Our Sunday Reflections

CLICK HERE for the Audio recording of the Readings of
March 1st, 2020.  
First Sunday of Lent.  

CLICK HERE for the Readings of March 1st, 2020.  
First Sunday of Lent.

March 1st, 2020.  First Sunday of Lent
 

But the snake said to the woman: 
“…your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods...”

Genesis 3: 4-5


Last Monday, I traveled to Uganda to pick up my mother.  One thing you immediately notice at the airports and plane is the high precaution and fear of the spread of the highly contagious coronavirus. People are scared, lots of people with masks.  It does not help that experts are not yet sure of what to do.  Every now and then we in the world get strange diseases, various calamities, tragedies, plagues that not only cause us to panic, but remind us of the fact that ‘we are limited’ (think of 9-11, the holocaust, etc.).  We are not infinite and can never be.  We end. 
The theme of the first Sunday of Lent is ‘we are limited’, we are not infinite but this does not scare the believer at all as long as he or she remembers their true origin (beginning) – The Lord GOD. 

Everything goes wrong for the believer or the human being when they forget their origin or if they allow anything, even themselves, to take God’s place in their lives.
...then the LORD God formed the man out of the clay of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. (Genesis 2:7)  We are because God willed so, gave us life. Our created nature is limited until God steps in. It is He who makes us worth anything. Everything however goes wrong when the created human being tries to even think of themselves as un-limited or be tempted to be like God. 

When the Serpent (tempter) approaches the woman the story says, it deceives her by turning her attention away from God.  "You certainly will not die!  God knows well that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods, who know good and evil."  (Genesis 3:4-5).  
The ambition of the human being to be like God (or take his place), to think of themselves as un-limited, infinite is the root cause of everything that goes wrong in the world.

Jesus as he begins his public ministry must confront this dilemma of our limitedness.  Will he accept it?  He is, of course, the son of God.  How will he do?  The tempter takes him to the desert, a place that punishingly reminds one of one’s human limitedness.  At the end of 40 days he is the right prey for Satan. But for Jesus one thing is ever clear – nothing takes God’s place, he will never deny or worship anything in God’s place.  Yes, Jesus is hungry, but will not look out for only self.  Yes, God can protect himself if he threw himself down from the temple pinnacle. But no, he will not give into the short lived charming’s of ‘spectacle’ (wowing others or doing something fantastic). Jesus knows of the magnificence of power both human and divine and what it could enable one to do if one has it at their disposal. (Being powerful can take you far indeed in worldly terms), but to this last and most dangerous temptation, Jesus says: Get away from me Satan! (The sin of power and pride is most fatal and unforgiven). In all this, Jesus is okay with his limitedness before God.  Only God is infinite and nothing will take his place.

The message for us this weekend is to be very aware of our human limitedness.  Limit our turf.  Resist infinity.  We are not the biggest, we are infinite.  When one knows their limitedness, they do not exclude others, they know how to 'see' others, their faults and sins and forgive.  They know to be kind and compassionate. They appreciate being grateful.
 
How else can a husband and wife make a good team unless each recognize their limitedness and hence join together to build family.  How else would parents’ guide their children unless they are aware of limitedness?  How else can one be a good priest unless they seek to understand the frailty and challenges of others?  Which means understanding limitedness. 

Jesus on the cross, gives of himself totally because he knows our limitedness.  He becomes the way, truth and life.
Knowing our limitedness will turn us back to God. This is the goal of Lent.
 
A Blessed week in the Lord.
Fr. Anthony



View the below video for another Sunday Reflection on the readings.