You can find the readings for the First Sunday of Lent here.
For many Catholics, Lent is a reminder of brighter days ahead, both in terms of the weather surrounding us and also in our life of faith (and no, I do not just mean the Ariana Grande album). As spring quickly approaches, it brings with it the celebration of Christ’s Resurrection at Easter. Like Advent is for Christmas, Lent is a season of preparation for Christ’s Resurrection at Easter and the renewal of our baptismal promises, offering us time to reflect on what our baptismal promises mean and how we can more align ourselves with Christ’s life.
Lents offers us time to reflect on what our baptismal promises mean and how we can more align ourselves with Christ’s life.
In the Gospel reading for this week we see Jesus refuse the devil’s call in the desert to turn stones into bread despite fasting for 40 days. Jesus, without hesitation, rebukes the devil saying “one does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God” (Mt 4:4). This is one of the main scriptural foundations for fasting during Lent, especially the traditional Lenten practice to fast from eating meat on Fridays. For me, walking past fast food chains on a Friday, with the smell of fried chicken in the air, provides me an opportunity to reflect: do I act on my desire for this (delicious, mind you) food, or imitate Christ’s practice of fasting and draw closer to God.
As LGBTQ Catholics, Lent provides us with additional opportunities for reflection. While living on the margins, both in society and in the church, we are often forced to reconcile the juxtaposition of a welcoming Christ to the opinions of those who use Christ’s words against us. In our Gospel today, we again see the devil tempting Jesus. The devil uses the Psalms to bait Jesus to reveal his identity as the Son of God (Mt 4:6). Jesus does not accept the challenge, but instead pivots in reply, quoting Deuteronomy: “Again it is written, You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test” (Mt 4:7). Like Jesus with the devil, many LGBTQ Catholics know what it means to have the Bible used out of context to threaten or accuse us.
These attacks take a toll. They strike deep to our very core and, unfortunately, are not just isolated attacks from members of our church but even coming from our own government. For many, this can be exhausting and strain our relationship with God and our faith. Jesus in this moment, denying Satan’s misuse of scripture, provides us with an example of what it means to know that our self-worth and identity does not come from the thoughts and actions of others, but rather how God has created us as God’s beloved children.
Jesus provides us with an example of what it means to know that our self-worth and identity comes from how God has created us as God’s beloved children.
Finally, the Gospel today encourages a reflection on who or what we place on a pedestal in our lives. While it seems like everything (and everyone) these days is competing for our attention (and even our money), this time of Lent can serve as an opportunity to step away from the general hustle of life, breathe for a moment and reorient ourselves to God. The Gospel today concludes with the devil taking Jesus to the top of a mountain, asking him to to fully forget his Father with the promise of a great reward. It is Jesus’ response, another quotation from Deuteronomy, that offers us a hint of what it means to walk more closely with God this Lent: “The Lord, your God, shall you worship and him alone shall you serve” (Mt 4:10).
We, following Christ’s example, are called this season to renew our covenant relationship with God, entered into through baptism, renounce Satan and commit ourselves fully to God. It is essential that we allow ourselves to remove the things in our life that stand in the way of walking with God this Lent, and recommit ourselves to a life of faith. Whether through prayer, meditation or even just going for a walk and taking in creation, Lent invites us to draw ever closer to God, our Creator.
As daylight continues to grow and the temperatures slowly begin to increase, I invite you to join me and use this time of Lent to ask ourselves, “what does it mean to follow God? What does it mean to walk with Jesus in my daily life?”. Then, just like the world around us, we might find our own selves blossoming in a renewed and recommitted relationship in the God who created us, who redeemed us and who sanctifies us.
