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Homily, 1st Sunday Lent (year B) ●● 2024 February 18 ●● Genesis 9:8-15 ● ● Psalm 25 ● ● 1 Peter 3:18-22 ● ● Mark 1:12-15 ● ● Title: Fasting and Lent
[__01__] Recently,
someone I met, around the time of Ash Wednesday, told me she heard about the
Catholic tradition of not eating meat on Fridays, on abstaining from meat on
Fridays. Say what?
I
explained that the reason we follow this practice is because of Jesus – who
suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified died and was buried – all on Good
Friday.
I
shared that this abstinence is not because the eating of the meat is bad but it
does have a connection to our Lord and Savior.
Since Jesus sacrificed his flesh for us on Good Friday, we refrain from
eating flesh meat in his honor on Fridays.
[__02__] The Christian lifestyle is intended to be one you
and I live not to serve ourselves (“all we can eat”) but rather serve God and
others. Jesus summarized this in the Greatest Commandment:
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with
all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and most important
command. The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew
22:37-39)
From these two
commandments we are called measure our love for others based on our love and
care of self. There is no explicit commandment given to love ourselves,
But Jesus does say
in Luke chapter 12: “Jesus tells us not to worry about food or clothing. He
reminds them that life is more than just these things, and God takes care of
the birds and flowers, so He'll surely take care of us. We are called to focus
on seeking God's ways.”
Along this line, what
does not come naturally is going out of ourselves to love others. Humility also may not come naturally….
C.S. Lewis
famously said: “Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it’s thinking of
yourself less.””
[__03__] In the Gospel this Sunday, Jesus goes out into
the desert to fast and to pray.
And,
we read that he is tempted by the devil, by Satan.
Pope
Gregory the First (Gregory the Great) gave a 3-level or 3-step breakdown of
what it means to be “tempted” or “in temptation”.
These
3 steps apply to Jesus and apply to us, except for the Lord, he only goes to
step 1. We sometimes find ourselves all the way to step 2 and 3.
But,
we know that Jesus himself did not succumb to temptation.
Perhaps,
there is someone you know and trust who also seems able to resist temptation.
That person would also be at “step 1”
[__04__] Let’s take
the example of the temptation to be dishonest …
1st
Level – Step:
“suggestion”. A suggestion is made to me
– or even a random thought comes to me – that I might save time or money by
hiding something or by, for example, plagiarizing, by lying….
But,
it’s just a suggestion, I have not done anything yet.
2nd Level – Step: “delight”. While knowing that the suggestion is
wrong, I take pleasure in some convenience or comfort that the suggestion will
bring to me. I delight in the suggestion.
3rd Level-Step: “consent” I do the action and consent after
having heard the suggestion and delighted in it.
What
does it mean for Jesus to be tempted? It means, only that he heard the suggestion. He did not sin
by delighting in it or consenting to it.
[__05__] Jesus's
strength was that he was born without original sin, and they did he did not
delight in this suggestion.
Do we delight in
the suggestions of sin? Sometimes there are times when we do not delight in the
suggestions of sin. We are strong in our faith and trust in God. And we can
avoid delighting or taking pleasure in sin or trespassing. But we're broken and
fragile. And sometimes we do delight in and we can consent to sin.
For this reason,
Jesus Christ came among us, not just for 40 days in the desert, not just for 40
years, but for all time, to give us a model to follow to recall that even when
we're suffering, as we read in Romans 8:28 à all
things work together for good even when we're suffering, all things work
together for good for those who love God.
[__06__] In these
solemn 40 days of Lent, we the Church are uniting ourselves to the mystery of
Jesus’ fasting in the desert.
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Paraphrased: “Our separation from God and the start of doing wrong
began with eating in the Book of Genesis. God said not to eat from one tree,
the tree of knowledge of good and evil (Gen. 2:17), but Adam and Eve did it
anyway. This eating connects to the big questions of life and death, and
whether someone is saved or condemned. Food keeps us alive in this world, which
doesn't last forever and where things die. But God didn't make death (Wis.
1:13). Adam and Eve chose to rely on food alone instead of God (Dt. 8:3; Mt.
4:4; Lk. 4:4).
( https://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/liturgical-year-and-calendar/lent/catholic-reflection-on-lenten-fasting#:~:text=Fasting%20is%20here%20connected%20with,no%20death.%22%20(Wis.)
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A few times, I have gone on spiritual
retreats that have involved a fast from “communication” or a fast from talking.
In the beginning of such fasts, I often crave conversation. But after a few
days, I get used to it and enjoy the silence.
In this regard, the choice to be
silent – on the retreat – or to go without some form of food – is not be
because talking is evil (talking is good) or because eating is evil (food is
good), but just to make a practice of putting ourselves more explicitly in
God’s presence each day.
In a fast, we are not denying
ourselves in order to make our lives more chaotic or disorganized, but rather
to know better what is truly important so that we can grow in humility and love
of God and neighbor.
We also – at times – may need to fast
from saying something too quickly so that we can pray about what it is God
wants us to say, what is meant to be spoken, so that we can also live by every
word that comes forth from the mouth of God.
[__end__]
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