CONVENIENT TIME, TIME OF NEW COVENANT.

February 21, 2021
First Sunday of Lent - B.

Readings: Gn 9:8-15; Ps 25:4-5, 6-7, 8-9; 1 Pt 3:18-22; Mk 1:12-15.

An Avikam proverb says, “During the dry season it is better to befriend the owner of the pirogue.” And a Nigerian proverb adds, “The tree that cannot shed its old leaves in the dry season, cannot survive the period of drought.”

The Lenten season, before all else, is the convenient time for repentance and amendment of one's life. It is the time in which each one of us assesses with some seriousness his relationship with God and with his fellow. Lent in that sense is a pilgrimage in righteousness and a school of virtues. It could be seen as the start of a new humanity.

For this Lenten journey of this year, the Holy Father exhorts us to travel in the three theological virtues that are Faith, Hope and Love expressed in Charity. In his message entitled, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem” (Mt 20:18), the Pope strengthens the lines on the subtitle, "Lent: a Time for Renewing Faith, Hope, and Love." Every single Christian is called to revive, renew, and deepen his Faith, his Hope, and his Love through listening to the Lord inviting for the journey of an ascension. As the first point of his message, Pope Francis states that "Faith calls us to accept the truth and testify to it before God and all our brothers and sisters." The second point presents "Hope as “living water” enabling us to continue our journey." And the third point on love underlines that "Love, following in the footsteps of Christ, in concern and compassion for all, is the highest expression of our faith and hope."

The word of God, on this first Sunday of Lent, does not lead us away from this message. We are told that the world ruled by evil will be destroyed and a new world will begin. In the first reading, we hear that after the flood and its consequences on the whole creation, God sealed a new covenant with Noah and his children and all creatures. He promised, "that never again shall all bodily creatures be destroyed by the waters of a flood..." Water will no longer be a source of death, but a spring of life. And the Rainbow, with all its beauty, symbolizes and marks this new beginning.

This covenant with Noah prefigures the fountain of Baptism as well-spring of life. That is what Peter, in the second reading presents. St. Peter affirms with deep faith that the water of the flood prefigured baptism, which saves you now. We all have life with Christ Jesus through our baptism. We are washed clean and purified from all sin. Therefore, we can embark with the Lord for a new journey in the desert of our life where lie all kinds of temptations and tricks from the enemy.

The Lord Jesus, after his Baptism, was brought by the Spirit into the desert. We too are brought day after day into that same desert, our daily existence. How then do we withstand evil and the devil in that ordinary of our life?

Lent is the convenient time to equip ourselves with the convenient weapons in the battle against sin. Our weapons are mainly three, our Faith, our Hope, and our Love. These three weapons are well used through the traditional exercises of Prayer, Fasting, and Almsgiving. Through prayer, we deepen our relationship with the Lord and strengthen our faith in him. Through fasting, we monitor our body and get control of its impulses. Through almsgiving, we open our hearts and alms to our suffering brothers and sisters and make ours their needs. Our almsgiving, says the Pope, is the measure and expression of our love. And genuine "love rejoices in seeing others grow. Hence it suffers when others are anguished, lonely, sick, homeless, despised, or in need. Love is a leap of the heart; it brings us out of ourselves and creates bonds of sharing and communion."

May this Lenten season open us to a more exciting opportunity of conversion and a new pact of love with God and our neighbor.

Let us end our meditation with this extract from the Pope's message, which exposes the deep meaning and the theological-human scope of our quaresimal exercise: "Fasting, prayer, and almsgiving, as preached by Jesus (cf. Mt 6:1-18), enable and express our conversion. The path of poverty and self-denial (fasting), concern and loving care for the poor (almsgiving), and childlike dialogue with the Father (prayer) make it possible for us to live lives of sincere faith, living hope, and effective charity." Happy Lenten season, happy ascension to Mount Easter.