Deacon Matt's Reflection

Reflection for First Sunday of Lent: March 6, 2022
 
Deut 26:4-10: This passage is a wonderful  proclamation or testimonial of God’s saving power in difficult times in the lives of believers; whether believers lived in Biblical times or are living today. The author describes how enslaved believers in Egypt, who were being treated cruelly and unjustly, prayed and cried out to God for help and deliverance from their suffering. We are told how God heard their cry and how God saw their toil, their affliction and their oppression. We are challenged to take comfort in this story and to reflect on and believe that God hears our prayers and cries for help, and that God sees and knows about all of our trials and kinds of suffering. Let’s take comfort in that knowledge and take time to thank God, as this author does, for God’s consoling and liberating help.

Psalm 91: “Be with me, Lord, when I am in trouble.” In today’s psalm, the psalmist first encourages us to trust in God; the same God Who is the deliverer and Savior in our first reading. In the next verse, we are, in essence, told not to be afraid and are given the beautiful reassurance that angels are watching over us, to guide and protect us. This image of angelic protection is emphasized with further description of their protection in the next verse. This descriptive image of angelic intervention gives us a dramatic focus for our hopes for deliverance from our trials. The last verse is written as if from God, Himself; promising deliverance from trials and rewards for having faith, such as responsiveness and attentive concern when God is invoked. Faithful and trusting souls are promised not only deliverance and rescue from current trials, but also the enjoyment of God’s constant Presence and eternal glory.

Romans 10:8-13: Today, St. Paul extends for us the assurance that the Word of God; (in our professed faith), is present with us; “in our very mouths and in our hearts.” Reflect on that! When we proclaim or verbally attest to our faith, we are sharing God’s very Presence as we are called to do as baptized and confirmed disciples of Jesus Christ. St.  Paul is telling us that “believing in the heart leads to justification” and that “confessing our faith with our mouth leads to salvation.” This, alone gives us a lot to ponder this week. Are we making the  decision to have faith and are we evangelizing others by sharing our faith with them? Reading Scripture, lives of the saints and spiritual writings can help us to grow in faith and in the ability to share our faith. Let’s make more effort this Lent.

Luke 4:1-13: Today, Jesus demonstrates, powerfully, how to live the faith: First, pray and listen for God’s answer. Like Jesus, listen, obey and follow the promptings and inspirations of the Holy Spirit. Fast, pray and meditate on God and Scripture, as Jesus did. Jesus calls us to adore God; to worship Him and to serve Him, faithfully. “You shall worship the Lord, your God, and Him alone shall you serve.” Jesus repeatedly encourages us to trust in God, but also warns us: “You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.” Putting God to the test is actually making a statement expressing some doubts about God, (or one wouldn’t be “testing” God’s responsiveness or power, as if God had need to prove Himself). Temptations by the devil always have as their goal, diminishing our faith. Instead, let’s focus on and practice Jesus’ instructions, above.

Encouragingly,
Deacon Matt