1st Sunday of Lent
First reading – Genesis 2:7-9,3:1-7
“Did God really say you were not to eat from any of the trees in the garden?” This is the question of Satan. “Do you want to follow God with your life, or do you want to become like gods?” It is the fundamental question which lies in the heart of every man and woman. The choice to be with God or to pretend be gods. To be close to the source of light or to pretend to be light. The temptation comes with the feeling that the ways to be with God, to be close to God are meaningless or even not necessary. It comes with the temptation of extreme self-empowerment which is very much appealing to our reason. We want to fully ourselves. We don’t want to depend on anything. I decide my life. I decide what to do. This extreme independent is hollow and senseless, as you can never be independent even one side. You are dependent on so many things around you, starting with air, created by God. Moreover our togetherness with God is not a dependency. It’s part of our being. We belong to Him. We are part of His plan. Once we realize this, all norms about following the Lord seem a help and not a restriction, a path and not a wall, a grace and not a law. Let’s reflect: In my Lent how much I see the precepts of the Lord as a grace to be with Him?
Sunday 26 February
