Deacon Matt's Reflection

Reflection for 1st Sunday of Lent: February 18, 2024

Gen 9:8-15: Sunshine and a rainbow after a storm (the Great Flood)… This passage has a more profound meaning. Let’s first consider the rainbow that our God has given us as a sign of the Covenant between God and us. The rainbow might be thought of as a “bridge” between God and us. If that “bridge” were to symbolize our lifelong journey of faith; then we’d first have a gentle “climb.” That’s because our interactions with God call us to something (or Someone) higher. After experiencing trials, (the uphill climb), the road gets easier after our faith is strengthened. There are ponderous trials as we age, but hopefully our growth of trust in God makes our ending struggles easier to manage. The end of the bridge (death) welcomes us to God’s loving and merciful arms!

Psalm 25: “Your ways, O Lord, are love and truth to those who keep Your covenant.” As we walk the “rainbow bridge” of our life-long faith journey, we pray for wisdom and wise discernment of the right choices to make and “paths” to follow. Our goal is to get closer to God by aligning our lives to accomplish God’s Holy Will for us. We know that as we walk the journey of life, that we’ll make mistakes. Thankfully, like today’s psalmist, we also know that we can count upon God’s compassion and love.

Through the Sacraments of the Church, God extravagantly pours out mercy and grace upon us! Lord, make us humble enough to accept Your mercy, grace and forgiveness. Help us to be loving, merciful and forgiving, so that we might accept these gifts, completely from You! Remove from us all pride and self-righteousness so that we dare not judge others.

1 Peter 3:18-22: Jesus’ Sacrifice of Himself on the Cross for our sins embodies the fulfillment of God’s Covenant with us. The Cross is both the beginning and end of our “rainbow,” and all along the middle of the “journey,” whether we’re “ascending” or “descending.” The Cross is our constant companion all throughout this life and in the afterlife, as well; where we’ll eternally celebrate and give thanks for Jesus’ own Supreme Act of Love!

Notice that this passage reminds us that Jesus even brought the “rainbow bridge;” (the Covenant opportunity of forgiveness and mercy) to the dead (the “spirits in prison, who had once been disobedient”). No matter how impenetrable our “darkness” or spiritual blindness, our God is always ready to forgive us.

Mark 1:12-15: In today’s Gospel, Jesus stands on the same side of the rainbow as us. Jesus has crossed the rainbow of life to us, via His own life of Sacrifice and self-giving love. Now, Jesus is offering to traverse our earthly life journeys with us; guiding us along the Way, via the Voice of the Holy Spirit in our souls. We enable ourselves to “hear” and “understand” that Voice  easier, when we receive the Sacraments, especially the Sacrament of Reconciliation and the Eucharist.
Why would we ever choose otherwise?... but the Choice is ours. Nobody’s forcing us to cross that rainbow with Jesus. Nevertheless, let’s “Cross” that bridge! 
 
Deacon Matt