1st Sunday of Lent year B | Homily for 18th February 2024

 

My dear friends today we celebrate the First Sunday of Lent in Year B. You’ll notice that the Old Testament readings for the first three Sundays in Lent highlight three covenants: God’s covenant with Noah, God’s covenant with Abraham, and God’s covenant with Israel at Sinai. The readings this week have the theme of new beginnings. The 1st reading presents to us the very famous narrative of God’s covenant with Noah in the background of the great flood. To grasp the depth of this text we need to rewind a bit.

The entire flood narrative in Genesis chapter 7 comes at the end of the story of increasing human sinfulness that begins in Genesis chapter 3 with the disobedience of Adam and Eve. The original harmony that was created by God eventually disintegrates into chaos and disorder. Humanity is so broken that God regrets having created it in the first place. That destruction is not total and God doesn’t wipe away the creation entirely. The flood is the means of re-creation. Thus all of creation is given a new beginning, a new opportunity to live in the harmony that God intended. And this is where we come across something beautiful - God enters into an eternal covenant with all creation without requiring anything in return. God does so fully aware that “the inclination of the human heart is evil from youth,” (8:21). The flood has not cleansed the human heart of sin, God knows this, and yet God enters into covenant with us anyway.

This brings us to the second point – The sign of this covenant - God’s bow in the clouds. The Hebrew word ‘qesheth’ - קֶשֶׁת can mean bow as well as rainbow. Drawing from ancient mythology deities were depicted being armed with a bow and arrow. Also, another reference mentions a god suspending his bow in the heavens after winning a victory over a rival. So one way to look at the bow could be as a bow of battle. To hang up one’s bow refers to the end of a battle. That bow in the clouds is the sign of God’s promise that He will not destroy humans.

Another way to look at the word bow is as a rainbow. The rainbow serves to remind us, but more importantly, it serves to remind God of his promise. So whichever way you choose to look at the symbol of the bow the underlying message for us is that God will never stop seeking us. God will not give up on restoring His relationship with us. In the entire creation narrative, it is God who changes, not human beings. Isn't this a beautiful thought? As we begin the season of Lent and we must have made all these resolutions for fasting and abstinence let us not forget that these are only means to an end. Our Lenten religious practices are meant to restore our relationship with God but unfortunately, the means tend to become an end in themselves. God has hung up his bow, he is no longer angry with us. All he is asking of us is to turn our hearts to Him.

The second reading taken from First Peter explains how Jesus’ suffering serves as a basis for Christian confidence. The author states that Christ died for our sins once and for all and sin has no more power. He died as a righteous one for the unrighteous to redeem them. The statement, ‘put to death in flesh but made alive in the spirit’ does not refer to the body and spirit of Jesus as two entities, but to the two spheres of Christ’s existence - Earthly life and Risen Lord. God waited patiently when Noah was building the ark and Noah himself warned his sinful contemporaries, but wickedness blinded them and only eight persons were saved. The water of the flood is related to the water of baptism. The Christian experience of rescue from death occurs through the water of baptism. The water of baptism does not merely wash the dirt from the body, but it serves as an appeal to God for a good conscience. That is to say that the sinners ask God to transform their lives so that they see the world with a clear eye of faith and have the strength to act accordingly. Such an appeal is made through Jesus Christ’s resurrection which God has already heard.

The gospel passage taken from Mark today continues the narrative of the Baptism of Jesus.  In Mark’s narrative, the voice from heaven fulfils the purpose of identifying Jesus’ origin: he might come from Nazareth, a place of low honour, but he is God’s son. However, immediately after this high point, Jesus is led into the wilderness. Like Israel Jesus is tested in the wilderness. The number 40 is probably symbolic of the 40 years Israel spent in the Sinai desert. This period of testing serves as a preparation for his ministry. It is only after he undergoes this test that he can preach the message of the love of God. Though Mark doesn’t give us the details of the temptations, we know from the other gospels that these temptations dealt primarily with challenging the identity of Jesus. In the end, after Jesus refuses to give in to these temptations and has demonstrated that he is the Son of God who completely serves God’s will, Satan is dismissed.  

The invitation for us this Lent is to discover our true identity. We are called to remove all the masks that we have put on. Masks to please the people we hang out with, masks to conform to societal standards, masks which show that we are ok when deep inside we are hurting…remove all these masks and discover your true identity as a son or daughter of a God who loves us just the way we are. The symbol of the rainbow reminds us that God will never stop seeking us. God will not give up on restoring His relationship with us. He is not there with a bow and arrow waiting to strike us down but rather he has put down that bow and is now waiting for you with open arms. Which mask is God asking you to drop this Lent? Do spend some time in prayer to experience the beauty of your true identity and make a new beginning. May God bless us all.