On this First Sunday of Lent we are called to follow the rainbow. “I set my bow in the clouds to serve as a sign of the covenant between me and the earth” (Genesis 9:13). The rare and beautiful event of a rainbow usually lasts only a short while, but its colors and soaring form make a lasting impression. It follows storms as if to show the incredible beauty and peace of creation after a demonstration of its awesome power. In Hebrew scripture the rainbow symbolizes God’s promise to Noah never to destroy the earth and all its creatures again with water, but just as important it was a sign of the wonderful re-creation of the world after the destruction of the biblical flood. The season of Lent offers a unique opportunity to make a course correction on the path toward God. The goal is clear: the new life of Easter, fixed before your eyes like a glorious rainbow.
Every year on the first Sunday of Lent we hear the Gospel of Jesus being tempted in the desert. The Church always begins Lent with Jesus’ victory over temptation to inspire us to claim our share in his victory. What “inner beasts” do we have to tame this Lent and how could we accomplish that? What are the “outer beasts” we face and how do we transform those relationships? Who are the “angels” for whom we’re grateful and to whom could we become “angels” ourselves?
Have you ever felt like W. C. Fields, who once said, “Begin each day with a smile – and get it over with?” If so, you might be having a bad day, a “no” kind of day. We all have them – it's called life! The beauty of our Lenten walk is that even when people throw us all of those “can’t do’s” and “no way’s” and “shame on you’s,” the Lord continues to bring us to faith with his “yes, you can’s" and “way to go’s” and “wow, you did it’s.” How does he turn the “Nos” of life into his “Yes” of life? By being that big "yes" as he comes to live and suffer and die and be raised for us! Look at the cross each day of your journey. It’s in the form of a "yes!"
Our Responsorial Psalm this weekend, "Your ways O Lord, are love and truth to those who keep your covenant, reminds us to embrace God’s plan as it unfolds in our lives."
