Year A

Jan 14 2025

Destination 1—The Desert

Twice a year the Gospels take us to the desert. John the Baptist cries out on two Sundays every Advent, and Jesus encounters Satan every Lent. What makes the desert so ideal a setting as we prepare to celebrate the two great mysteries of our faith?

The desert is a place of testing, as God’s people learned when they wandered around it for forty years. With hardened hearts, they had rejected the God who had liberated them from slavery in Egypt, losing faith even while God was talking to Moses and setting down the conditions for their adoption. Up went the golden calf and out went the memory of what God had just done for them.

Even Eden wasn’t enough to keep the human heart open. Even there it was clear that we could be seduced by anything that looked good and promised more than it could deliver. But Jesus showed that one of us could measure up to the test and reveal himself as the “beloved Son” that he had been called at his baptism (Matthew 3:17).

The desert is also for wooing. The prophet Hosea quotes God saying, “So I will allure her [Israel]; I will lead her into the desert and speak to her heart” (Hosea 2:16). And when Satan left Jesus, God sent “angels [who] came and ministered to him” (Matthew 4:11).

So we come to this Lent and the possibility that God wishes to draw us out into a quiet, lonely place to have us meet the One who made us, redeemed us, and continues to shape us into temples of the Holy Spirit.

Consider/Discuss

What do you associate with the desert?
Is there any particular place you consider “the desert” where God meets you?
Are you being tested today in terms of living out the baptismal call to be a beloved son or daughter?

Responding to the Word

We pray that this Lent will be a time of deeper understanding of what it means to be God’s beloved child. We ask God to open our eyes to recognize those things that draw us away and to be open to how God might be drawing us closer.

Jan 14 2025

Scripture Study for

The reading from Genesis is the first account of sin. The sin itself was disobedience, but the inclination that gave rise to it was a form of hubris—the desire to be like gods. The cunning serpent should not be confused with the devil who appears much later in the biblical tradition. This mysterious creature has been used by the writer to point out how vulnerable to temptation humans are. The tree of knowledge plays no role except that it was very enticing, yet forbidden. The subtlety of temptation is obvious. It is admirable to want to be like God, but it is hubris to take things into one’s own hands and make decisions contrary to God’s will.

Paul speaks of the incomparable nature of God’s salvific grace. He compares the universal effects of sin and death with the all-encompassing power of forgiveness and life. He then contrasts Adam, “the type of the one who was to come,” to Christ, his unrivaled counterpart (Romans 5:14). Sin entered the world through Adam. The evidence of this is the universal reign of death. All die, therefore all must have sinned. As universal death entered the world through the sin of one— Adam—so grace was won for all through the gift of one—Christ. However, grace is much more powerful than sin.

The place of Jesus’ testing is the desert, traditionally believed to be the abode of evil spirits. Reminiscent of Israel’s forty years in the wilderness, Jesus fasted for forty days and forty nights. The devil challenges Jesus’ identity as Son of God, urging him to turn stones into bread. The devil then proposes that Jesus test God’s promise of protection by throwing himself from the pinnacle of the temple. Finally, the devil offers Jesus dominion over the world. Jesus’ responses outline a very different approach. He will allow the word of God to direct his actions, he will rely on God’s providence, and he will remain faithful to God. Jesus is steadfast in the face of temptation.

Jan 14 2025

Words to Build a Life On

The poet Anne Sexton once wrote that words may be both daisies and bruises. We live in a time when words seem to wound and divide people more than heal and unite them. Whether in the realm of politics or religion, words have become weapons more often than bridges to understanding and cooperation. But we are a people who over the centuries have been formed by the word of God in both the Old and New Testament.

Both Moses and Jesus knew the power of words that have taken root in the human heart and carry over into action. In the book of Deuteronomy Moses gives his final speech to the people he has led out of bondage and brought to the border of the Promised Land. He calls them not only to wear these words on their body as emblems of faith, but to “take these words of mine into your heart and soul” (Deuteronomy 11:18).

Jesus begins by saying that words alone are not enough; what matters in the end is doing the will of the Father. And what is the Father’s will? Go back and read the entire Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:1 — 7:29). The call to live in a way that brings the law of Moses to fulfillment is to be heard, taken to heart, and carried into action. The instruction given to the disciples remains an urgent command to bring about the kingdom of heaven now. Jesus’ words will be a sturdy shelter that protects them when battering storms threaten to overwhelm.

Consider/Discuss

Take some time to reread the Sermon on the Mount.

Which of Jesus’ words do you find most challenging?
Which do you feel are particularly addressed to you at this time of your life?
Is there a word that you are hearing for the first time?

Responding to the Word

We pray that our lives will have a strong foundation on the teachings of Jesus. We pray that his words will be seeds that bear fruit in lives of justice, mercy, compassion, and forgiveness. We ask that these words find a home in our heart and soul.

Jan 14 2025

Scripture Study for

Today Moses directs the people to commit themselves totally to God. The blessings promised for fidelity include numerous progeny and a good name, abundant crops and a multitude of flocks, peace and security from enemies. Curses include childlessness and premature death, family illness and diseased flocks, pestilence and drought, defeat by another nation and devastation of the land. The words Moses delivers are to be bound on their wrists and displayed as a pendant on their foreheads. This custom identified them as observant members of the covenant community and reminded them of their responsibility to commit themselves mind and heart to the covenant.

Contrary to what some have contended, Paul does not pit righteousness against the law. He insists that the Romans must conform to certain Christian principles. Nonetheless, he argues that adherence to the law does not produce righteousness. Only faith yields righteousness. According to Paul, all have sinned, and so all are in need of redemption. However, redemption and justification are received, not earned, and they are received precisely while one is a sinner. Furthermore, justification is given gratuitously, freely, without cause. God accomplishes this through the blood of Christ. Thus, by its very name, grace is an undeserved gift.

Jesus teaches that the disciples’ service must be grounded in solid commitment to him. Not signs of respect, forms of religiosity, or spectacular deeds, but adherence to his words is essential for entrance into the reign of heaven. Discipleship requires a life of righteousness, not merely charismatic activities. In order to illustrate this point, Jesus contrasts the way of the wise with the way of the foolish. The wise build the house on the solid ground of Jesus’ words, while the fool’s house is constructed on sand. The implications of Jesus’ words are quite clear. In order to be his disciples, people must follow Jesus’ instructions carefully and faithfully. Those who do will be invited into the reign of God. Those who do not will be denied entry.

Jan 14 2025

God Is Trustworthy

I am writing this in the aftermath of the earthquake that shattered Haiti. The devastation has been beyond words. Newspapers and telecasts were filled with pictures of the dead and heart-breaking stories. As of this writing over 150,000 are presumed dead—perhaps many more—and thousands upon thousands are wounded. There is little food, water, or shelter, and few medical supplies. Yet even in the face of this tragic event, an evening news program two nights after the earthquake had footage of a large group in Port au Prince lifting their voices and hands in prayer, praising God.

This radical faith in God is what Jesus calls his disciples to have. The Father did not intervene to save his Son from death, but neither did he allow death to have the final word. He raised his Son from the dead. This saving death has remained the sign above all signs that God wills us to have eternal life. It can seem impossible at times not to worry about tomorrow. But Jesus assures us that the Father does not abandon us—ever!

We are all called to be stewards of the mysteries of the faith that is centered in the person and saving death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We are to hand on what has been handed down to us: that Jesus is God’s only Son, who suffered and died and was raised for our salvation, and by our baptism we are brought into this mystery of living, dying, and rising in Christ.

Consider/Discuss

Has your faith in God’s care been tested?
How do you respond to Jesus’ words about God as a loving father and to Isaiah’s words about God as a loving mother?
Do you need to ask God to restore your trust in God?

Responding to the Word

Today’s psalm response is a wonderful prayer of the heart to carry through the week: “Rest in God alone, my soul” (Psalm 62:6a). We can pray with the psalmist that we find our peace in God who is our rock and our salvation, our stronghold. Let us trust in God at all times and pour out our hearts to our loving God.