Homily, Lenten Sunday 1B
The First Sunday of Lent always involves the Gospel of Jesus spending 40 days in the desert after being baptized in the Jordan River. Of course, His own time in the desert—fasting and praying—is the model for our Lenten journey of 40 days, and to unite ourselves to the life and mysteries of Jesus should be the goal of every spiritual exercise we undertake. We may have been expecting to hear about three particular temptations that Jesus faced and overcame during His time in the desert, but the Gospel according to St. Mark does not include those details. And even the three temptations that Matthew and Luke mention can be understood as a summary of all the various temptations that human beings face. St. Mark just tells us that Jesus was “tempted by Satan,” that “he was among wild beasts, and the angels ministered to him.” Have you ever wondered why the “wild beasts” are mentioned?
Jesus in the wilderness, tempted by Satan, dwelling among wild beasts, and served by angels is actually an image of the First Creation in the Garden of Eden. The first man, Adam, lived in a garden among the beasts of the earth. He even named each of the animals. He and his wife Eve were tempted by Satan, fell into sin, and were driven out of the garden which would then be guarded by an Angel bearing a fiery sword. So when it comes time to establish the new creation, Jesus is driven by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness, into the desert. Now we probably think of deserts like the Sahara, as really dry and arid places where almost nothing can survive, but the wilderness of Judah has a fair amount of vegetation and would almost seem like a garden in places. And there were wild beasts, like in the Garden of Eden. Unlike Adam and Eve, Jesus—when put the test—did not sin, and so instead of seeing an Angel with a threatening sword, the Angels actually minister to Jesus, serving Him. Even our first reading about Noah involves some of the very same elements. With only the members of his family, Noah dwells on the boat harmoniously among wild beasts, and being saved through the water, he would provide the opportunity of a new beginning of the human race and of all creation.
When Adam sinned, it didn’t have consequences only for human beings, but to some extent the effects of sin have spread through all the world. Disorder and strife was introduced into human relationships among themselves but also between human beings and the rest of God’s creation. Thorns and thistles would the earth bring forth for man along with the crops we would try to grow. Many if not most of our sins involve misusing the good things that God has created, using them in ways contrary to God and His plan, or using good things to an excessive amount. It’s amazing the sorts of things that can become idols, false gods for people. Of course there are people addicted to drugs, to alcohol, gambling, pornography, video games, food, but there are also ways that we can put sports, academics, work and careers, even our phones and social media, ways that we put these things—even good things—in a place higher than God in our lives.
So when Jesus comes to conquer sin and death for us, He also comes to restore order and harmony—the proper priority and hierarchy of goods—to all of God’s creation, to teach us to use the good things of the earth according to God’s will, to draw us closer to God. Lent is an opportunity to purify our attachments, that if we’ve allowed anything in our lives to take priority over our relationship with God, to work against that, with the help of God’s grace to restore order in our souls and in our relationships.
Prayer, fasting, and almsgiving are the three main spiritual exercises that are recommended to us during Lent. And each one plays an important role in restoring order to our lives. Prayer helps to bring us back into right relationship with almighty God. Almsgiving helps us to grow in generosity and in right relationship with the people around us, with our neighbor. And fasting helps especially to restore order within ourselves, with our own appetites and desires, how we make use of the good things of the earth without becoming addicted to them or making them into idols. Three remedies for our three areas of relationship: prayer to God, almsgiving to our neighbor, and fasting to restore order within ourselves and with the rest of creation.
St. Ignatius of Loyola in his Spiritual Exercises starts with what he calls the First Principle and Foundation of human life. He says, “Man is created to praise, reverence, and serve God our Lord, and by this means to save his soul.” This is the ultimate purpose of every human life. He continues, “The other things on the face of the earth are created for man to help him in attaining the end for which he was created. Hence, man is to make use of created things in as far as they help him in the attainment of his end, and he must rid himself of them in as far as they become a hindrance.” In everything we do, in every relationship, every word we speak, we can ask the question, Is this leading me closer to God? Is this leading me to heaven and eternal life with God, the one goal and purpose that’s going to be the only thing that matters in the end? “Unless you deny yourself, take up your cross daily and follow Me, you cannot be my disciple,” says the Lord. May the Lord Jesus give us strength during this Lenten season to restore order in our lives, in our relationships, in our desires, that we might hunger and thirst for God above all else.
The Word Proclaimed 