HOMILY/REFLECTION FOR THE 1ST SUNDAY OF LENT YEAR B (7)

HOMILY/REFLECTION FOR THE FIRST SUNDAY OF LENT YEAR B

HOMILY THEME: BE ON YOUR GUARD

BY: Fr. Christian Eze

First reading – Gen. 9:8-15
Second reading – 1 Pt. 3:18-22 Gospel – Mk. 1:12-15

“God himself has sent us the meat” was the exclamation of Mr Chukwunalu when he went checking on his traps and saw the badly wounded but giant grass cutter on his trap early morning on that Ash Wednesday. His traps had always been the major source of meat for Chukwunalu and his family. It had not caught anything for over two months now. Why must the catch be made on an Ash Wednesday? And why must the meat not be found until it was about getting bad? Ash Wednesday, a day of abstinence or not, Chukwunalu would not allow the big meat to be wasted.

A good way of explaining such situation above is to say that a temptation has come. There is no gain-saying that the Devil is very wise too, so tricky and intelligent. In Gen. 3:1, the serpent (representing the devil) was described as the most subtle of the entire beast created by God. He would not tempt you with something he knows you do not need. He rarely wastes blows in the air. He aims at not missing his target. Like Chukwunalu who caught a big meat on a day of abstinence, we too should be expecting similar thing in an area we have so much desired. This is by no means a threat; it is a warning for us to be vigilant.

The gospel of today tells us that Jesus was tempted by Satan. If we recall the story of Jesus’ temptations by the devil briefly, we can rest our point. The first which was to turn a stone into bread was well set because Jesus was hungry after the fasting. In Matthew’s account, it was stated that “He fasted for forty days and forty nights, after which He was hungry – Matt. 4:2. It is not as if it was hard for Jesus to turn a stone into bread. It was still the same Jesus who, in Jn 2:1-11, changed water into wine. It was the same Jesus who, in Mk. 6:41, fed the five thousand with only five loaves and two fish. The devil will not tempt you with something which will appear difficult to you. The fact remains that it takes a deep sense of vigilance to know the voice speaking to you.

This beginning of this year’s Lenten season, we have been called for a resolution to turn away from our evil deeds in order to obtain God’s Mercy. But while we are making this resolution, it is important to know that Satan is also making his own plans. The person who is trying to avoid drunkenness should not be surprised to see much free drinks come his way. The person resolving to avoid fornication should not be surprised to have that man, that girl, that woman he/she had tried so much to woo, now freely at his/her disposal even with promises of marriage and material things. The business man/woman resolving to avoid lies and cheats may begin to see very promising strategies where he/she only needs to say yes where he should otherwise say no and vice versa. The admonition of St Peter is real here – Be calm but vigilant, because your enemy, the devil is prowling round like a roaring lion, looking for someone to eat – 11 Pt. 5:8. We must obtain God’s mercy within this season of Mercy. God help us.