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1st Sunday of Lent, Cycle B
St. John the Baptist Church, Silver Spring
February 22, 2015
The Renewing Desert
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
1st Sunday of Lent, Cycle B
St. John the Baptist Church, Silver Spring
February 22, 2015
The Renewing Desert
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
Our
Daily Grind
Most of us in the course of a week will feel
overwhelmed with the daily grind of life
It may be the day in and day out of caring for
the children whom you love very much – getting them to school, taking them to sports
and Scouts, making sure that they do their homework.
Or it may be just keeping up with the housecleaning,
laundry, meals, and marketing
It may be the commute to work in
bumper-to-bumper traffic on Route 29 or the parking lot we call the Capitol Beltway
on these storm days.
Or perhaps the stress of the job that we no
longer really like.
Or more globally, add our worry about the
future with groups like ISIS and other terrorists around.
Pull this all together and some days we may
feel that we cannot deal with one more thing to do.
I’m the first to confess, that there are days
I feel that way. While that may come as
a surprise you, the truth is I have moments where I feel I can’t deal with one
more single thing.
Jesus’
Daily Grind and His Desert
The Gospels convey that the daily grind even gets
to Jesus at times.
Today’s Gospel tells us that he goes into the
desert to be by himself. What Jesus does
here may really serve as a pattern for us.
So let’s note it: (1) He first goes off and
claims a bit of space just for himself. In
this space he gets a renewed sense of what he is feeling, who he is, and what
he is to do with his life.
(2) The Gospel then says that in this desert
space he is “tempted.” This could mean that he becomes aware of his
own humanity and of what in him is pulling him away from the mission that the
Father has given him to do.
So both these elements are somewhat renewing
for him: (1) The space apart, that he claims for himself and (2) The awareness
of himself that that space affords him.
I say this because he comes out of the desert
renewed and declaring that, “The kingdom
of God is at hand.”
He is able to see goodness and God in his
midst and even within himself. And to
this working model of grace-breaking-into-our-world he invites us by “Repenting and believing in the good news.”
From Jesus’ own actions, to engage in a desert
renewal experience then means do what he just did. I need to pull away a bit from my daily grind
in the way that Jesus models for us.
Our
Desert Space
(1) So, we could make desert moments out of:
Ø
Perhaps it’s sipping the steaming first cup of coffee in a quiet
place in the house alone, before anyone is up, just being soothed by the
fragrance and warmth of the dark liquid.
Ø
Or taking a walk the second half of your lunchtime and being one
with all that is passing you by
Ø
The drive home by not putting on the radio or CD player and just
being alert to God’s presence in the drive itself
Ø
Or perhaps sometime in the evening going to your bedroom, closing
the door and sitting in silence and quiet for five minutes, asking what
opportunities did I miss today to act kindly or caringly toward someone?
Wherever the desert, whatever the space is, we
need to plan it, to be intentional about it, and make it happen.
(2) And then, in those spaces, there may arise
what the Gospel calls “temptations.” We may become aware of fear, a shortcoming, a
past sin remembered or something that is pulling us down and keeping us from
being as caring and as responsive as we would want to be.
Perhaps our “temptation” is having too many possessions to take care of, or not
exercising appropriate control over the family schedule, or failing to pray or even
come to Mass.
Our “temptation”
may be an awareness of how we need to respond more caringly to a child or
spouse or friend.
Conclusion
And thus, (1) Within our little desert space
and (2) With this awareness of self—warts and all – we respond, as Jesus puts
it in the Gospel, to (3) “Repent and
believe in the good news.”
One thing is for sure, our sense of resolve
will have more energy and the grace of presence to do what we need to do.
It’s our part in bringing about the Kingdom of
God, right here, right not, where we find ourselves.
