February 17, 2013

Bulletin February 17, 2013

1^st Sunday in Lent C

Deuteronomy 26:4-10; Romans 10:8-13; Luke 4:1-13
Lent 2013…what are the readings telling me today as I undergo another journey to realize God’s closeness and His love? Moses gives a synopsis of the great Passover and the establishment of the Covenant. What did it mean to the wandering Jewish nation and to me? It is all about giving God the very best I have to give. Moses is telling the people that they should give the first-fruits of the land to God as a sign of their gratitude for the wonderful harvest. Then these ‘gifts’ would feed the ‘alien, the orphan and the widow.’ This is nice when I read it but it gives me a lesson much deeper for my Lenten reflection. If I gave all the ‘first fruits’ then I would be showing my gratitude…true…but it also would amount to a great deal of trusting in God. What would happen if after the initial harvest, blight came upon the crops, or a severe drought or whatever farmers fear in crop growing? They wouldn’t have stored up for the future and they would be at the mercy of the elements. They had faith…in giving their ‘first…best’. Where is my faith at; where is my trust in God at? If I want to have a deeper, more intimate relationship with the Lord, how much am I willing to ‘give up’? Do I just give up my regular ‘sacrifices’ like deserts, sweets, chocolates, stopping at Burger King Etc? Am I giving up some of my ‘always watch’ TV programs or sports events so that I can do some deeper spiritual reading? Am I taking time to look into what is going on in my heart and mind? Do I realize that this means looking at what I do, my motives, actions, failings and my sin? Am I looking at the things that tempt me and lead me astray? Do I trust that God is with me and that all I need is to put myself at His disposal? Isn’t this exactly what Jesus did as He “was led by the Spirit into the desert for forty days, to be tempted by the devil?”
Power, possessions and pleasure are the three big temptations that Msgr. Chet Michael says always lead us away from the Lord and so consume people that they close out God and the workings of the Spirit. If Jesus was tempted in this way, shouldn’t I always be on the look out for these? Yes, but I shouldn’t exclude others that can so easily corrode me: greed, the desire to get all that I can, the desire to get even, even to the extent of revenge and telling how awful someone else is because of what they did to me and then of course are the ‘temptations of the flesh.’
It is very important that I look at these this Lent but just as important is for me to reflect on what ‘I am doing’ for the Lord. Am I giving the Lord some of my precious time? Am I spending my time in mindless matters and ‘saying’ that I should be reading, reflecting, praying, going to Jesus’ words in the Gospels but still not doing any of this? Actually this is the ‘thing’ that I never seem to devote my Lent’s to. It is a very subtle temptation of the devil: I think I am doing well on the ‘giving-ups’ but I’m not doing any of the ‘doings’. So in reality my efforts are really only ‘show acting’. As one author says, “This is the kind of temptation that can get us to not God our first-fruits, but instead give Him our leftovers --- our leftover love, our leftover generosity, or leftover mercy, and our leftover time.” I am absolutely guilty of all of these. This really doesn’t ‘do anything’ to God but it certainly ‘does something’ to be; it makes me satisfied with doing less or not doing at all and this rationalization makes me feel OK. But am I OK? No, because I am not growing closer to the Lord and I am not letting the grace and help and guidance of the Spirit to enter into ‘my space.’

In “Luke, A Devotional Commentary” is the following meditation which puts my Lenten journey into a beautiful perspective: “Until Jesus came among us as a man, no one---not even the most beloved prophets of God---had succeeded in resisting all temptation and following the Lord’s commands perfectly. So, how did Jesus succeed where so many others had failed? It is easy to think of Him as special BECAUSE He was God’s Son, yet scripture tells us that He was like us in every way, except that He did not sin (see Hebrews 4:15).

After He was baptized by John in the Jordan River, Jesus was led to a face-to-face confrontation with Satan. In obedience to the Spirit, Jesus actually took the offensive against temptation instead of avoiding it! Here, at the very beginning of His ministry, He attacked the power of Satan with the word of God, the ‘sword of the Spirit’ (Ephesians 6:17). And, for forty days in the Judean wilderness, Jesus remained steadfast, relying solely on His Father’s promises.

Think of how, during those forty days, Jesus relived His people’s history. Like His ancestors---who spent forty years in the desert---Jesus was tempted to relate to God on merely human terms or to abandon Him altogether. However, where the Israelites failed, Jesus succeeded. He lived ‘in the shadow of the Almighty,’ and the Lord was His ‘refuge’ ((Psalm 91:1-2).

Thanks be to God that Jesus has come! He has reversed the pattern of sinful humanity, freeing us from bondage to sin and death! Today, because of Jesus, we can know the same victory He knew. Because we have received His Spirit, we can face times of temptation patiently, relying on the power of God within us. Should we fail, we have the precious gift of repentance, which restores us immediately to God’s love and protection. By imitating Jesus’ humility and trust in the Father, we can learn to stand our ground and share in His triumph.

Holy Spirit, fill us with your power and word so that we can resist temptation. Make us more like Jesus, obedient children who please their heavenly Father.”
So I begin this Lent realizing that I need a ‘lonely place’ to reflect and pray. So often I live very foolishly and not spiritually because of my stupid wants and desires ‘ruled’ by my habits. Noise is all around me…I have to realize that in the quiet is where I find God. One spiritual writer wrote, “The hermit goes into the desert, not to lose himself, but to find himself.” In solitude we meet our demons, our addictions, our lust, our anger, and our need for recognition and approval. And we don’t go into the wilderness to escape from others, but to find them in God, ‘Only in solitude and silence can I find the gentleness with which I can love my brothers and sisters.’ (Thomas Merton)”
I thank you Lord for bringing me to this Lent of 2013 where I can focus on my time with You. Let my journey be concentrated only on the day I am in and not on the whole of Lent; a day at a time is a fine way to be in touch with You.