Remember, we are a covenant people!
THE WORD IN LENT - FIRST SUNDAY
February 18, 2024 - Genesis 9: 8-15; 1 Peter 3: 18-22; Mark 1: 12-15
Through the desert, God leads us to freedom - this lenten message of the Holy Father has been accompanying us in the first few days of the holy season of Lent that we have begun. The Word this Sunday, offers us a fitting culmination to those reflections, inviting us to listen attentively to what the desert wishes to tell us and where it points us to. The Desert Experience, has a very special place in spritual growth of persons and communities. Not to say about the literal desert experience of the people of Israel and that of Jesus himself, which has a direct reference to our lenten practices, spiritual masters attach great significance to desert-like experiences in one's life. It could be dryness, loss, failure, trials, temptations, meaninglessness, search, doubt, distance, boredom and routine, sickness, shock and many other such experiences either expected or unexpected, sudden or gradual. Naturally, they refer to a difficult experience at the moment , but an experience that would stand us a good stead, if their true meaning and all the lessons that they have in store are drawn out in time. The sad fact is that most of the time these expereinces are wasted with a negative approach and a resentive mindset. Instead, if they are approach with faith, they can become blessed moments - when the Angels could serve us, as it is reported in the Gospel today.
A desert experience is a spiritual experience and it leads us to growth. First of all it is spiritual experience for all who allow themselves to be led by the Spirit - the Spirit led Jesus to the desert, the Gospel tells us. It is a spiritual experience because it has a very special place in the holistic spiritual growth that God desires within us. It leads us to a greater understanding of who we are and what we are upto. It gives us the opportunity to take time, in silence and recollection to, take a deep look at the present, understand the past a little better and learn lessons for the future. They are experiences that could at the moment be found heavy and precipitating, but what rewards us endurance. As James reminds us in his letter (1:12), blessed is the one who endures the trial, for when the person has stood the test, shall receive the crown of life which god has promised to those who love God. This is growth, to look at the difficult and trying experiences from the perspective of God.
A desert experience is a faith experience and it reminds us of the covenant. An important reminder that we are given during the moments of trial is, the accompaniment of God. Why does God accompany us? Because God is faithful to the covenant that God has made with us. We see in the first reading today the experience of Noah - the experience of the covenant. When God told Noah to build that arc, just imagine, how many would have derided him and called him names because he was apparently doing a foolish thing - building a ship, and that too on the land! Building a ship on the land - is a typical lifestyle of a covenant person! It is not that the covenant was made after the flood... it was sealed after the flood, but it was done much before the flood, because covenant is basically a relationship. There was a great bond of relationship between God and Noah - much before the flood. The covenant was the outcome of those times lived together, Noah and his God. Our difficult times are a reminder to look at the One who is with us, the One who accompanies us, the One who walks and shares every bit of our life. We are a people of the Covenant. That is the reminder that can see us through the moments of difficulties and make the desert experience truly a faith experience.
A desert experience is a birth experience and it prepares us to be born again. The Liturgy today invites us to gradually shift our focus from the desert to the waters - the waters of baptism. From the waters of the flood to the waters of baptism, the fundamental lesson is that of our life in God. Jesus went through the moments of the desert - the temptations, the trials of his daily life and mission, the suffering and death - but it was all leading him to that point of resurrection, the passover, the eternal pasch that has redefined the whole history of all who believe and trust in God. That is the power of the water of baptism, giving us that passover experience, to pass from death to life, from darkness to light, from slavery to freedom. It is once again a reminded of our identity as people of the covenant - we are challenged to live our life in Christ. Just as the desert experience made Jesus reaffirm his life in God, just as the period of passion death and darkness that surrounded it made the disciples and apostles to reaffirm their life in Christ, our day to day experiences of temptations and failures challenge is to renew our life in the Spirit.
The Word will continue in the coming week to remind us of the various facets of this life in the Spirit, this life begun with the waters of baptism, this life we are called live as children of God. Today let us thank God for the deserts of our life, let us thank God for the waters of baptism that have saved us, and let us thank God for having called us and continuing to lead us from our deserts to the waters of God's intimate accompaniment. Let us resolve to grow attentive to the accompaniment of God, to deepen our roots in the covenant that God has made with us, and to heed to the voice of Christ proclaiming to us that the Reign is at hand. May our daily life be a determined journey from the deserts of our lives to the waters of God's immense love.
