First Sunday of Lent

Lectionary: 23

...God patiently waited in the days of Noah during the building of the ark,
in which a few persons, eight in all,
were saved through water.
This prefigured baptism, which saves you now.

The Voice of God is always pleasant for those who want to hear it; even when -- perhaps especially when -- we have turned aside from the Lord. 

I quit drinking in 1980. I realized I could be a drunk or a priest, but I couldn't do both. Not long after I made that important decision, I swallowed a  little water -- perhaps a teaspoon -- that had  been tainted with alcohol. I did it to spare a friend’s feelings. 

I visited a couple one evening, parishioners who’d kindly invited me to their home. I told him I wasn’t drinking but he put some bitters in my Coca-Cola. When he saw I’d finished the drink he asked if I liked the bitters he’d added. 
What are bitters? I asked.
Neither of us knew that bitters are alcoholic. When we checked the bottle, we discovered they are 90-proof. But, to spare his feelings, I polished off the teaspoon of melted ice anyway. He then refilled my glass with Coke and ice, and nothing more. 

But I should not have drank the last of that melted ice; and even as I did so, I knew I should not. It was just a courteous gesture of reassurance, of apology. It’s okay, it said. Don’t worry about it. Nothing more. 
But being free of alcohol is more important than anyone’s feelings. 
The next day, I worried about the incident; it seemed like the slip I'd heard of among members of AA. Some people never recover from a slip. I feared a relapse into drinking. There was no doubt in my mind or heart; the time had come for a decisive change in my way of life. 

As I was praying and pondering, I heard the Lord say to me,
"Ken, we do it my way, or not at all!" 
And I responded, "Yes, Sir!" 
I've never had a drink since then. 

The voice was stern, commanding, welcome, and beautiful. I felt extraordinarily privileged that the Lord would speak to me; that he would rebuke me with a word so direct and so uncompromising. There was nothing nice or soft about it; there was no, "Please think about what I say." or, "What do you want?" God did not ask me, “How do you feel about it?” 

I was told what I wanted, and that is what I want. 

Lent is a season of repentance; it's a period when every Christian must ask the Lord to, "Speak to me. Guide me; help me. For I want to know your way." It's a season when we ask the Lord to rebuke us for our sins, whether they be thoughts, attitudes, words, or deeds. We say, Here am I, Lord, I come to hear your word.

As Lent begins we should not come to Church like the people who came to be entertained by the Prophet Ezekiel. The Lord spoke to him and said:

As for you, son of man, your people are talking about you beside the walls and in the doorways of houses. They say to one another, “Let’s go hear the latest word that comes from the LORD.”

My people come to you, gathering as a crowd and sitting in front of you to hear your words, but they will not act on them. Love songs are on their lips, but in their hearts they pursue dishonest gain.

For them you are only a singer of love songs, with a pleasant voice and a clever touch. They listen to your words, but they do not obey them.

But when it comes—and it is surely coming!—they shall know that there was a prophet among them. (Ez 33:30-33)

We don't come to church to hear the music or be entertained by Father’s amusing stories. Saint Paul warned his disciple Timothy about this very thing: 

For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine but, following their own desires and insatiable curiosity, they will accumulate deceitful teachers with demonic instructions; and they will stop listening to the truth and will be diverted to myths. (see 2Tim 4:3)

We don’t come to feel good about ourselves, about our friends or neighbors. We should not consider whether we're being fed or not. The Catholic Church does not offer a smorgasbord of opinions and beliefs to please the religious marketplace. We don’t say, “Take what you like and leave the rest.” Catholics are not consumers who can pick and choose what they like about this particular church, congregation, or pastor. 

If there is a teaching  we don’t understand, we ask about it, pray about it, and beg the Lord to reveal it to us. If it’s something with which we disagree, we ask the Lord to show us where we’re wrong. As Saint Paul said to the Philippians, those who are “perfectly mature will adopt this attitude. And if you have a different attitude, this too God will reveal to you.”

We come to worship God because it is right and just that we should do so. We come with the hope that God might speak a word to us; a word of encouragement, peace, guidance, or severe rebuke. 

Whatever God might say to us is good. As the boy Samuel said, "Speak, Lord, your servant is listening."