18 February 2024 – 1st Sunday of Lent (Year B)

by Fr Fabian Dicom

I was reminded very, very strongly throughout the whole of last night that it is still Chinese New Year. I am sure you know why. Right.

So we are still in the spirit of Chinese New Year. We are also into Lent. You know I find it oddly comforting that the Chinese New Year and the start of Lent aligned this year. Probably aligns every year. It might sound strange but hear me out.

Now growing up, Lent felt like a time focused solely on negativity within the church. Sin, hell, sacrifice and suffering seem to dominate the narrative. The liturgy often emphasised, at least how I saw it, our flaws and I had a lot. So it was hard to cope. Our sins and our role in Christ’s suffering. We were reminded how our terrible sins have hurt Christ, 2000 years ago anyway.

It felt, honestly at that time if I can recall, it felt like a burdensome period. One when I had to endure, to earn redemption and celebrate Easter only to return to the same old routine afterwards. However, my perspective on Lent has evolved, thank God, over time. I now see it as an opportunity, really, for renewal, for growth and positive change. The Chinese New Year’s festive atmosphere with the themes of new beginnings, hope, blessings and very importantly the renewal of relationships with persons seems fitting to kick start this period of introspection and renewal. 

Now as we delve into today’s Readings, we are met with narratives of reconciliation, of renewal, echoing themes of hope, the Covenant, blessings which resonate deeply with me and I believe with all of you as well.

Now the scene in the First Reading from Genesis is just after the great floods, during the time of Noah. God made a covenant with Noah and in fact by doing so He made a covenant with the whole of humanity and not just with a particular group of people. ‘I will establish my covenant with you. That never again shall any bodily creatures be destroyed by the waters of a flood. And there shall not be another flood to devastate the earth.‘ We heard in the Readings.

And God set a bow, a rainbow, on the clouds. It was a sign that God will never again use a flood to destroy all the creatures of the earth. The rainbow, the bow that we hear in today’s Reading, was a sign that God would never give up on His people. The rainbow proclaims that God sees the good that is in the world.

So I hope you are beginning to see why Lent could be a joyful celebration. Water. Water destroyed the evil of Noah’s day. We all know the story but water would become the means of redemption in Jesus’ day.

Water took away the life at the time of Noah. Water would restore life for those who believe in Jesus Christ. That is why Saint Peter wrote in the Second Reading that water is a type of the baptism which saves you now and which is not the washing off of physical dirt but a pledge made to God from a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

With that connection, I would like to take you to the Gospel of the day. The scene here, again, is just after the baptism of Jesus. We can make the connection with the First Reading, both after a water experience.

Now at the baptism, which is not in today’s Gospel, we remember this. He came out of the water, He saw the heavens being torn open and the spirit like a dove descending upon Him. And a voice came from the heavens: You are my beloved Son. With you, I am well pleased.

We, all of us here, we who are baptised in Christ share in this New Covenant which is Jesus Christ himself.

Just compare the Ark at Noah’s time during the floods that saved a group of eight people. That Ark. Now we have Jesus, the Ark of Salvation saving everyone.

Here there is more than an assurance in Jesus that God will take care of us. In Christ, we share in His belovedness. We are the beloved daughters and sons and therefore, we are good. We are loved unconditionally. We are special to Him, no matter what people say of us or what the world throws at us. Like the people after the flood, we live in hope because we are chosen to build His kingdom, which is at hand here in our midst.

We can do that. You and I because we possess the same Spirit which descended upon Jesus. The Spirit that led Him into the desert, the Spirit that leads Him to bring the Good News to all so that all can believe. How can we do this?

How can we do this?

For Jesus says, after he comes out that The Kingdom of God is close at hand. Repent and believe the Good News. The central message of Mark’s Gospel. The central theme in Jesus’ teaching. We forget everything, remember this: Repent, The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the Good News.

What does He mean by repent? Maybe a kind of a reflection of this morning. In reflecting on these passages, we are compelled to examine our own lives. Perhaps that could mean repent. In the state and the state of the world, not just only ourselves but also the world. Just as humanity faced self-destruction in Noah’s time, we too grapple with the consequences of our actions. And we need to pay attention to that.

The degradation of our environment. A serious thing.
The exploitation of nature.
And the lack of responsibility for our fellow human beings.

If we are called to examine, if we are led into the desert, this is what we need to ask ourselves. Lent is a time. It is not just about me and myself but the world, our environment, our nature and our fellow brothers and sisters.

It also demands a fundamental shift in consciousness. We must confront this false dichotomy or this false divide between faith and life. Recognising that our actions are inseparable from our believes. If I believe in Jesus Christ, my lift must reflect that in every single way.

Our sins of self-destruction and neglect for our common home call for a new consciousness, one that sees the world. We see the world as sacred ground. As sacred ground where humanity intersects with the divine.

In the wilderness of Lent, we are called to face our inner struggles and temptations. To reassess our own desires, our priorities and parts in life. It is a time of solitude. Really. Solitude. I suggest drop a lot of things. Just be silent this Lent. Time for solitude and introspection where we draw closer to God and bring in line our lives with the values of the Gospel.

So amidst the lure of consumerism and the pursuit of pleasure, we are reminded of the true source of joy and we all have it. Our faith in the resurrected Christ. Repent and believe in the Good News.

The Good News is Jesus Christ.
The Good News is that He is our Salvation.
He is there for us who need Him. We need to put Christ back into our lives, into this church, into everything, into the liturgy, into our families, into our communities, into our parish, into our church.

You may think it is an irony why am I saying that. Think about it.

Believing in the Good News means that you and I need to embrace the truth that we share in the belovedness of Jesus. That God will not give up on us. That we recognise that every single person is the beloved of God. And therefore, we do not give up on anyone as well.

And when we live in the Good News, we cannot but be part of making the world a better place. It will come naturally. The world which is in need of healing. The Season of Lent will lead us to be healers of this world. With that, we can see that the kingdom of God is at hand.

So the spirit of the Chinese New Year, of newness, of hope, of blessings, of renewed relationships, seem to be some of the sentiments of the Readings today. And also I feel Lent must be for all of us. And I hope that you agree with that.

But it can only be so if we embrace the call of our faith. The call of the liturgy today and that is: God’s Covenant with us in and through Jesus Christ who we will receive. Which renders all of us, and never ever forget that, daughters and sons without any conditions, without any discriminations, daughters and sons of the Father. Which exalts us to be not only believers of the Good News but bearers of it, to be healers of a wounded world, to make it a better place.

For the kingdom of God is at hand.

Amen.

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