Word to the Wise
Sunday, March 13, 2011 - 1st Sunday of Lent - A
[Gen 2:7-9; 3:1-7; Rom 5:12-19 or 5:12, 17-19; Matt 4:1-11]At that time Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. He fasted for forty days and nights, and afterwards he was hungry. The tempter approached and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command that thse stones become loaves of bread." He said in reply, "It is written: One does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God."
Lent and the "time change" begin together this year! Each year these events "happen" and we adjust ourselves accordingly and go on with life. However, unless we choose to live in Arizona, we have no real choice about the time change. Lent offers us dramatic choices. The first of these choices is the way in which we enter Lent! Are we led by the Spirit or is it just something that "happens?" I think many folks miss that opening line in the story about the role of the Spirit in this story! Lent is meant to be a positive experience, even if it is a "desert" experience. It is first and foremost an experience of faith and not simply a forty-day inconvenience. A second choice is presented in determining how we are going to live this experience? Jesus is forced to confront his integrity and identity and to decide on fidelity to his mission. This is a very different choice than deciding what we are going to "give up for Lent." Can we face ourselves and decide about our fidelity to our baptismal commitment? I'm going to ask this question of the parishioners of St. Angela Merici Parish in the New Orleans area today as I begin a parish mission at their church! Fidelity to his mission would lead Jesus to the cross and resurrection! Can we face that? The tempter offered him a chance to avoid it all and live well! Jesus' response indicated that he found support and strength in his relationship to his Father and in his Father's Word! Can we make this season more than "just another Lent?" We can accept the offer of the Spirit to go into the desert and confront the temptations that corrupt us and make us unfaithful! Or we can "give up" on Lent by just "giving up" something. AMEN
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