First Sunday of Lent

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Lent 2010

September 5, 2010

First Sunday of Lent

In the Bible, we read of a number of significant journeys. The most important of these is that of the Jewish people from Egypt to the Promised Land. They were slaves while they were in Egypt, but God called them to leave their state of slavery behind and to set out on a journey which would eventually – after forty years - lead them to freedom. The journey, through the wilderness, was not an easy one. The people got lost, and sometimes they wished they had never left the security of slavery for the hazards of freedom. But God was constantly calling them to follow him and thus to become free.

Not surprisingly, the Church has always seen the journey of the Israelites through the wilderness as a symbol of our journey from the slavery of sin into freedom. The Israelites passed through the waters of the sea. We pass through the waters of Baptism. Our journey, like that of the Israelites, is often fraught with danger. Sometimes we are tempted to give up and go back to our old habits of sin where at least we are more comfortable. Yet God calls us onwards to freedom.

In the Season of Lent, we retrace in spirit the journey of Our Lord to Jerusalem. It was on a hill outside that city that he died and by dying freed us from slavery to sin. The climax of the Book of Revelation (Apocalypse) is the heavenly Jerusalem. That is our ultimate goal. There we shall find true and complete freedom because “we shall see God as he really is.”

Gospel Readings for the weekdays of the First Week of Lent.

Monday

(Chair of St. Peter)

Matthew 16: 13-19

Tuesday

Matthew   6: 7-15

Wednesday

Luke       11: 29-32

Thursday

Matthew   7: 7-12

Friday

Matthew   5: 20-26

Saturday

Matthew   5: 43-48

This Week

Think about it:

What is it that most holds you back on your life-journey to freedom from sin?

Listen to it:

What is actually happening to Jesus in his temptations?

Talk about it:

How can you, in this season of Lent, express in a practical way your gratitude to God for calling you to freedom from sin?

Learn from it:

Decide on one or two fairly simple things you can – and will – do during Lent to grow closer to God.

Pray about it:

Lord, help me to see this season of Lent as a time of joyful preparation for the great feast of Easter. Amen.