The readings of Lent are taken from a wide variety of texts in both the Old and New Testaments. They can be seen as a preparation for the honouring of the Lord’s Passion and the celebration of his Resurrection. One can profitably take one or both readings each day for prayerful reflection in order to make a personal preparation for the observation of Holy Week and Easter.
The first reading is from the prophet Joel of whom very little is known. His name is shared with about a dozen other Old Testament figures. Internal evidence would seem to indicate that he lived in Judah during the Persian period of Jewish history (539-331 BC). The majority of historical references in his book, in which there is no mention of Assyria or Babylonia, would point to a period between 400 and 350 BC. He is regarded as a ‘cultic’ prophet, that is, he exercised his ministry within the life of the Temple. Today’s reading comes from the earlier part of the book in which Joel sees a plague of locusts which ravaged the country as a sign of God’s judgement on his people and hence a time for repentance. “Fasting, weeping, mourning…” Fasting was required once a year on the Day of Atonement but also in times of calamity (as with a plague of locusts). It was a sign of penitence and submission to God by a sinful people. Today’s passage is an eloquent and beautiful call to repentance. “It is Yahweh who speaks – Come back to me with your heart, fasting, weeping, mourning… Let your hearts be broken, not your garments torn..” Why? Because Yahweh “is all tenderness and compassion, slow to anger, rich in graciousness, and ready to relent”. (This is in contrast to the prophet Jonah who early on in his mission complained that God was too easy on sinners, especially Gentile sinners.)The passage is a solemn call to repentance. Repentance here is not just sorrow for the past but a call to a complete change of life. The emphasis is on inner change, not outward observance – “Let your hearts be broken, not your garments torn”. For us, too, Lent is better observed by an inner change in our way of life than merely the external ‘giving up’ of minor pleasures. A change that will continue well beyond Lent and become a consistent pattern of our living.It is certainly not a time for fear. Our God is a loving God. “He is all tenderness and compassion, slow to anger, rich in graciousness, and ready to relent.” This is almost a chorus line that echoes through the Old Testament. So we can approach God in the greatest of confidence. But repentance in the Scripture is not just feeling bad about the past and looking for forgiveness.It is about bringing about a complete change of thinking, a new way of seeing our lives, moving forward on a different track. What the Gospel calls a metanoia, involving a radical change in the way see our life and the direction in which it ought to go. How to benefit from the goodness of the Lord? “Sound the trumpets in Zion! Order a fast, proclaim a solemn assembly, call the people together…the community…the elders…the children…even infants at the breast… Let the bridegroom leave his bedroom and the bride her alcove…let the priest, the ministers of Yahweh, lament. Let them all cry out for pardon and forgiveness.” All are called together for a common show of repentance, peoples from their homes, newlyweds from their bedchambers, even the priests making sacrifice in the Temple. It is a time for everyone to leave their sinful ways – from priests to children – and to repent with deepest sorrow. God is reminded that they are his people. If they are reduced to shame, outsiders will be driven to ask: “Where is their God?” Just the question that people often ask when disasters strike – Where was God when his people died by the million in the Nazi concentration camps? Where was God when the Twin Towers were struck? When thousands died in the tsunami of Southeast Asia? When a close relative died, the innocent victim of a driving disaster…? The question to ask most of the time is not: Where was God? but Where were we? In Joel’s case, the Lord did reply. The prayer is answered; the plague ceases. Yahweh, jealous of his own people, takes pity on them. Let us pray that this Lenten season will help us to see the world and to see life as God sees it. The wonderful Scripture readings of Lent will help us.
The second reading is a powerful appeal from Paul to the Christians of Corinth which fits in perfectly with the beginning of the Lenten season. First, he reminds us that we are “ambassadors for Christ”. It is through us, through our words and actions, that God is seen by the rest of the world. That is a tremendous responsibility and something to be seriously reflected on especially during this Lenten season. Secondly, Paul points out that, for our sakes, God made Jesus, who was altogether without sin, “to be sin”. In this sense, that Jesus, the altogether sinless One, willingly endured the effects of sin and evil, especially through his suffering and death on the Cross. His purpose in doing that was that “we might become the very holiness of God”. In other words, we too are called to walk the same Way that Jesus did, to be ready to suffer and die as he did. In this more than by any other thing we might say or do, we truly become ambassadors for Jesus Christ. So Paul begs the Corinthians (and us) that this tremendous act of God’s love enacted through his Son, Jesus, be not in vain. Lent is a time for us to contemplate deeply the meaning of Jesus’ life, suffering and death for each one of us and to reflect what changes it calls for in the way we live our lives of discipleship now. “Now is the acceptable time! Now is the day of salvation!” For the Christian the time of conversion and change is always NOW and never more so than during the great season of Lent.
Commentary on Matthew 6:1-6,16-18
The three central acts for the devout Jew were prayer, fasting and almsgiving. The only fast actually laid down in the Mosaic law was that of the Day of Atonment (Leviticus 16:31) but in later Judaism the practice of regular fasting was common. The Gospel tells us that John the Baptist used to fast and he was contrasted with Jesus who ate with sinners (which does not mean that Jesus did not fast). The Pharisees also fasted regularly.
For Christians too these acts are all proper to the Lenten season. And all three can profitably be incorporated in some way into our lives during these six weeks.
Let us give some more time specifically to prayer (not just saying prayers) each day. We might think of learning something about ways of praying – John Main prayer, Centering Prayer, Lectio Divina (based on reading of Scripture) or some form of Ignatian Prayer. There are many books available to learn about these methods which are basically very simple. They can also be found on the Internet. John Main recommends 20 minutes twice a day as ideal. That may seem a lot but many of us, even in a busy day, do not have a problem with spending an hour or more on a TV programme. For some it may be possible to pray in a small group together with shared prayer.
There are now in most places only two official fast days in the whole of Lent. Some people would never think of fasting although they may be on a diet which is even more stringent than what the Church asks. Fasting can consist of doing without something we do not really need, even if we are over the age for fasting: alcohol, nicotine, snacks and titbits… Sometimes it is harder to let go of these things than to eat fish – especially if you like fish!
And do not let us forget to share something of what we have with those who are in need. Why not take the money that would be spent on that fancy meal you decided to forego and give it to those who do not know where their next meal is coming from? If you have given up movies for Lent or any other indulgence, again let the money saved be diverted to the really needy.
The Gospel today emphasises the importance of doing all these things quietly and without ostentation. No one should even know we are praying more, sharing more or doing without things. Once we draw attention to ourselves doing these things, they have lost their real purpose which is to bring us closer to God and his ways.