Every year on this first Sunday of Lent we hear a Gospel account of Jesus' forty-day desert experience,

when Christ was tempted by the devil. This first Sunday of Lent “Christ in the Desert Sunday,”

Lent is the time to review our lives, reflect upon our thoughts, words and deeds.

Is reminder of what life is all about: not health, wealth and beauty, but liberation from slavery to sin.

 

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊

Genesis 9:8-15

God spoke to

Noah and his sons, "See I am making a Covenant with you and with your descendants after you; also with every living animal with you: birds, cattle, that is, with every living creature of the earth that came out of the ark. I establish my Covenant with you. Never again will all life be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth."

 

God said, "This is the sign of the Covenant I make between me and you, and every animal living with you for all future generations. I set my bow in the clouds and it will be a sign of the Covenant between me and the earth. When I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember the Covenant between me and you and every kind of living creature, so that never again will floodwaters destroy all flesh.

 

Ps 25:4-5, 6-7, 8-9 Your ways, O Lord, are love and truth to those who keep your covenant

 

＊＊＊ 2nd Reading ＊＊＊

1 Peter 3:18-22

Remember how Christ died, once, and for all, for our sins. He, the just one, died for the unjust, in order to lead us to God. In the body, he was put to death; in the spirit, he was raised to life, and it was then that he went to preach to the imprisoned spirits. They were the generation who did not believe, when God, in his great patience, delayed punishing the world, while Noah was building the ark, in which a small group of eight persons escaped, through water.

 

That was a type of the baptism that now saves you; this baptism is not a matter of physical cleansing, but of asking God to reconcile us, through the resurrection of Christ Jesus. He has ascended to heaven, and is at the right hand of God, having subjected the angels, Dominions and Powers.

 

＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊     

Mark 1:12-15

Then the Spirit drove him into the desert. Jesus stayed in the desert forty days and was tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, but angels ministered to him.

After John was arrested, Jesus went into Galilee and began preaching the Good News of God. He said, "The time has come; the kingdom of God is at hand. Change your ways and believe the Good News."

 

Gospel Reflection ：

"Then the Spirit drove him into the desert."

Lectio Divina

 READ: The Spirit drove Jesus into the desert. Jesus stayed in the wilderness for forty days and forty nights. Satan tempted him there. Jesus was also with the wild beasts. The Angels ministered to him. Afterwards, John the Baptist was arrested. Jesus went to Galilee proclaiming the Good News. He proclaimed that the Kingdom is near and called people to a change of heart.

 

REFLECT: The temptation account as recounted by Mark gives no indication that Satan left Jesus compared to the Matthean and Lucan accounts (cf. Mt. 4:11; Lk 4:13). The implication is that all throughout Jesus' ministry and journey from Galilee to Jerusalem, Satan was lingering around. In the Markan Gospel, Jesus' temptation by Satan and his triumph over such temptation was happening many times.

 

Jesus had the steadfast heart par excellence, overcoming every temptation by Satan. With this same steadfast heart, Jesus never grew tired of inviting people to metanoia, a change of heart. Jesus also invites us now to the same metanoia because he has faith in us - that we can also grow from being fainthearted to having a heart that is like his heart, strong and steadfast.

 

PRAY: Let us pray that through our Lenten journey, we may grow from being fainthearted to having a steadfast heart.

 

ACT: Let us think of one particular negative attitude we have. With a steadfast heart that grows every day, let us strive every day to let go of such a negative attitude.