Homily 1st Sunday in Lent Year A - Repent and believe in the Gospel

Homily (Sermon) – Repent and believe in the Gospel

The Readings for First Sunday in Lent
Genesis 2:7-9,3:1-7
Psalm 50
Romans 5:12-19
Matthew 4:1-11
[ All these readings can be found at www.universalis.com for the next few weeks.]

There can be little doubt from our readings today that we have entered the season of Lent.

Lent is a time to repent, a time to be reconciled, a time to say sorry, a time to make your life right with God.

Adam and Eve got it wrong. We all have that ability. As a race we have continually turned away from God and done wrong. We trick ourselves sometimes into thinking we are doing the right thing or the there is nothing really wrong with our actions. We desire and lust after things and people; we are greedy and gluttonous; we are lazy, and angry and envious; we are selfish and full of pride. We all too often pander to our own desires and forget to give, to love, to serve. Like Adam and Eve we get it wrong, like every human, we get it wrong. Sorry not every human. Christ was human and he got it right.

In today’s gospel we find Christ in the wilderness. He is fasting and praying, He is preparing for the His ministry. We can learn a good lesson here. Christ gave us His ministry; fasting and prayer are a good ways to prepare to do His work.

After 40 days He is visited and tempted by the devil. It is his strengths that are tested, His ability to perform miracles and His relationship with His Father. You may be tested too; your strengths may be where you are at your weakest. Christ never used His gifts for himself, only for others. What do you use your strengths and gifts for?

This Lent is a time to remember what Christ went through for us, not just his 40 days in the wilderness but his entire life. Christ came to visit us, to live with us, to love us and serve us; this lent remember that. Christ came to teach us; this lent remember that. Christ came to die for us, to die because of everything you and I do wrong. Every desire I indulge, every lie I tell, every good deed I am too lazy to do, every prideful moment I boast of is one more hammer blow on the nails in his hands and in his feet.

Christ death is because of me. Lent is a time to realise that. Lent is a time to slow those hammer blows. Lent is a time to say sorry, to make it right with God.

Maybe for you Lent is a time to feed your soul on Scripture. Pick up your bible and read. Follow the life that was given for you in any of the Gospels. See what the Apostles did after Christ’s resurrection in Acts. Learn from the letters of Paul, Peter, John or Jude. Look forward with John’s vision in revelations. Look back at the salvation history of the Jews, the law, the wisdom and the prophetic writing of the Old Testament.

Maybe for you Lent is a time of prayer. A time to talk with God, a time to place your worries and cares before him, a time to intercede for others, a time to plead for yourself and your world to you creator.

Maybe for you Lent is an active time. A time to serve. A time to do good deeds. A time to give of yourself and of your wealth. A charitable time.

I hope for you Lent is a time for preparation. You have 40 days to make thing right with God, 40 days to be ready to celebrate his resurrection. To be ready for Easter.

Easter is a glorious time, a wonderful time, a time of light and hope. Easter is not one day, or just 8 days, or even 40 days. Easter is a lifetime. Easter is the life we are called to lead. Pope Francis wants us to be an Easter people, a people who bring light and hope and the message of Christ to the world. We need look into our hearts during this lent and understand what is wrong. We need to bring that wrongness to Christ and let him heal us. We need to embrace the Easter journey, the last supper, the prayer at Gethsemane, the arrest, trial, execution and resurrection of Christ. We need to be ready after this lentern time to take Christ’s joy out into the world.

Decide how you are to prepare yourself this Lent, do it well, and make sure you are ready to live the life your Pope is asking you to live. Prepare yourself to live the Easter Life.

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About the Author - Deacon John Scanlon

Homily Index

Homily 2nd Sunday Advent Year A – Repent

Homily (Sermon) - Repent

The Readings for Sunday 8th December 2013 or Second Sunday of Advent Year A:
Isaiah 11:1-10
Psalm 71
Romans 15:4-9
Matthew 3:1-12

[These readings can be found at www.universalis.com for the next few weeks.]

I pride myself on my fairness, my ability to see both sides, to understand how and why things happen. And yet twice recently I have felt embarrassed and ashamed of myself for not getting offended when those around me did.

The first time was at work, I was talking to a friend about a film and she said it gave her nightmares. While the film we were talking about was a violent film, I struggled to see where the nightmares could come from. So she explained to me that the scene where the slaves were made to fight each other for the pleasure of the owners really got to her, because that wasn’t that long ago. How could people be that horrible to other people? My first thought was wow, I am so proud of you for saying and feeling that, my second thought was, “Why didn’t I get that upset?”

Only last week Gail and I went to see another film at the cinema. The film portrayed a future world, where most of the people lived hard lives, food was short and they had to work long hours just to get by. Then we see a small elite group in the capital at a party. They filled their stomachs at overflowing tables, then drank a small glass of something to make themselves sick so they could eat some more and try everything on offer. Gail was incensed, such waste with so many needy people. She wasn’t incensed by the movie, but by how well it satirised our world. Again I was proud of her, and again I questioned myself about my reaction. I had appreciated the idea, I had seen the connection to our world, I had smiled but hadn’t got offended.

We are often too calm about what is wrong in our world, in our lives. We are often too complicit in the wrong doing.

We need someone to call us out.

We need to be called a brood of vipers sometimes.

We need to look closely at ourselves and challenge ourselves.

John the Baptist is challenging you. He is challenging me.

We may not be an easy target like the Pharisees and Sadducees in our scripture, but I know I all too often take the easy route and do not do the right thing. 

John is telling us we are not good enough. 

John is telling us to change. 

John is telling us to repent.

Repent….What does that really mean. Think now, what does that word, that act mean to you….

Imagine you are in a desert, not a sandy Saharan style desert, but a wilderness desert, dry grass and small shrubs, a few trees scattered around. Ahead of you is a small light, a flame flickering in between the blades of grass, you start to walk towards it. You are fascinated by the glow of the flame, the beauty and the warmth. Enchanted by the way it appears to live and dance before you. All too quickly it starts to consume the grass, then growth bigger, hotter, consuming brushes and trees, rushing headlong towards you. 

You stop, you consider, then in an instant you have turned, you are running, ahead of you in the distance is water, a lake, no a sea, huge and endless. You rush straight towards it hoping you will reach it before the flames reach you. With every step you take the water rushes towards you, each stride moves you miles towards safety. You plunge deep into the saving water, safe from the fire behind you.

These are the images that John teaches us. To repent is more than saying sorry. Repentance is turning away from sin and rushing towards God. God will rush towards you faster than you can imagine, but you have to turn and start to move towards him.

Repentance is a very familiar word to us Christians; it was as well to the Jews. Maybe it has become tame or bland, as it was with the Pharisees and Sadducees. Maybe we have become too easy going in a world that does far too much wrong and nowhere near enough right. Repentance should be a fast and frantic action. If you realise you are in the middle of a fire you run, if you realise you are sinning, shouldn’t you be running towards God as fast as you can.

The season of advent is about preparing for Christmas, it’s about preparing for the coming of Christ, that is what John was helping the people to do. He wasn’t recommending Christmas presents to the wise men or planning party’s. He was preparing the people to meet Christ. 

Advent is only a short time to prepare. You need to stop. You need to look around you and recognise the fire. You need to turn to God and run. You need to plunge into His forgiveness as you did at your baptism. You need to be ready to stand before your God on Christmas morning. When you welcome Him with joy, He will welcome you with joy. Together you will be able to walk out into the world, walk out into the fire, unharmed and ready to do some good. 

Ready as John said, to bear fruit.

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About the Author - Deacon John Scanlon

Homily Index