My question for today is about “women.” In the Hebrew scriptures, Eve is the name of the first woman created by God. However, in Greek mythology, what is the name of the first woman whom the god Hephaestus created at the request of Zeus? Is it: (a) Peter Pan; (b) Pandora; (c) Pancake or (d) Pandemonium? And I’m sorry, but those of you with cell phones cannot call a friend.1
(B) Pandora? Is that your final answer? Very good, you just won $1000, collectable from Father Bill. (the pastor.) Now for your second question, for $2000. Pandora was given a box and was told not to open it. But she did anyway. And when she did, out flew all of the plagues of the body and the sorrows of the mind. However, she was able to slam the lid shut before everything flew out and so was able to hold back one gift. So, my question is this: what remained in Pandora’s box? Was it: (a) fear; (b) a rainbow; (c) hope; or (d) Regis Philbin?
Ok, those of you who said: (C) “hope” are correct. Hope. Today we begin another season of hope. Yes, you’ll say this is the First Sunday of Lent, but I believe Lent is, in fact, the season of hope. Hope is, after all, the confident expectation of divine blessing. After this time of waiting, everything will turn out well. And this is what the season of Lent should be about. This is our forty-day preparation for Easter. We await the celebration of the Resurrection of our Lord. And we await the return of our lord. We await the completion of the coming of the Kingdom of God.
Our readings for this First Sunday of Lent remind us of these expectations. They remind us of our hope. In the first reading from the book of Genesis, we heard how God made a covenant with every living creature. Never again, would flood waters destroy all mortal beings.
Flood waters. Why did God send down the forty days of rain in the first place? Why did God send the flood? You remember the beginning of the story, don’t you? You recall how over the years, since the time of creation, humankind became more obsessed with doing evil than with doing good. And so, God sent the waters to flush out the evil in the world, to cleanse the world with the waters of the flood. The early Christians saw these cleansing waters as the first version of the cleansing waters of baptism that wash away the sins of humanity. This is what we heard spoken by Peter in our second reading for today.
Only eight people were saved through the waters of the flood. Only Noah, his wife, his three sons and their own wives survived. But through the waters of baptism, all of humanity is washed clean. And although Jesus was free from all sin, he, too, felt the refreshing waters of the baptism by John. It was then Jesus heard the words of God: “You are my beloved son; with you I am well pleased.”
Immediately afterwards, Jesus retreated to the desert for forty days where he was tempted by Satan. And there, as we heard in today’s reading from the gospel of Mark: “He was among wild beasts, and the angels ministered to him.” Jesus was there, beset by the physical dangers of the world. But he was not alone with those dangers, with those threats to his life. He had with him: “angels who ministered to him.” Angels, messengers of God. That’s what the word means. But there is another term for messengers. And that word is: evangelists.
Evangelists. Those messengers who spread the Good News that Jesus proclaimed some two thousand years ago: “This is the time of fulfillment. The Kingdom of God is at hand.”
This week with the beginning of Lent, we begin here at Christ the Good Shepherd, as in many other parishes in our diocese, a program called “Disciples in Mission.” It is an opportunity for people gathered in small groups to reflect on the message proclaimed by Jesus: the message that the Kingdom of God is at hand, the Kingdom of God has begun. “Disciples in Mission” gives us a chance to reflect on the message and to live out the message; to live out the message in such a way that, through lived examples, others will see and hear the message and join with the growing community who awaits the completion of the kingdom and the return of Jesus the Christ.
This is a community who waits with hope, with the belief all will be well. It is a community who accepts the gift of faith, the belief God is with us. We are a community joined with God by a sacred covenant. It is a community who has not only the gifts of hope and faith, but also the gift of charity.
Charity is how we are to bolster the hope of others through our own human actions. While faith, hope and charity are gifts of God, it is with charity that we are to help others in practical ways so that they, in turn, may make use of the gifts of faith and hope which God has given to them. It is in our charity, in our love for others, that we provide food for the hungry. Out of our own hope and faith we stock the shelves of our sister parish, Holy Name, as well as the shelves of the Northwest Assistance Ministry.
It is in our charity, in our love for others, we participate in our Lenten project to buy livestock for families in Third World countries. Just as Noah took into the ark animals of every kind to re-populate the world, we are asked to provide livestock so that others may help themselves in their own revitalization. In today’s bulletin, you will find more information about how you, each and every one of us, can help stock “an ark for today’s world” through the “Heifer Project.”
Two thousand years ago, Jesus offered two proclamations and two challenges. He proclaimed: “this is the time of fulfillment.” And secondly, he proclaimed: “the Kingdom of God is at hand.” But he also offered two challenges: first of all, he said: “repent.” He asked his followers, and us, to repent, to reform our lives, to change our lives, to make those changes needed to help us be a more active part of the Kingdom of God.
And secondly, he challenged his followers, and us, when he said:” … and believe in the gospel.” Believe the good news. Have hope: live your life in the expectation God is with you. God wants only the best for you. God, himself, has saved you. Yes, Lent is the season of hope. Hope that the Lord who taught us, the Lord who suffered, died and was buried for us, the Lord who rose again from the dead and is with us now, that our Lord, Jesus the Christ, will indeed, lead us home to eternal life.
- “Millionaire” was a popular TV quiz program hosted by Regis Philbin in which contestants could ask for help from the audience or by calling a “hotline” friend.
First Sunday in Lent; March 12, 2000
Gn 9:8-15; 1 Pt 3:18-22; Mk 1:12-15