Dear Friends,
This is a season when we renew our willingness to accept
God’s covenant with us. It is truly God’s covenant, not ours. Covenants are
always made by the greater with the lesser. Covenants are not initiated by little
people like us, but we are the hands-on beneficiaries of the covenant God makes
with His people. On this first Sunday of Lent, we read about the covenant God
made with Noah (Gen.9.8-15). The sign and seal of the covenant is the bow in
the clouds – what we call the rainbow. If we are not otherwise engrossed, will the
rainbow make us pause with delight and awe?
Next week, we’ll hear about God’s covenant with Abraham and
the week after that, the covenant expressed in the Ten Commandments.
God’s covenant with us is forever. It takes courage to live
out life with God this way, because living it out does not go unchallenged.
We meet the challenger of the covenant relationship with God
in today’s Gospel. Satan. Satan is a symbol for anyone or anything, for any
relationship or situation, for any interpretation of life or way of thinking
that hinders us from becoming what Christ wants us to be: His brothers and
sister – alive – active on behalf of goodness in the world.
The challenger pursues us, make no mistake about it.
What are the challengers in my life? Pride? Greed? A hard heart?
Alcohol? Drugs? Power? Sex? The need to always be right?
What was the challenger in Nicholas Cruz’s life? Who was
complicit is his life that allowed him to have an untreated, unrecognized mental
illness? What drove him to kill 17 and wound others at Marjory Stoneman Douglas
High School in Parkland, Florida on February 14? He is not alone in his misery.
Others are stirred in the same way to do irrevocable damage in people’s lives. People
thus inflicted with soul-searing damage need advocates imbued with a covenant
spirit to help them overcome their need to kill.
Today’s gospel (Mark 1. 12-15) tells us that Jesus, who was
tempted by Satan in the desert, was not overcome. He went on to teach, preach
and heal, to give Himself for all for the forgiveness of sin and for life
everlasting. Between Satan in the desert and His Resurrection, Jesus stayed
close to His Father. He prayed and loved the One who sent him.
That’s the clue for us: this Lenten season, to stay close to
the Father of Jesus, to Jesus Himself and to the Holy Spirit. We can face the challenger
only through prayer and in this covenant relationship. With Christ, we will not
be overcome. Trust God. Be alert to the
challenges that come our way. Believe that Easter will come. Watch for the
rainbow.
~Sister Joan Sobala
