First Reading – Genesis 9:8-15;
Second Reading – 1 Peter 3:18-22;
Gospel – Mark 1:12-15
We are now into the great season of Lent. During the season of Lent, the church invites us to examine our lives, to repent of our sins and do penance. By means of fasting, penance, and prayers, the faithful obtain strength they need to overcome the sinful tendencies. The purpose of Lent is to provide that purification by weaning human persons from sin and selfishness through self-denial and prayer, by creating in them the desire to do God’s will and to make his kingdom alive by making it first come into their hearts. The real aim of Lent above all else, is to prepare Christians for the celebration of the death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. The better the preparation for this day, the more effective the celebration will be. One can effectively relive the mystery only with purified mind and heart. The Church invites all to repent from evil ways and return to the Lord who is eagerly waiting for each one to come to him. In the Gospel we have the Temptation narrative. After his Baptism, Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the evil one. After his victory over the Satan, Jesus enters his public life to proclaim the message of the Kingdom of God. By this time John was arrested and Jesus commences his message of the Messiah.
The first reading of today introduces us to this Lenten theme by bringing us face to face with the concept of origin and effect of sin. Today’s passage that gives us the story of great deluge reminds us of two facts: Man’s disobedience and disloyalty to the divine benefactor who created all and presented all gifts of body and mind to humanity, and on the other the magnanimity and the infinite forgiving mercy of God. The narrative tells us about Noah and his family in gratitude to God for his protection offered a large sacrifice. God blesses Noah in words that recall the blessing given to the first man and woman at creation: Be fertile and multiply and fill the earth
After his baptism, Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert where he remains for forty days. The desert is the place where people felt close to God and away from the distractions of the world. It is in the desert that the people of Israel received God’s Law. It is in the desert God made his covenant with his people. It is there in the desert that God took care of Israel giving them food and water. It seems necessary then that those whom God calls including God’s own Son must be purified by spending their time in the desert. The forty days symbolise the temptation of Israel in the wilderness for forty years, Moses’ experience in the desert, and Elijah’s flight. During that time in the desert Jesus was tested by the Evil One. Mark does not tell us how he was tested but Matthew and Luke do. These tests are really examples of the kind of tests that Jesus was to face in the course of his public life, even on Calvary. Its purpose is to help us to understand the conflicts that were in Jesus’ own life and which will also be found in ours too. Matthew and Luke tell us that the tempter asked Jesus to change stones to bread and satisfy his hunger after his long fast in the desert, asked him to jump down the pinnacle of the Temple to make a spectacular entry as Messiah, and called him to worship him and in return he would possess everything in the universe. They were the temptations to be unfaithful to God’s call. Faced with such challenges, each time Jesus said a firm ‘Yes’ to his Father.
We are now entering into the great season of Lent, when we are called upon to spend six weeks preparing ourselves to celebrate the high point of our faith: the Paschal Mystery, the suffering, death and resurrection of the Incarnate God. This season is a time of penance, fasting and prayer. It is a way of purifying ourselves from our weaknesses and prepare ourselves to celebrate the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus with a renewed commitment to follow him. Even though we are no longer asked by the Church to observe the severe penances of former times, it is surely fitting that we make some of form of sacrifice as a preparation for the great event. It should be a time for personal reflection on our personal commitment as Christians.
The story is said about the Salt Doll which wanted to have a look at the Ocean and see for itself how big the ocean was. So it set on its great mission and first encountered a lake and it asked whether it is an Ocean. The lake said that the Ocean was much bigger, and it was but so little before it. The Salt Doll then met the river and asked whether it is the Ocean and river said no but it would ultimately join it. Further the doll went travelling and finally came face to face with the Ocean. It asked the huge mass of water whether it was the Ocean, and it got the reply that it was indeed the Ocean. Then the Doll asked the Ocean how it could believe it. The Ocean replied and said if it really wanted to know, then it should come forward and touch it. The Salt Doll went forward slowly and stepped into the ocean. Immediately noticed a change in its person. Its toes were missing. It shouted at the ocean and said that it had cheated the doll. The Ocean smiled and replied that if it really wanted to know him well it must be one with him. The Salt Doll smiled and decided. It slowly entered the Ocean and soon was melted into it. Then it said, now I know what the ocean is; I am one with it. That is the reason why the Ocean is still salty in taste.