\u00c2\u00a0 March 1, 2009<\/p>\n
This is the time of fulfillment!\u00c2\u00a0 That’s what Jesus said as he emerged from the desert after 40 days.\u00c2\u00a0 My prayer is that you and I can do the same- that we can emerge from our Lenten desert experience with joy and the sure knowledge that we are in the age of fulfillment.\u00c2\u00a0 But, that will only happen if you take Lent seriously, and use it as a time to reflect on what is important for you to do with the rest of your life, so that you can feel that you have reached the time of fulfillment.\u00c2\u00a0 And, we have the full forty days of Lent to do that.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n
Just what is the significance of the number 40?\u00c2\u00a0 Well, recall that Noah endured a flood which lasted 40 days and 40 nights.\u00c2\u00a0 That flood purified the earth of the evil that had angered the Lord.\u00c2\u00a0 Noah and his family emerged after that 40 days with the first of God’s Covenants with man.\u00c2\u00a0 The gift God gave was a new chance for his people to start anew once the evil that had plagued the world before the flood was washed away forever.\u00c2\u00a0 That is what we are being called to do during Lent- to be purified of whatever evils plague us in our lives and respond anew to God’s love with our lives.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n
The evils that we need to purge can be many things- things like complacency that dulls our sense of what God’s will is for us; attachments that interfere with our spiritual journey to grow closer to God; or fear about taking a step in a new direction that would help us to grow in our relationship with God.\u00c2\u00a0 These are just three things, but in all these cases, we are being challenged to a change of heart because it is the evil in our hearts that must be purified if we are to make significant changes in our lives.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n
Now the Church advises that we use three tools during Lent to help us to deal with a change of heart.\u00c2\u00a0 They are fasting, prayer, and almsgiving.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n
What about fasting?\u00c2\u00a0 Fasting can be any form of self denial; it doesn’t have to be food.\u00c2\u00a0 You could give up TV, give up beer, give up playing cards.\u00c2\u00a0 Fasting is giving up something that gratifies you.\u00c2\u00a0 Why should you do it?\u00c2\u00a0 Because when you fast, you learn to appreciate the hunger that so many people experience in this world.\u00c2\u00a0 Fasting gives you a sense of compassion for the suffering of others because the new sacrifice you make helps you to identify with the suffering of others.\u00c2\u00a0 And in this way, fasting can open up your hearts to the needs of others that God wants you to act on.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n
The second tool is prayer.\u00c2\u00a0 You first need to enter the equivalent of the desert to pray.\u00c2\u00a0 That means you need to get away from things and people so you can spend some quiet time praying.\u00c2\u00a0 You need an environment that is devoid of distractions so that when you pray, you can hear God speak to you.\u00c2\u00a0 And, you need some time for the dialogue that follows, so that you can respond from the heart.\u00c2\u00a0 And so, by following Jesus into a type of desert during these 40 days, your prayers can be much more meaningful.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n
The third tool is almsgiving.\u00c2\u00a0 Now, if almsgiving means dropping a few extra coins in the collection basket or sending a check to your favorite charity, then you’ve missed the point.\u00c2\u00a0 Almsgiving is intended to prepare you for your response to the calling you hear in your prayers.\u00c2\u00a0 Almsgiving is a sacrifice you make to help someone else.\u00c2\u00a0 If you give something freely out of your hearts in almsgiving, then it will be that much easier to give of yourselves in the response\u00c2\u00a0 God is calling you to make in your prayer.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Gospel tells us that Jesus was tempted over the forty days.\u00c2\u00a0 Indeed, all of you will be tempted as well.\u00c2\u00a0 All of you will find the road to abandon your desert experience of fasting, prayer, and almsgiving, as wide and well defined as a six lane freeway.\u00c2\u00a0 But the road through the desert will be ill defined and difficult.\u00c2\u00a0 The thing to remember is that end game.\u00c2\u00a0 You see Jesus emerged from his desert with great enthusiasm and happiness, proclaiming that the time of fulfillment was now, and that the Kingdom of God was at hand.\u00c2\u00a0 Jesus did that knowing what his mission was going to be.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n
None of us would want the pain and suffering of Jesus mission.\u00c2\u00a0 None of us, fortunately, will have to endure that kind of suffering.\u00c2\u00a0 But, when you emerge from the Lenten desert knowing what God wants for you.\u00c2\u00a0 You will experience real joy, no matter what the consequences.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u00c2\u00a0 March 1, 2009 1st Sunday of Lent Gen 9:8-15: 1 Pet 3:18-22; Mk 1:12-15 Dc. Larry Brockman This is the time of fulfillment!\u00c2\u00a0 That’s what Jesus said as he emerged from the desert after 40 days.\u00c2\u00a0 My prayer is that you and I can do the same- that we can emerge from our Lenten […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=48"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=48"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=48"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=48"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}