FIRST
SUNDAY OF LENT
March 5, 2017
THE BOOK OF
GENESIS –
«
This book, the first of the Pentateuch or Torah, tells us about the
origins of the world and also the story of the patriarchs.
«
The authors of the 11 first chapters of the book of Genesis, are interested
in the origins of the world. According to the calculations of the scientists
the world is 4 billion years old and, the human beings have lived in this world
for about 2 million years. In Scripture the origins of the world are presented by
means of stories and legends that were present also in the cultures of the
peoples surrounding Israel. Israel transforms these stories into a message of
the revelation of God as creator who gives life, always ready to forgive and,
to take care of the people He has created.
«
These stories from Genesis are not historical, they are theological
reflections on the great truths and questions that the human beings have always
had and, have tried to solve in different ways according to their beliefs and
cultures.
«
There are 4 authors, or groups of authors, or sources(traditions) in
the book of Genesis: Yahwist (J) Elohist (E) Deutoronomist (D) and the Priestly
(P)
«
The text of the first Reading for next Sunday belongs to the Yahwist
tradition, which is the most ancient tradition. The main themes of this source are:
o
Creation of the human race – life
o
Sin and the lost of Paradise -
human suffering
o
The sin of Cain – violence, hate, wars.
o
The story of the giants
o
The story of the flood – Natural catastrophes.
o
The list of the nations
o
The tower of Babel – human pride that ignores
God
o
After Babel we enter into the second part of Genesis, the story of
Abraham and of the other patriarchs.
«
For the Yahwist the primeval
history of the human race has 4 points which are repeated over and over
again:
o
God lets us know what sin is,
o
and its consequences, punishment for sin
o
The mercy of God
o
The human being continues to sin.
«
We may see this in the stories of:
o
Adam and Eve
o
Cain and Abel
o
The flood
o
The tower of Babel
«
As we begin the season of Lent let us reflect on this constant
behavior of God and, of the human being.
This mercy and forgiveness of God will become flesh, in Jesus of
Nazareth. For our sake and for our salvation he has pitched his tent among us,
and has become one of us.
FIRST
READING: Gn 2,7-9; 3,1-7.
Ø God
formed “man-Adam” name which some authors translate as “creature from dust” (hā’
ādām), man is formed out of the clay of the ground and lives because God blows
into his nostrils the breath of life.
Ø Before making his creature God planted a
garden in Eden. This garden is the earth which God gives to man so he can live
on it. He will not only live in the garden but, he must take good and tender
care of it. He has to take care of the earth in the same way God takes care of creation.
Ø After
the creation of man God continues to decorate the garden creating trees, fruit
trees, rivers everything that will delight man, because God has created us to
be happy.
Ø Among
the trees God puts two especial trees, the tree of knowledge of good and bad
and the tree of life.
Ø In the
text which we will read this coming Sunday the Church has omitted the story of
the creation of the woman. This passage is the first reference to the
institution of marriage from the very beginning of human existence on
earth.
Ø After telling
what God has done for his creature, the author tells the first answer of this
creature to his/her Creator. The story
of the temptation of our first fathers is the story of our own temptations. It
is described in a very clear and graphic manner. Let us try to discover the real message which
is found beneath the images:
o The
trees were delightful to look at and good for food
o Temptation
is usually about something which is attractive and pleasant, but which is
forbidden “you shall not eat it or even touch it, lest you die.”
o The
woman allows the serpent to talk to her. She has not understood the precept God
has given them, she sees it as something arbitrary, something she cannot do because God said so, but
not as something God has said for their wellbeing. She says “God has
said…”
o The
serpent is right they will know what is good and what is bad.
o
But it is not enough to know intellectually but
to know from the depth of our heart and soul. To know what is good and what is
evil does not help us, unless we love the truth. If this is not so it happens
to us what we read in the story of the first sin; the fruit looks good… why
should I not eat it? God does not know how
good this is!!!
o The
woman finally takes the fruit in her hands and shares it with her husband who
becomes her accomplice, because he does not remind her about the words God has
said to them.
o To help
us to understand that something has
changed for Adam and Eve with the disobedience
or sin, the Bible says that their eyes are opened and they realize that they are naked. Yes now they realize how poor
they are, how vulnerable, how weak and they are ashamed. Before the sin they
were able to look at creation with the same eyes of God and discover the beauty
and the goodness in all, they were able to look at reality as God sees it. They
have lost their innocence, their happiness, their peace; they have lost it for
them and for the whole human race.
o In the
next chapter of Genesis we read about the first fight between brothers, a
fight that ends with the death of one of them.
In a very simple way by means of a story the Bible puts in front of our
eyes the reality of all our hate, violence, fights, wars…
RESPONSORIAL PSALM: Ps 51,3-4. 5-6. 12-13.17
BE MERCIFUL, O LORD FOR WE HAVE SINNED
Have mercy on me, O God,
in your goodness
In the greatness of your
compassion
Wipe out my offense
Throroughly wash me from
my guilt
And of my sin cleanse me
BE MERCIFUL, O LORD FOR WE HAVE SINNED
For I acknowledge my
offense
And my sin is before me
always
Against you only have I
sinned
And done what is evil in
your sight.
BE MERCIFUL, O LORD FOR WE HAVE SINNED
A clean heart create for
me, O God
And a steadfast spirit
renew within me
BE MERCIFUL, O LORD FOR WE HAVE SINNED
Give me again the joy of
your salvation
And a willing spirit
sustain in me
O Lord, open my lips,
And my mouth shall
proclaim your praise.
BE MERCIFUL, O LORD FOR WE HAVE SINNED
v
Psalm 51 is a penitential psalm composed by David after he repented
from his double sin of adultery and murder.
v
A psalm that reflects also our feelings when we are faced with our
sinfulness.
v
We implore the help that comes only from God, and that He is willing
to give to us, even more He always has the initiative, and he offers
continually his help we ask for it.
v
The last verse we will recite this coming Sunday is the invocation of
the Church at the beginning of the liturgical hours.
SECOND
READING – Rm 5,12-19
During the seasons of Lent and Easter until Pentecost, the second
reading will have the same theme as the First Reading and the Gospel.
Paul
compares Jesus with Adam. Jesus is the second Adam, with his obedience he obtains
for us our justification. He gives back to us what the first Adam had lost and,
He gives to God the worship of obedience which the first Adam did not give to Him.
GOSPEL Mt 4,1-11
In this fragment of the Gospel according to
Matthew Jesus is portrait as the new Adam, whom Paul mentioned in his letter to
the Romans. Jesus is faced with the worst of the temptations that confront the
human being. He is victorious because he remains firm on the word of God and to
the loving and reverend obedience to the Father.
« Let us
remember that temptation is always about something we like and we are not
supposed to have or do; or about something we fear and we are supposed to
do.
« In the
gospel we read that Jesus after his baptism is led by the Spirit to the desert.
After his baptism Jesus heard the voice
of the Father saying “This is my beloved
son in whom I am well pleased.”
« With
these words the Fathers confirms Jesus in his being and in his mission.
« Jesus’
mission is going to be difficult, he will have to teach who the Father, the God
of Israel, really is. The Father, is a loving and forgiving God. Jesus will have to interpret the
Law, to let us know the real will and purpose of the Father in giving the law.
All of this and many more things will not please the teachers of Israel. His, is a fearful mission. On the other hand
he feels in himself a power which may be an opportunity for the tempter to
tempt him.
« In the
loneliness of the desert the tempter approaches him and questions what Jesus
has heard after his baptism. The tempter
says “if you are the son….”
o Change
the stones into bread to satiate your hunger. Take advantage of your power, you
can do it and you will not be hungry anymore. The temptation to use the power
He has for his own good and not for the good of others, not to serve others but
to serve himself. If we look at Jesus when we are tempted we will be able to
overcome like He overcame leaning on the Word of God “… we do not live by bread
alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”
o Throw
yourself from the Temple, make something that will attract a huge crowd. If you
want to do your mission being humble or in the way the Father will show you, very
few people will follow you. “You shall
not put the Lord, your God, to the test.”
God is sublime, awesome, and totally different from us, we cannot use
Him, trick Him, not even think that He is going to do whatever we want, we
cannot blackmail Him. All of this is an offense against God.
o The
third temptation is very strong, the tempter has not been successful with the
hunger or the pride, and he will try the temptation of power. “all these I shall give to you, if you prostrate
yourself and worship me” the same
temptation of Adam and Eve “your eyes
will be opened and you will be like gods”. This is a lie! And Jesus gives a strong answer
to the tempter “Go away, Satan! It is
written: the Lord, your God shall you worship and him alone shall you serve.”
o
The tempter leaves him and the angels serve him. What might be the
meaning of this sentence? Once we overcome our temptation, the reward is
peace, joy, and we acknowledge the continuous presence of God in our life.
The evangelists has reduced the temptations that
Jesus had during his life in three categories. But Jesus was tempted many more
times; after the multiplication of the loaves, probably whenever they praised
him for his words, his miracles, his good deeds, his power over nature… He also
suffered the temptation of tiredness in his mission “until when will I be with
you Mc 9:19?; the temptation of God’s abandonment “why have you abandon me?” Mc
15:34. But Jesus overcomes temptation leaning on God his Father, He trusts in
Him unconditionally.
I dare to say that these temptations are in
reality temptations of power, the great human temptation, which is with us
since our birth “you will be like gods… Gn:4” It is true that Jesus is God but
He wanted to do our human experience, experience of limitation, complete
dependency on God “… He did not regard equality with God something to be
grasped, rather He emptied himself taking the form of a slave, coming in human
likeness… Phil 2:6-7.
CLARETIAN CORNER
Be careful that they do not lack what is necessary, both in the
spiritual as in the temporal, especially the first, because with this they will
have the second. May all, both religious
men as well as religious women, never lack the bread of the Divine Word, at
least once every eight days. For the
Word of God is bread of life and light that dispels the darkness of the
soul. There are many wise people in my
Church, but none who understands true wisdom.
These, the religious, clergy and nuns, say “what need do they have of
sermons?” Some preach everyday, and the
others can take a good book where they will find a sermon continued. They say this without reflecting over
priestly dignity and that the words of the Holy Law pronounced by their
Ministers open the meaning of the Scriptures, and as light of the soul, guide
our steps toward God’s altar. Venerable María Antonia París,
Foundress of the Claretian Missionary Sisters. Plan for the Renewal of the Church 38.
How will the Prelate dare to preach against
luxury and unnecessary expenses, if he does it himself? He must imitate Jesus and his Apostles. The Prelate will also have a great love for
the virtue of poverty, being satisfied with few things… He will continuously remember that his possessions are the patrimony of
the poor, and thus he has to distribute them among the poor. Saint Ambrose, Saint Augustine, and others,
when it was needed gave to the poor even the jewels of the church. The Prelate will read frequently and meditate
what was decided in the sacred Councils; let him read and meditate the Sacred
Scriptures, especially the letters of St.
Paul, in particular those written to Titus and Timothy; in his first letter to Timothy he requires of
him 10 positive virtues and 6 negative
ones; let the Prelate read them if he wishes to be good, and also the
explanations given by the interpreters and the Holy Fathers. St. Anthony Mary Claret,
Founder of the Claretian Missionary Sisters. Notes of a Plan to Restore the Beauty of the Church: “Duties of The Prelate to
Himself.”
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Claret, Saint Anthony Mary, Founder of the Claretian Missionary
Sisters, Notes of a Plan to Restore
the Beauty of the Church.
Paris, Venerable María Antonia, Foundress of the
Claretian Missionary Sisters, Plan for the Renewal of the Church.
THE CATHOLIC STUDY BIBLE. 2005.
