When I was a brand-new seminarian, I had to choose a local outreach location where for two or three hours each week I would serve others in some capacity. I picked the Urban Mission in downtown Steubenville, Ohio, and once per week I drove to a Methodist Church with another student to help at the soup kitchen. Sometimes I helped in the kitchen cooking, other times arranging cans in the pantry, but every week without fail I assisted in serving the food, and once that ended, I sat with the many men and women who came for a hot plate of food.
I still remember an elderly woman who came every week, Ms. Edna. Everybody knew her and showed great respect toward her. She always parked her buggy at the door of the church full of stuff, and came downstairs into the hall. She often complained that her landlord never fixed the heat in her room, or she would tell me about her cat.
Every week before serving lunch, the pastor quieted everyone down and prayed. She always started the prayer with the same words: “Thank you Lord for giving us today another chance to get things right with you.”
Praying with a group of men and women who struggled each day to find food, and to secure a warm place to sleep in the freezing Ohio winter, the prayer always struck me as making real the present moment. Her prayer focused on the opportunity graciously granted by God today to get things right today – not considering what happened yesterday, nor what may happen tomorrow. Her brief words were always spoken with joy, transmitting great hope at the new chance granted by God to get things right.
Lent is a season given to us by the Church to get things right with God. Lent usually starts with the greatest of intentions which quickly wither away, sometimes within a day or two, leading to discouragement. The pastor’s prayer however brings us straight back to the start because every day is a chance to get things right with God regardless of what happened yesterday.
If you travel to Israel today, you will find a monastery built on a mountain from which you can see one of the oldest cities in the world, Jericho, continuously inhabited for 11,000 years. From the monastery you can also see the river Jordan where Jesus was baptized. This monastery, run by Greek Orthodox monks, marks the spot in the desert where every Lenten journey begins: with Jesus in the desert for forty days.
Saint Luke writes that Jesus was led into the desert by the Spirit for forty days of prayer and sacrifice. He remained separated from the world in order to prepare himself for the mission that God the Father had confided to him. As an athlete practices before a race or game, in the same way a soldier trains for months before going to battle, in the same manner a musician practices his or her instrument every day before a concert, Jesus prepares his soul before beginning his public ministry.
We now join Jesus in the desert for forty days. Lent is a time for us to exercise our soul, our whole being, in a way that for the rest of the year we may be ready to be faithful to Christ. The season invites us to do penance, to offer sacrifices to the Lord, imitating Christ himself.
As a priest, I have met many people who say to me, “Father, the day I decided to get closer to God, the day I decided to change my life, I began to have so many difficulties and problems.” Perhaps you have experienced this or know someone who has. The enemy will do everything in his power to sidetrack us, especially when we make the decision to grow closer to God.
When the enemy sees that our choices will bring about good fruit in our lives and in the lives of others, he will do everything in his power to dishearten us, tempt us and separate us from God. This is exactly what happens to Jesus in the desert. Jesus is preparing himself for his public ministry, a ministry which alters the course of history and one that today, 2000 years later, continues to bear great fruit throughout the world. The devil was desperate to sidetrack God’s plan of salvation. When good things are coming, we must be vigilant and not put down our guard. We must resist temptation even more and remain strong.
Lent is a season to get things right with God by strengthening both our will and desire to be faithful disciples of Jesus. Lent is an invitation to join Jesus in the desert so that by imitating Him we can grow in holiness and strength.
Homily for the First Sunday of Lent Year C
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