Maundy (Holy) Thursday -- 28 March 2024
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Cycle B – Homily – 1st Sunday of Lent – 18 February 2024
Lectionary I Lectionary II
Genesis 9:8-15 Genesis 9:8-17
Psalm 25:4-5, 6-7, 8-9 Psalm 25:1-10
1 Peter 3:18-22 1 Peter 3:18-22
Mark 1:12-15 Mark 1:9-15
Today we continue on with the next section of Liturgical Cycle B, which is an examination of the life and teachings of Jesus according to Mark. Most of the Sundays during this liturgical year will include a gospel coming from the Gospel of Mark. Our previous sections have been Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany. This past Wednesday we celebrated Ash Wednesday.
[You might be interested in looking up the differences between Lenten practices in the Eastern Church and the Lenten practices in our Western Church. The historical development of the Lenten traditions is indeed interesting.]
Liturgically, this First Sunday of Lent is a very interesting celebration. And I do mean celebration. This is a type of “start over” day. That may sound strange. After all, we are over two months into liturgical Cycle B (which began this past fall with the First Sunday of Advent). But, let’s turn to Scripture so we can look at the progression more carefully.
As with many liturgical sequences, an overarching theme can often be found in the psalm. Of course, it is often possible to see that more than one overarching theme can be found in any given psalm reading. But for today, let us concentrate on these words, often considered today’s psalm’s refrain. “Your ways, O Lord, are love and truth to those who keep your covenant.” Three words from that refrain should stand out for all of us. Those words are LOVE, TRUTH, and COVENANT. Of course, LOVE and TRUTH are probably familiar to all of us. And with a moment or two of thinking, most of us can probably give some examples of just how Jesus used these terms to commission everyone to be a part of his ongoing ministry.
COVENANT may be a bit of a stumbling block until we stop to remember what
COVENANT means and how that word is used when referring to our religious history. A covenant is an agreement and, especially when used with religious connotations, implies legal or moral seriousness.
Our first reading for today (from the Book of Genesis) is a very familiar story for all of us. This is the infamous and oft-quoted tale of Noah and the Ark – the Deluge Story. The Deluge Story is followed by the Rainbow Story, which seals the Covenant. Many (perhaps most) Scripture Scholars today classify Noah’s Ark as the first or premier Covenant Story. There are many ways to count (or classify or even name) the Biblical Covenants. If you are interested in reading a series of vignettes about covenant stories, check out Google. Quite a bit of good information there. Keep in mind that the Biblical covenant stories are profound and religiously very serious divine-human agreements. Think about that: God made a binding contract with humanity. We can now go back through the Deluge and the Rainbow and see how those stories blend in both with any conceptions we used to have, as well as with looking at how that Psalm refrain fits into our narrative.
Now, we begin by summarizing the pre-Jesus prophesies and by stabilizing our outlook on where we are headed.
Just as the first reading brought God into the Covenant, so this second reading brings humanity into the equation.
So, this liturgy pulls it all together and challenges us to carry – to live – the message on into the future. Let us celebrate our covenant with God.
That does not mean we should abandon our Lenten rituals. In the second reading, we see how the Lenten sacrifices and penitential practices can be used. Not at all moross! Rather, we should always maintain a perspective and we should always remember that we do know how the Lent story ends with both Easter and Pentecost.
So, let us all go out and spread the good news message – the love and mercy message – of Jesus, the Christ!
Dr Roberta M Meehan
