Ps 25:4-9
1 Pt 3:18-22
Mk 1:12-15
We adore Thee O Christ and we bless Thee,
because by Thy Holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the world.
No matter which cycle of Sunday readings is proclaimed, Matthew, Luke or, as is true this year, Mark, the first Sunday of Lent is always about Jesus' temptations during forty days in the desert. The challenge with Mark's version compared with Matthew and Luke is that he gives no details about those temptations. There is no dialog between Jesus and Satan. Mark simply notes: "The Spirit drove Jesus out into the desert, and he remained in the desert for forty days, tempted by Satan." Bare bones and succinct to say the least. At a recent conference Jesuit Fr. Michael Simone described Mark's writing as "Hemingwayesque" Short sentences. Short words. Concise. Minimal detail. However, Mark's brief statement is an important reminder that Jesus was like us in all things but sin, that he too was presented with desires, with temptations, with tests, and challenges just as we are. Unlike us, he did not succumb to those temptations or fail those tests.
The first reading from Leviticus describes God's covenant with Noah in which He promised that flood waters would never cover the whole earth again. While most people are familiar with the deluge, the ark, the rainbow, and so on, most of us are unfamiliar with anything beyond that. This is particularly true of the ancient covenant with Noah and the commandments God gave to him.
The Talmud is a collection of commentaries on the first five books of the Hebrew scripture known as Torah. In the commentary on these verses from Torah The Jewish Study Bible cites the Talmud's exposition on the covenant with Noah through which God laid down seven commandments, known as the "Noahide covenant," which all in Israel, even non-Jews, were to obey.
The Seven Laws of Noah forbid:
The worship of idols,
Cursing God or blasphemy,
Intentionally shedding human blood through murder.
The commandments forbid
Adultery, bestiality, or sexual perversion,
Prohibit stealing or robbery
Ban eating the flesh torn from a living animal that is not properly slaughtered first.
The final commandment to Noah is the demand to establish courts of justice.
There was no demand for non-Jews to convert but those who observed these commandments, living by the terms of this covenant, would be considered righteous gentiles who met with God's approval.
With the exception of eating meat cut from animals that were not properly slaughtered and establishing courts of law, the seven commandments resemble the Decalogue, the Ten Commandments given to Moses. The modern world, especially the U.S., would do well to take notice that blasphemy, the worship of false gods, sexual perversion in all its forms, and the shedding of human blood, including the killing children in the womb, have been forbidden for many thousands of years rather than being, as some would put it, inventions of the Catholic Church.
We hear in the second reading how God waited patiently for Noah to build the ark so that Noah and his family, a total of eight persons, and thus all of mankind, were saved through water. The second reading taken from the First Letter of Peter links this saving water to baptism.
Water is a powerful symbol for the Church. It is a symbol of life and salvation in both the Old Testament and the New. Thus we read about the water on which floated the basket holding the infant Moses, the water that was parted as the Israelites fled Egypt, the water of the Jordan with which John baptized Jesus, the water mixed with blood that flowed from Jesus' side at the crucifixion, and the water of baptism. Water is more necessary to human life than food. We can live for many days without food. We can only live a few days without water.
Physicians spend much time in med school learning--and even more time in the hospital worrying--about fluids and fluid balance for good reason. Water is crucial to the moment-to-moment normal functioning of the body. Vitamins, even those specially concocted for women, children, old men, and even pet owners,
the hype for free radical scavengers, organic locally grown food, whole grains,
and all the other food fetishes, fads, and foolishness advertised today are irrelevant compared with the need for water. It need not be water specially fortified with vitamins, minerals, electrolytes, and other forms of nonsense. The body is well-equipped to manage those things on its own, as it has since the beginning. It must simply be water. All the rest emerges from the fevered minds of advertising majors.
As important as it is physiologically, water is even more crucial to our spiritual lives and the salvation of our souls. The water of baptism is the only way through which anyone can enter into the life of Christ. Only after having received the saving waters of baptism in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit--and no other formula--can we partake fully of the sacraments. Without baptism there is no spiritual life or light of Christ. Without baptism there is no partaking of the Eucharistic banquet, the true and real Body and Blood of Our Lord. Without the water of baptism there is nothing but a void.
Without baptism there is only a void like the one that existed before God said let there be light at the beginning of creation. The light of Christ is visible only to those who have received the waters of baptism. It will never be otherwise.
Ashes were imposed on Wednesday with one of two formulae.
The first was a reminder of our common mortality. "Remember, thou art dust and to dust thou shalt return." The second gave us a rule for living, "Turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospels".
As we move from this first Sunday of Lent toward the joy of Easter we are called to meditate on the meaning of one and to live according to the dictates of the other.
We adore Thee O Christ and we bless Thee,
because by Thy Holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the world.
+Fr. Jack SJ, MD
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