Saturday of the Second Week of Lent

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/031012.cfm

A junco grazes in last year's dried grass.

Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead,
as in the days of old;
As in the days when you came from the land of Egypt,
show us wonderful signs.

Refrain

There is a balm in Gilead
To make the wounded whole;
There is a balm in Gilead
To heal the sin sick soul.

As Lent prepares us for Holy Week and Easter, it leads us both to repentance and to joy in the contemplation of mercy. If the Gospel reminds us of sin, it also assures us that the doctrine of sin is Good News. We knew there was something wrong; even without God's Revelation we felt the oppression of Evil. We seemed to live under an evil regime. But Lent is a healing balm.  Lent is the practice of salvation. 

In the past we thought of faith as a series of statements: "This we believe." And certainly we have our doctrines, they are beloved and believed. But faith means nothing if it doesn't appear in action; if it makes no difference in the world around us. To say "I believe in God" without its making a difference in the way you treat your family, earn your money, or address your neighbor is mere cant. 

Lent -- this time of fasting, almsgiving and prayer -- is especially that time when our faith and hope and love appear. Jeremiah considered the wisdom of the animals who know the time, and the foolishness of the people who don't: 

Even the stork in the heavens knows its times; and the turtle-dove, swallow, and crane observe the time of their coming; but my people do not know the ordinance of the Lord. 

Have you noticed -- or is it just me? -- that Ash Wednesday seems to be growing each year? They crowd the churches. NPR reported ashes were being distributed in thousands of churches, hospitals and city halls. Even a Starbucks provided space for the Ashman. That's great. Ashes on our foreheads are a visible sign of God's blessing. We are his chosen people. We are ready to do penance! Really? 

But where were they on the Thursday after Ash Wednesday and the following "First Sunday of Lent?" They say "Well begun is half done" but Lent is more than one day. It is a season to remember the traditions of sin and my initiation into sin. It is time to be aware, conscious, and alert to the habits, customs, practices and attitudes that skewer my faith, hope and charity. 

Lent is that moment when we feel our anxious, desperate need for Jesus. He must go to Jerusalem and die for us. And we must go with him, urging his every step forward, even as we fear being swept into the abyss of God's wrath.