February 21, 2010
First Sunday of Lent
By Rev. Joe McCloskey, SJ
When the Egyptians maltreated and oppressed us, imposing hard labor upon us, we cried to the LORD, the God of our fathers, and he heard our cry and saw our affliction, our toil and our oppression. He brought us out of Egypt with his strong hand and outstretched arm, with terrifying power, with signs and wonders; and bringing us into this country, he gave us this land flowing with milk and honey. Deuteronomy 26:6-9
But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we preach), for, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Romans 10:8-9
Then he led him to Jerusalem, made him stand on the parapet of the temple, and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written: ‘He will command his angels concerning you, to guard you,’ and: ‘With their hands they will support you, lest you dash your foot against a stone.’” Jesus said to him in reply, “It also says, ‘You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.’” When the devil had finished every temptation, he departed from him for a time. Luke 4:9-13
Piety
Moses points out to the people all the wonderful things that the Lord has done for them. He tells them how they should respond to the Lord for all that has been done for them. Our piety is a response to the Lord in gratitude for what has been done for us. The Lord has given us freedom and smarts enough to realize what loving response to the Lord may be. Calling upon the name of the Lord in gratitude and taking up the cup of salvation as Psalm 116 suggests is a good beginning to Lent. Prayer, fasting and good works are the “stuff” of Lent. There are traces of evil in all of us that stem from selfishness. The seven capital sins are examples of how the gift of life can be focused on ourselves and become selfishness as we live our lives exclusively for what we get out of what we are doing. Piety pushes us to live our lives for the sake of Christ. It makes Christ the center of our lives rather than what we get out of doing something just for ourselves. Piety is how we make Christ the Center of our lives. Lent gives us the chance to study ourselves to see what we may change in our lives to be more like Christ.
Study
Lent gives us the chance to go into the desert with Christ and to test how we respond to the major temptation of the life. The Pope labeled those temptations “secularism, materialism and individualism.” How has secularism influenced my life? Have I made the material things of life into gods? Does everything have to be done according to my need? Have power and glory crippled my heart? Do I do what I do because people see what I am about and admire me for it? All these questions reveal to me how closely I am willing to follow Christ. The basic question I may answer with this Lent is how close to Christ I am willing to come. The decisions I make about how to live my life for these forty days are the ascetical practices that I will try to live out in the name of Christ. Very little change of life style happens by accident. It takes a decision to be a more real Christ in my life.
Action
Prayer makes it possible to put on the mind and the heart of Christ. Making prime time for prayer shows the importance of prayer to self and others. Lent is a special time for closeness with the Lord. We may get up a little earlier than usual for special prayer. Cutting into sleep for the sake of the Lord is an action of love. Prayer is our love affair with the Lord. Starting out the day with prayer gives the tonal quality of prayer to what we do during the day.
Christ fasted forty days. He was hungry. The devil tempted him to make rocks into bread. Hunger can make us eat more than we need to satisfy our bodily needs. Cutting down on how much we eat allows us to walk in the shoes of the hungry. Being weak in the work we are doing can be dangerous. How we fast needs the prudence of a doctor’s okay. Fasting for the sake of solidarity with the hungry connects us to Christ who is one with the hungry of our world. Being with Christ is its own reward. Losing weight is a good side reward for giving ourselves to Christ. Grace builds on nature and the discipline of fasting gives us control over our lives in so many ways. Discipline frees us from the control of our passions and feelings. Giving time and energy to the work that God gives us, offers a chance to do for others what we do not have to do. True charity gives our total self to the needs of others. Thus the saints stand out by their gift of self to others. . There is nothing more gratifying than doing for the Lord what no one else is making time for. Love births freedom in choices we do not have to make. Going the extra step for the sake of a needy person is an example of love. Giving beyond the expectation of another, even until it hurts, is what generosity is all about. Lent is our opportunity to strengthen our spiritual life by being part of what the Church is doing. Materialism, secularism and individualism need to be checked in our world today and the checking process is prayer, fasting and good works. Thus we become more a part of who we may be in Christ.
