First Sunday of Lent

Lectionary: 24​

He brought us out of Egypt

with his strong hand and outstretched arm,

with terrifying power, with signs and wonders;

and bringing us into this country,

he gave us this land flowing with milk and honey.

Therefore, I have now brought you the firstfruits

of the products of the soil

which you, O LORD, have given me.'

Once again Lent comes to us. It is a friendly, serious season, like a home care nurse who comes to check on her patient. She is kind, considerate and no-nonsense. She looks for trouble with her eyes, ears, hands and nose. "How do you feel?" she asks as she examines your feet and squeezes your ankles. She asks questions no polite visitor would ask about your eating, breathing and bowel movements. All the while she is sniffing the air for telltale traces of incontinence or, worse, gangrene. She might listen to your stories if they're relevant to her mission but she has no time for idle chatter. If you're just  making noises she has better things to do.

Lent announces the coming of Spring and the approach of Easter. Spring is invariably welcome as the greys and browns give way to green and flowers. But Easter will come only for those who attend the forty days of penance and the rites of Holy Week. Those who are sick welcome the nurse.

Lent has an ancient feeling about it, and so our first reading today recalls Abraham and Moses and the rites of spring when grateful harvesters and shepherds offered the first fruits to their Providential God. Hebrews living in Palestine knew their history, that "he gave us this land flowing with milk and honey." They had not carved out of the wilderness its pastures, grain fields, orchards, vineyards, cisterns, and cities with their generous wells and sturdy walls. The country was settled long before they arrived. Pilgrims to the Holy Land see ruins that were familiar to the Patriarchs. But the owner had been, and would always be, God. Lent remembers with gratitude the penitential prayers of the Jews. Before the Catholic struck his breast and said "mea culpa" the Jew was praying, I know my transgressions; my sin is always before me.

Lent remembers Original Sin, that evil has its own traditions, structures, customs and laws. They do not disappear because the Lord has been raised from the dead. Nor does evil belong to any people or nation; all have sinned and are deprived of God's glory. It's not the Arabs or North Koreans or Iranians or Chinese; it's me. 

Lent reminds us of how readily we forget our good intentions, and how readily we fall again into familiar vice. It's an old story but we have to hear it again.

The world around us is acutely aware of sin. They raise alarms about ecological degradation, the sexual exploitation of women and children, racism, poverty and drug abuse. They tell us we should do something! Many suppose they know what must be done. They think these evils might be -- must be -- eradicated in one generation! Lent reminds us of where sin begins, in our own hearts, and that its roots are prehistoric. Lent makes no false promises about an easy or assured victory. If the Lord was tried by Satan even unto his last breath his people will also be tested until the last day.

Lent is a most welcome season for it reminds us of our need for God and of God's mercy.