OMELIE / Omelie EN

21 feb 2021

21/03/2021 – 1st Sunday of Lent  - year B

21/03/2021 – 1^st Sunday of Lent  - year B

Reading 1 GEN 9,8-15 Psalm 24/25 Reading 2 1PT 3,18-22 Gospel MK 1,12-15 

We have just started the holy season of Lent, a time in which we promise to renew and continue  responsibly our conversion to the Lord. The readings, to prepare us for listening to the Gospel, are talking about Noah. Noah is the image of the man obedient to God, the man who perseveres in the integrity of the way he lives. He therefore is made worth to begin a covenant with God in order to save his whole family, and, through it, all humanity and all the living beings. The latter too are saved: they are important for the man, they are part of his world, of his life. Noah has been saved from the punishment for the sins of the world through water. Therefore, he is an anticipation of us, who have been sprinkled with the water of baptism, and through this rite we have been saved, so we have been introduced in God’s heart. In His heart God fills us with love, so much so He redeems us and heals us from the wounds our enemy has torn us to pieces with. This enemy is always preying, he always sets traps for us, but we are not frightened: he has been defeated by Jesus.

The Gospel is reminding us briefly of an important occasion in the Lord’s life. The Spirit pushed Him to go to the desert, so He could live the Word which says: “Therefore, I will now allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her”. In the wilderness Jesus perseveres, even if the joy of the intimacy with His Father is disturbed, tested and made difficult by the man’s enemy. The latter does everything he does in order to distract men from the obedience to God, in particular from considering Him a Father, so in order to ruin them. He is acting this way also against us, because he wants us to fear God, so we stay away from Him. He tries to tempt Jesus too.

Mark the evangelist does not care to describe all the different temptations, but we can imagine those were the same faced by the people of Israel in the fourty years in the desert. The occasions for temptation have been back then thirst and hunger, jealousy towards people with authority and the clash with other people’s costumes. Temptation is the interior instinct which would make us do by ourselves, not to ask God how we can do, not to listen to Him, to treat God as a jealous master instead of a loving Father. Jesus is not “complaining” as the people was doing in the desert, He does not judge God, but He continues to remember He is a Father, and that He loves the son as a Father, He talks to Him, He shows Him the was of life, He wants to make Him great of His own greatness, the greatness of love: so He looks for His Word as bread of life. Jesus does not give in to the temptations, but He perseveres forty days, all the time necessary so His faithfulness may be tested and He may demonstrate to Himself and to the Father, and also to us, that He continues to be an obedient son.

“He was among wild beasts”, continues Mark: Jesus obedience and love towards the Father give back to the creation the possibility to be again a paradise on earth, where the man does not have enemies anymore, not even among the animals.“He was among wild beasts” could also mean that Jesus was persevering as the Father’s Son even in difficult and stressful times, dangerous for His life.

“The angels ministered to him”: God takes care of Him, and He accepts not worrying about Himself and being dependent on His Providence. So, trusting in the Father, He can start preaching, announcing in this way solemnly the beginning of the Kingdom. I will try to translate the brief sentences used by Jesus: “This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel”. «The moment has arrived in which God is fulfilling His promises, those you have been waiting for forever, thanks to the prophets that have announced them. His kingdom has come closer. Repent: you can start living in a new way, like brethren instead of rivals. The King is present, is here, so you can start enjoying, changing your thoughts and your expectations: God loves you, He is ready to save you. In order to enjoy the Kingdom of God, so different from human kingdoms, you must unite yourself to the King, learn from Him, love Him, serve Him, obey Him. Believe in God, not anymore out of fear of His coming punishments, but trust in Him joyfully, because you know He loves you and He loves all men like children. Your life will be a joyful testimonial of the one He has sent».

Saint Peter is reminding us again of the baptism by remembering Noah, saved by the water. Thanks to Jesus, dead and then risen, our Baptism is saving us with a way more effective salvation, final. We will experience then that has really come the time of fulfillment and the kingdom of God starts letting us living the peace, the fraternity and the joy. We keep in our hearts the gospel, the good news that God is Father and loves us. His fatherhood we will see in action in our living as brothers who love one another and shape a new kingdom, different from all kingdoms existing on earth.