FIRST SUNDAY OF LENT - MARCH 9, 2025

FIRST SUNDAY OF LENT

Encountering trouble in life leads us down three potential paths: the first and easiest option is to blame God. The second is to doubt God, even if we are strong in our faith and understand that He would never actively cause us harm. The third is what we should strive for–we seek God to guide us through the trouble, maybe even thanking Him for the opportunity to atone, to sacrifice, to love. At any other moment in our lives, we can see in hindsight how difficult it can be to think and react appropriately to these times of trouble. But in those wildernesses of existence, we must understand that God is not only present with us, but He has already been there before us.

READ THIS SUNDAY'S MESSAGE

On this first Sunday of Lent, we enter into the wilderness of our faith; we find an opportunity to sacrifice, to atone, and most importantly, to love. These forty days for us may initially cause moments of discomfort or agitation, but this is only because we are used to living selfishly. The moment we shift our focus to an intentional lifestyle of detachment, we will struggle through the movement from selfishness to selflessness. Ultimately, though, we must remember that these forty days are a personal reliving of God’s own time in the wilderness. Jesus’ experience in the desert for forty days is a way in which we can understand exactly how God is not only present with us at all times, but actively lives in solidarity with us. God is not an authoritarian ruler who forces us to follow His will and to do His work while He sits back and does nothing. Rather, He practices divine and perfect leadership–He does what He wants us to do, but He does it first and He does it perfectly. Lent can be difficult, especially in the beginning where we find ourselves on this Sunday. Fasting from things, intentionally dedicating more of our precious time to pray, and giving up more in order to give to others is not easy. We might be intimidated even when we consider that we still have forty days of these promises ahead of us. But God, in the person of Jesus Christ, had done exactly this by going into the desert for forty days, praying and fasting. He also did this in a perfect way; he did not cheat, cut corners, or take days off between those forty days. But if we are going to follow God and do what He wants us to do, we should ask ourselves why He wants us to do this. Why do we participate in Lent? Why did Christ also do this? Just as we are called to be intentional in our actions during Lent, every action in Christ’s life was intentional and had a purpose. During his own time in the desert, Christ was not alone. This was valuable time he spent alone with his Father, preparing among the Holy Trinity for the next three years of his life in which he would set out for his public ministry. During our time in the desert for these forty days, we are more intentional with our prayer, fasting, and charity so that we might recognize God’s presence and to better understand what He is calling us to do.