Reflection on the First Sunday of Lent

The readings for this first Sunday of Lent are much too familiar to us. We have heard them over and over again throughout our lives. This is true especially of the Gospel where we read that Jesus is led by the Spirit to spend 40 days in the desert to fast and to expose himself to temptation by the devil. Jesus knew his purpose in the desert: to prepare himself for his public ministry, to reject temptation and to realize and reflect that he was in fact the beloved Son of God on whom God’s favor rested.

Wouldn’t it be something if we all truly believed and lived it every day that we are God’s beloved, and that God’s favor rests on us, as well. But in today’s world that is not what most people hear and believe. In the media, in politics, in violent neighborhoods, the message that comes through in a loud voice is, “You are no good, you are worthless, you are hated, you are a nobody unless you can demonstrate the opposite.” These voices are so loud and so persistent that it is easy to believe the message. That is what Henri Nouwen, in his book ”In the Name of Jesus” calls the trap of self-rejection, because when we come to believe in the voices that call us worthless and unlovable, then success, popularity and power are easily perceived as attractive solutions.

Nouwen interprets the temptations of Jesus in the desert as “Relevancy”: Do something the world will praise you for like making bread out of stones; “Be spectacular”: Jump from the tower so that everybody can see you as someone so influential, so important; “Be powerful”: Kneel before me and I will give you dominion over everyone and everything.

What happens if we juxtapose current events against these temptations. Appear to be relevant: When I hear the news of withholding food from starving people around the world, I am reminded of an experience about 50 years ago when I was in Kenya. I was accompanying a Maryknoll sister to a well-baby clinic. Along the way we came to an area where there were beautiful fields of pineapple as far as we could see. Pineapple takes two years to mature. None of this was for local consumption. It would be processed by residents for export. Our visit to the babies took on new meaning. As we finished weighing and measuring the babies to be sure they were thriving, we gave each mother a little oil, flour and milk. These commodities were all stamped USAID. Because of greed and selfishness this aid has recently been suspended resulting in death for thousands of starving people around the world.

Be spectacular: Cease all foreign aid, cancel important treaties and promises of support by our government.

Be powerful as workers’ livelihoods, retirement, healthcare are taken away.

Nouwen reminds us that God’s way is never about power and domination. God’s way is “downward.” He references the beatitudes when he reminds us that “blessed are the humble, blessed are the poor of heart, blessed are the meek and the peacemakers. A popular notion of Lent is that we must give up something. Some liturgical scholars tell us “Lent is not about giving up something but rather taking upon oneself the intention and the receptivity to God’s grace so that we may be worthy of participation in the mystery of God with us. That is exactly what Nouwen is trying to tell us when he says that the beatitudes give us an image of the face of Jesus, full of mercy and thirsting for justice and peace.

During this Lent, may we be present to everyone we meet. When we are fearful or frustrated, let us take a deep breath, say thank you throughout our day, pray the Serenity Prayer or whatever prayer centers us, and let us remember to save some of this day for ourselves, remembering that we, too, are God’s beloved.