First Sunday In Lent Reflection: Repent and Believe
Franciscan Reflections from The Hermitage – First Sunday In Lent Year A – In Search Of Authenticity – Matthew 4:1-11
Listen to this reflection: https://www.spreaker.com/episode/52788326
Repent and Believe In the Gospel
REPENT…. metanoia… change your vantage point to move to a higher standard and so leave behind your obsessions, paranoia, addictions and intoxication with the separation brought about by power, prestige, possessions, indulgence, deceit and money … live according to the beatitudes of Jesus… making life beautiful.
BELIEVE … have confidence in Jesus as the Truth so as to know… Truth… being in a relationship with the Beloved… “Listen to Him”… you are loved as the Image Bearer of Love… the imprint of the Beloved within you.
THE GOSPEL … good tidings of the Kingdom of God within us… Jesus, the universal exemplar fully revealed as our intended ultimate state of Being… the portrayal of our intrinsic dignity that resonates with the Book of Creation … Love that is the matrix of Life and our purpose of the Journey.
Struggle can either form or deform us. We all know what it means to live in a world that is anxious, fearful, under great stress and endlessly driven. In our families and among our friends there are so many who suffer from desolation and desperation, feeling lost and depressed, always running for the next fix.
Lent is an opportunity for each one of us to walk with Jesus into the desert of our own lives to find consolation, authenticity, and peace.
Crossing this desert and learning to let go, to see clearly, and to live simply, this is the way of the desert fathers and mothers who have shown us this path from the fourth century. Learning what not to take, is as important as what to take on this journey. This is often a “who” that we need to let go of… those who pull us down, hold us back and bind us to all that is destructive for our lives.
Jesus, in the line of sages and prophets before him, constantly withdrew into the wilderness for silence and solitude. Jesus’ priority for solitude and silence is to be found everywhere in the Gospels. For Jesus, the wilderness was a place for preparation and making decisions.
In the kingdom of this world, it is greed, power, and prestige that rule a world of domination. In this worldly kingdom, there are all kinds of distinctions created by our human society. Age, wealth, fame and public image are rankings that we use to slot people into. Nearly every society in the history of the world has developed its class or caste system. Circumstances of birth, wealth, privilege and education have divided men and women from each other. This is the kingdom of the world as opposed to God’s Kingdom.
The reality of the desert teaches us about the necessity of relationships, hospitality, and compassion. It is within this vision that we can re-evaluate our lives and come to understand what stands in the way of our inner freedom.
The one thing that stands out like a light in all of the lives of the mystics: in them, there was no guile to be found, their lives were transparent and free. Their words were never twisted or used in any way of dominance, there was never any sarcasm, clever wit or philosophy; their word was their word. In this way of simplicity, they discovered their authentic humanity which led them to live lives that were filled with compassion and gentility in their dealings with others.
This was the way that St Francis also found centuries later. There can be no trace of clever trickery in the recovery of our authentic humanity. Returning to our true humanity in this little way of ordinariness, they found the strength to overcome prejudice, defy compulsions and strike out fearlessly into the unknown.
May the Lord continue to walk with each one of us as we journey into the desert this Lent.
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