone and do God’s will which was to proclaim the kingdom of God,
a new heaven and a new earth, eternal life with God for humankind through his
death/resurrection. St. Luke may be asking us how faithful are we to our identity as sons and daughters of God
our Father?
Lent
invites us to examine again the course or direction of our own lives. Are we on the
right track? If we’re a bit off course, how can we get in the groove?
Three Lenten practices can
help us stay on the right track: prayer,
fasting and almsgiving.
• Yes, let's re-treat
ourselves to prayer: a
grateful response to an all-good compassionate and forgiving God who gifts us
with his eternal life. Prayer simply is connecting with God; bringing to
consciousness the presence of God that is around
us and within us.
Now there are many
approaches to prayer: like the Our Father, this Eucharistic liturgy, and
prayers of silence or petition. All are windows
or pathways into the presence of God. How often are we aware of God’s
presence each day? Are we
participating wholeheartedly in this
liturgy, and listening attentively to the Word of God.
• Second, re-treat
ourselves to fasting. Fasting and almsgiving are
Gospel twins. For the early Christians, foregoing food “enabled the hungry to
eat.” But fasting is more than foodstuff. Our Lenten fast can mean doing
without anger, impatience, selfishness, negative judgments about others,
addictions. Yes, doing without whatever prevents us from living a life of discipleship with Jesus.
• And finally almsgiving. In early
Christianity there were no government agencies to aid the needy. Alms were seen
as essential, not only in
Lent, but every day. Let's
re-treat ourselves to sharing
what we have. Share our time – stay
in touch with friends and loved ones, the sick, people all alone. Share our talents by volunteering whenever we
can. Share our resources with needy
people: how about Catholic Relief Services or St. Vincent de Paul or Catholic
Charities. Share ourselves – with a smile and let others know that
we want them to share our joy.
Yes, Lent calls for a change of heart. It’s time
to become more aware of God’s presence all
around us and within us.
So I invite all of us to re-discover and
re-treat ourselves to prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, to refocus during these
forty days on what truly matters in
life: our relationship with God and our fellow human beings.
