Homily for the
1st Sunday of Lent
Feb. 18, 2024
Gen 9: 8-15
Ps 25: 4-9
1 Pet 3: 18-22
Mark 1: 12-15
Our Lady of the Assumption,
Bronx
St. Francis
Xavier, Bronx
“I am now establishing my covenant with you
and your descendants” (Gen 9: 9)
Landscape with Noah's Thank Offering
(Joseph A. Koch)
The word covenant occurs in 5x in
the 1st reading about Noah, and once in the psalm responsory. It’s not a stretch to find the covenant idea
also in the 2d reading and the gospel.
After the great flood, Noah offered a
sacrifice to God, appreciative that he, his wife, his 3 sons and their wives—“8
persons in all,” St. Peter observes (I, 3:20)—were saved from destruction. God was so pleased with Noah’s sacrifice that
he established a covenant with Noah and his descendants—which in the context of
the book of Genesis means with the whole human race. By that covenant God promises never again to
destroy life on earth with another flood.
He seals this covenant by creating a rainbow as a permanent sign of his
promise.
That, of course, isn’t a scientific
explanation for rainbows. But in the
rainbow the ancient Israelites saw a reminder of God’s care for them and his
fidelity.
That covenant promise was initiated by God
and had no condition attached to it. It
was God’s free gift.
We read later in the Scriptures of further
covenants between God and human beings, particularly between God and Abraham
and between God and the Hebrews whom Moses led out of Egypt. God initiated those covenants, too.
In Abraham’s case, there was a sign
attached to his relationship with God, the sign of circumcision. That practice remains an external sign of
every male Jew’s belonging to the people of the covenant. Unlike Noah, Abraham and his descendants were
required to make a commitment: they’d
worship God alone. He would be their
God, and they’d be his people, special above all other nations of the earth.
When God made a covenant with Moses and the Hebrew nation at Mt. Sinai, the 10 Commandments were the sign of the covenant. Again, it was God who initiated the covenant, God who led Israel out of slavery, God who promised to protect Israel from their enemies, God who promised to give them a permanent homeland. Israel would obey his commands and worship only him. Israel is still fighting to defend and preserve that promised homeland. One might debate whether they’re depending more on F-15s than on the power of God—but this isn’t the occasion for that debate.
The psalm response assures us that God’s
love and truth remain with “those who keep you covenant.” The psalm verses, however, don’t speak of
covenant; rather, of God’s guidance and compassion toward those who turn to
him. Those who turn to him, the psalm
says, are the humble; they are sinners who confess their faults and seek the
Lord’s kindness: “In your kindness
remember me.” Show us sinners the way
(25:7-9).
And that’s where St. Peter brings us to the
idea of covenant without using the word.
In Baptism we entered a covenant relationship with God thru Jesus
Christ. God cleared our consciences and
saved us thru water (3:20-21), to lead us to himself (3:18).
Jesus, too, implies covenant: “The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the Gospel” (Mark
1:15). Let the Gospel cleanse your
conscience—wash it free of sin—by turning to Christ.
Is this a covenant relationship? Yes, it is!
At every Mass, we hear Jesus’ words:
“This is the chalice of my blood, the blood of the new and eternal
covenant, which will be poured out … for the forgiveness of sins.” As the rainbow, circumcision, and the 10
Commandments are signs of God’s covenants, the Eucharist also is a sign—of
God’s love for us. St. Peter echoes that
when he reminds us that “Christ suffered for sins once … that he might lead you
to God” (3:18).
Jesus takes the initiative to invite us
into a covenant with God by confessing our sins, turning away from our sins,
and pledging ourselves to live his way of life.
“Repent, and believe in the Gospel.”
He doesn’t command us to be morally perfect but to try—try hard and
sincerely—to live the way he teaches us; and he’ll cleanse our consciences,
forgive our sins.
That’s the bottom line for Lent, dear
brothers and sisters. Lent’s not about a
black smudge on your face—which should be long gone by now; and it’s not about
giving up chocolate or TV. It’s about
building up our covenant relationship with God thru prayer and the denial of
our nasty instincts. It’s about “growing
in understanding of the riches hidden in Christ and … pursuing their effects”
(Collect), the effects of the riches of God’s mercy.
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