Second Sunday of Lent – Cycle “B” – February 21, 2021: Genesis 9:8-15, Psalm 25:4-5, 6-7, 8-9, 1 Peter 3:18-22, Mark 1:12-15 Introduction: in the First Reading, God made a covenant with Noah, with a promise not to destroy us with a flood. God is faithful: God extends divine power and protection for us, and that power and protection continues in the person of Jesus, our Shepherd and Savior. Let us ask for the forgiveness we need at this moment on our Lenten journey.
There are lots of people who are pretenders, con artists, dishonest folks: and some of them even show up on television in our own time. In one such show, a woman presents herself as an advocate and legal guardian, representing the interests of people in health care facilities and nursing homes who cannot voice objections or defend themselves. In shocking, bold and brazen ways, this woman steals from these people, all the while smiling at them: she empties their bank accounts, yes, but she ALSO tricks them into thinking she respects them: No: she represents the Evil One, Satan: she is completely dishonest and destructive. At the same time, we recall St. Matthew’s account of the Evil One tempting Jesus: the classic temptations concern power, possessions, prestige. All of them tempt Jesus to put himself first, versus putting God the Father first.
And that same Evil One tempts Jesus, as he always tempts us, against making the sacrifices necessary to keep God #1: to truly allow God to be God ALL the Time, by imitating Jesus’ courage in sacrificial giving. When I say ALL the time, I’m recalling for all of us that painful sad fact throughout our religious history. We KNOW the scenario: God offers faithful eternal love, we accept it and follow God’s direction FOR AWHILE: but then we veer off, or our engine goes off the track, or we miss d divine mark. Whichever metaphor we want to use, we fail: we go from faithful monogamy to serial or periodic monogamy, alternating between faithfulness and being unfaithful: just remember Israelites and the golden calf, which becomes the symbol of our unwillingness or our incapacity to obey the Great Commandment (Love God and neighbor completely) for the long haul. We are blessed to know that WE need Lent, and we need it EVERY year to restore us to living that “all the time” faithfulness.
And there are some unique insights in the very short and original account given in St Mark’s Gospel. First, it says Jesus was driven into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit. It’s an interesting word, isn’t it? The inference is that not EVERYone wants to go into wildernesses, to desolate places with NO one else. When I was growing up, I remember stories of people training to become Eagle Scouts: one of the challenges given them, after some basic training, was that they were each driven – by car- to separate deserted campsites in the woods, miles away from one another. These young men were each expected to take care of themselves OVERNIGHT – just one night: find food like berries, drinkable water or purify their water with special tablets, find a dry place to sleep: this was certainly an initiation of sorts. So, when Jesus is DRIVEN into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit, it’s understandable: who WANTS to go there? Who wants to be in a place where we have no defenses, no con games to play, to be alone w myself, and myself as the only resource? But at the same time, as we know very well, the wilderness offers Jesus and us something else, too: it’s a place of solitude and revelation, and of intimacy with God, the Holy one! And that is true for us, too: we encounter our Mighty God, even when our minds seem to wander: even as we recognize our own mortality: the reality of sickness, age, arthritis, & past disappointments. And look at what happens while Jesus is STILL in the wilderness: angels minister to Him. Hasn’t that happened 2us as well, at various times in our spiritual journeys? Have we NOT felt divine intervention along the way? For even in our struggles, we are being fortified, strengthened and enriched by the hand of Divine Love.
And yes, there’s more. The LONG story of the battle in the wilderness is a victory song: like the Israelites’ song in the Book of Exodus: “I will sing to the Lord, who has Won the Victory, horse and chariot He cast into the sea!” This battle with evil, like the initiation we have undergone in Baptism, Confirmation and the Eucharist, CONTINUES to work from WITHIN us. And like the anointing of Confirmation that makes us strong inside and out, we end up being more fruitful witnesses to Jesus, whose death and resurrection make us whole. Let us cooperate with the saving grace that gives us the DESIRE to battle against sin and death. We ARE the people of God, chosen to be light for the nations. This Lent, may the light of Jesus Christ shine from deep within us, for us and for others, so that all may come to know Christ better.
