God is calling for our change

First Sunday of Lent
Lectionary: 23

L-Ewwel Ħadd tar-Randan

 

Reading 1      GeNesis 9:8-15

God said to Noah and to his sons with him: "See, I am now establishing my covenant with you  and your descendants after you  and with every living creature that was with you:  all the birds, and the various tame and wild animals  that were with you and came out of the ark. I will establish my covenant with you,  that never again shall all bodily creatures be destroyed by the waters of a flood;  there shall not be another flood to devastate the earth." God added: "This is the sign that I am giving for all ages to come, of the covenant between me and you  and every living creature with you:  I set my bow in the clouds to serve as a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. When I bring clouds over the earth,  and the bow appears in the clouds,  I will recall the covenant I have made between me and you and all living beings,  so that the waters shall never again become a flood  to destroy all mortal beings."  This is the Word of the Lord

Qari I    -   Qari mill-Ktieb tal-Ġenesi Ġen 9, 8-15

Alla kellem lil Noè u lil uliedu miegħu u qalilhom: “Arawni, hawn jien se nagħmel il-patt tiegħi magħkom u ma’ nisilkom warajkom; ma’ kull ħliqa ħajja li hemm magħkom, mat-tjur u mal-bhejjem, ma’ kull bhima selvaġġa li hemm magħkom, u mal-bhejjem kollha li ħarġu magħkom mill-arka. Jien nagħmel il-patt tiegħi magħkom, li qatt iżjed ma jinqered, ebda laħam ħaj, bl-ilmijiet tad-dilluvju; u qatt iżjed ma jkun hemm dilluvju biex iħarbat l-art”.U żied jgħid Alla: “Dan ikun is-sinjal tal-patt li jien qiegħed nagħmel bejni u bejnkom, u bejn kull ħliqa ħajja li hemm magħkom, għall-ġenerazzjonijiet kollha għal dejjem. Inqiegħed il-qaws tiegħi fis-sħab, u jkun sinjal tal-patt bejni u bejn l-art. Meta niġma’ s-sħab fuq l-art u tfeġġ il-qawsalla fis-sħab, jien niftakar fil-patt bejni u bejnkom u bejn kull ruħ ħajja f’kull laħam; u ma jkunx hemm iżjed l-ilma tad-dilluvju biex jeqred kull laħam ħaj”.Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

Responsorial Psalm         PSalm 25:4-5, 6-7, 8-9.

Your ways, O LORD, make known to me;
teach me your paths,
Guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my savior.
R. Your ways, O Lord, are love and truth to those who keep your covenant.

Remember that your compassion, O LORD,
and your love are from of old.
In your kindness remember me,
because of your goodness, O LORD.
R. Your ways, O Lord, are love and truth to those who keep your covenant.

Good and upright is the LORD,
thus he shows sinners the way.
He guides the humble to justice,
and he teaches the humble his way.
R. Your ways, O Lord, are love and truth to those who keep your covenant.

Salm Responsorjali  -  Salm 24 (25), 4-5ab.6-7bċ.8-9

Triqatek, Mulej, għarrafni,

il-mogħdijiet tiegħek għallimni.

Mexxini fis-sewwa tiegħek u għallimni,

għax int Alla tas-salvazzjoni tiegħi. R/.

 R/. (10): Il-mogħdijiet tal-Mulej kollhom tjieba u fedeltà

Ftakar fil-ħniena u t-tjieba tiegħek,

għax huma minn dejjem, Mulej.

Inti tajjeb, Mulej;

ftakar fija skont it-tjieba tiegħek. R/.

R/. (10): Il-mogħdijiet tal-Mulej kollhom tjieba u fedeltà

Tajjeb u sewwa l-Mulej;

għalhekk juri triqtu lill-ħatja.

Imexxi l-imsejkna fis-sewwa,

jgħallem lill-fqajrin it-triq tiegħu. R/.

R/. (10): Il-mogħdijiet tal-Mulej kollhom tjieba u fedeltà 

Reading 2           1 PeTer 3:18-22

Beloved:  Christ suffered for sins once,  the righteous for the sake of the unrighteous, 
that he might lead you to God. Put to death in the flesh,  he was brought to life in the Spirit. In it he also went to preach to the spirits in prison,  who had once been disobedient  while 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. It is not a removal of dirt from the body  but an appeal to God for a clear conscience,  through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers subject to him. This is the Word of the Lord

Qari II   -     Qari mill-Ewwel Ittra ta’ San Pietru  3, 18-22

Għeżież, Kristu wkoll miet darba għal dejjem minħabba d-dnubiet; hu li kien ġust, miet għall-inġusti biex iressaqkom lejn Alla; kien mogħti l-mewt fil-ġisem, imma ħa l-ħajja fl-ispirtu, li bih mar ixandar is-salvazzjoni lill-erwieħ li kienu magħluqa fil-ħabs. Dawn kienu l-erwieħ ta’ dawk li darba ma ridux jisimgħu, meta Alla qagħad jistenna bis-sabar fiż-żmien li Noè kien jibni l-arka. Ftit, jiġifieri tmienja biss, salvaw bis-saħħa tal-ilma. Dan l-ilma huwa tixbiha tal-magħmudija, li issa ssalva lilkom ukoll. Mhux għax tnaddaf il-ħmieġ tal-ġisem, imma għax hi talba lil Alla ħierġa minn kuxjenza safja bis-saħħa tal-qawmien ta’ Ġesù Kristu, li tela’ s-sema u qiegħed fuq il-lemin ta’ Alla u għandu taħtu s-Setgħat u l-Qawwiet tal-anġli.  Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

Gospel       MarK 1:12-15

The Spirit drove Jesus out into the desert,  and he remained in the desert for forty days, tempted by Satan. He was among wild beasts, and the angels ministered to him. After John had been arrested,  Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God: "This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel." This is the Word of the Lord

Evanġelju      Qari mill-Evanġelju skont San Mark 1, 12-15

F’dak iż-żmien, l-Ispirtu ħareġ lil Ġesù fid-deżert. U baqa’ fid-deżert erbgħin jum, jiġġarrab mix-Xitan. Kien jgħix mal-bhejjem selvaġġi, u kienu jaqduh l-anġli. Wara li arrestaw lil Ġwanni, Ġesù mar il-Galilija jxandar l-Evanġelju ta’ Alla u jgħid: “Iż-żmien huwa mitmum, u s-Saltna ta’ Alla waslet; indmu u emmnu fl-Evanġelju”.Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

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The Ways of the Desert

A commentary by Fr. Thomas Rosica, CSB

Does anyone really look forward to Lent? What is it about Lent that excites us? What aspects of the Lenten journey test us? The Scriptural readings for this season are carefully chosen so as to replay salvation history before our very eyes.

Let us begin with Jesus in the desert -- the Gospel for the first Sunday of Lent. The desert sun and the pangs of hunger and thirst conjured up the demon for him. Mark presents Jesus wrestling with the power of Satan, alone and silent in the desert wastes. Mark’s version of the temptations of Jesus does not mention three temptations, nor does it say that Jesus fasted. Mark's whole focus is on presenting the temptations of Jesus as part of the great struggle between good and evil, between God and Satan.

Jesus' desert experience raises important questions for us. What are some of the "desert" experiences I have experienced in my life? What desert experience am I living through right now? When and how do I find moments of contemplation in the midst of a busy life? How have I lived in the midst of my own deserts? Have I been courageous and persistent in fighting with the demons? How have I resisted transforming my own deserts into places of abundant life?

In Matthew and Luke there is an ongoing conversation, as the prince of evil attempts to turn Jesus aside from the faith and integrity at the heart of his messianic mission. But if Israel had failed in the desert, Jesus would not. His bond with his Father was too strong for even the demons of the desert to break.

In the first temptation in the desert, Jesus responds to the evil one, not by denying human dependence on sustenance (food), but rather by putting human life and the human journey in perspective. Those who follow Jesus cannot become dependent on the things of this world. When we are so dependent on material things, and not on God, we give in to temptation and sin.

God's in charge

The second temptation deals with the adoration of the devil rather than God. Jesus once again reminds the evil one that God is in control. This is important for us to hear and believe, especially when our own temptations seem to overpower us, when everything around us might indicate failure, shadows, darkness and evil. It is God who is ultimately in charge of our destiny.

In the third temptation, the devil asks for a revelation or manifestation of God’s love in favor of Jesus. Jesus answers the evil one by saying that he doesn’t have to prove to anyone that God loves him.

Temptation is everything that makes us small, ugly, and mean. Temptation uses the trickiest moves that the evil one can think up. The more the devil has control of us, the less we want to acknowledge that he is fighting for every millimeter of this earth. Jesus didn’t let him get away with that. At the very beginning of his campaign for this world and for each one of us, Jesus openly confronted the enemy. He began his fight using the power of Scripture during a night of doubt, confusion and temptation. We must never forget Jesus’ example, so that we won’t be seduced by the devil's deception.

From Jesus we learn that God is present and sustaining us in the midst of test, temptation and even sinfulness. We realize that we must have some spiritual space in our lives where we can strip away the false things that cling to us and breathe new life into our dreams and begin again. We come to believe that God can take the parched surface of our hope and make it bloom. These are the lessons of the desert. That is why we need – even in the activity of our daily lives and work, moments of prayer, of stillness, of listening to the voice of God.

We meet God in the midst of our deserts of sinfulness, selfishness, jealousy, efficiency, isolation, cynicism and despair. And in the midst of the desert we hear what God will do if we open our hearts to him and allow him to make our own deserts bloom. The ways of the desert were deep within the heart of Jesus, and it must be the same for all who would follow him.