LENT:
40 DAYS AND 40 NIGHTS
INTRODUCTION
The title of my homily is, “Lent: Forty Days and 40 Nights.”
Lent is a time to get serious. Lent is a time to see if we are having the time of our life. Lent is a time to see where we are on the time line of our life. Lent is a time to look at serious matters – serious questions – and come up with some serious answers – year after year after year. Lent is a time to look in the mirror and ask, “How’s it going?”
Lent is 40 days and 40 nights. A month and 10 days. That’s a lot of time. Vacations are usually one or two weeks – or for some, just a long weekend – but 40 days and 40 nights. Now that’s a serious amount of time.
40 DAYS TO A MORE POWERFUL ?
When my brother – the oldest of 4 – was in high school and my two sisters and I were still in grammar school, he came up with the book, 30 Days to a More Powerful Vocabulary – and for 30 days he drove us crazy with big words – words we never heard of before. His favorite word was, “sesquipedalian” – as in, “By now you’ve noticed I’ve become a sesquipedalian?”
And when we asked him what does that word mean, he would say, “A person who uses big words.”
Sesquipedalian – literally means “a foot and a half long”. Notice the “ped” root in the word.
Some speakers are name droppers and some speakers are sesquipedalians.
Those of you who are writers know that one of Ernest Hemingway’s gifts to American writing was short sentences and short words.
Fill in the blank. Come up with just one word for the end of this sentence: “Lent: 40 days to a more powerful _________?”
Would that word be “me” or “Christian” or “father” or “mother” or “brother” or “sister” or “spouse” or “worker” or “friend” or “neighbor” or “driver”?
TODAY’S READINGS
The readings at Mass during Lent can be very helpful.
Today’s first reading from Genesis has God establishing a covenant with Noah and his children after 40 days and 40 nights of rain and destruction. The sign of the covenant is the rainbow.
Have you ever experienced a 40 day or a 400 day or 4,000 day time of destruction in your life – a time when cancer claimed a family member – or a divorce wiped you out – or the loss of a job – or someone in the family messed up totally – and the problem goes on and on and on?
You were flooded with pain and hurt and anger and emptiness – and then one day the sun shone – or a bird chirped at the right moment – or you were at the beach or a mountain – or out fishing – and the light in the morning or the evening was unique – or the night sky was just right – or you saw a rainbow as Noah and his family saw in today’s first reading and you felt the call for a new beginning.
That’s some of what today’s first reading is getting at.
Today’s second reading is a very strange text. Depending on the translation from the Greek – readers get different takes on the text. Some thought Peter was voicing Jesus’ mission to not only reach out to the living – but also to the dead – as we say in the Apostles Creed – the old translation being, “He descended into hell” now the translation is, “He descended to the dead.”
Whatever…. We believe that Jesus is Savior and Redeemer of all!
Jesus comes to us when we feel dead or we’ve been to hell and we want to come back. Jesus comes through all barriers and walls and says to us what he said to the disciples filled with fear when they locked themselves up in the Upper Room, “Peace!”
Today’s gospel has Mark’s two verse description of what happened to Jesus during those 40 days, “The Spirit drove Jesus out into the desert, and he remained in the desert for forty days tempted by Satan. He was among wild beasts, and the angels ministered to him.”
Matthew and Luke will take that text and develop a rich theology and imagery of the 3 temptations of Jesus in the desert.
Then Jesus came out of that desert with a vision and a message: to proclaim the Gospel of God: “This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the gospel.”
HIDING OUT IN THE 40 DAYS
Most of us can’t take 40 days and find a desert to hide out in. We have to work and do our everyday family stuff.
But we can buy a $2.95 cent 9 1/2 inch X 6 inch spiral note book or create a new folder on our computer and start jotting down life’s big questions and then write down our answers, our wonderings, our further questions, as well as other people’s observations to life’s big questions.
There are no stupid questions – only stupid answers.
Today’s gospel talks about Jesus in the desert for 40 days.
A word that might jump out is the word “tempted”.
What are my temptations? In Matthew and Luke there are 3 – and preachers have a time trying to clarify them. Maybe Mark by being open ended challenges us to come up with our big 3 or our big 13 or just one temptation.
The 7 capital sins could help: gluttony, greed, lust, laziness, anger, envy, and pride. If you’re a computer buff, use Google to clarify these sins and where they hit you.
What is my predominant fault? What is my Achilles heel? What is my weak spot? What is my nemesis? There’s a word for a more powerful vocabulary. “Nemesis: the Greek goddess that inflicts retribution or vengeance on what rivals or opposes us.” What is my downfall every time? How do my mistakes and bad decisions come back at me a dozenfold?
Lent is a good time to reflect, figure, clarify.
The Gospel talks about wild beasts. Please, no cuffed comments or elbowing the person next to you on the old retreat discussion question: “If I were an animal, what animal would I be?” The group also makes us an animal. A bull, a bear, a snake, a bird, an elephant, a puppy, a poodle, a monkey, a gorilla, a parrot, what have you?
The gospel talks about Satan and Angels.
Who are our angels - those who have given us challenges to new paths - challenges - to new ways of seeing - new ways of being - new ways of doing life?
What about devils or The Devil?
Do I believe in Satan – translation, “The Adversary!”?
What / who / how is the devil?
Eric Hoffer defines the devil as, “Anything that dehumanizes.”
There is a Dutch saying, “When the devil gets into the church, he seats himself at the altar.”
There is a saying that appears in French, German, Spanish, Dutch, “The devil lurks (or sits) behind the cross.”
Those are interesting and scary comments. I assume that the Devil hangs around churchy stuff. After all here he is in today’s gospel with Jesus. Is this what Daniel Defoe was implying when he wrote, “Wherever God erects a house of prayer, / The Devil always builds a chapel there; / And ‘twill be found, upon examination, / The latter has the largest congregation.”? [The True-Born Englishman (1701)]
But beware: the scriptures imply he wanders around the world sometimes like a roaring lion – sometimes as a sneaky snake.
There is an old saying, “The devil is not always at one door.”
There is a German saying, “Once invited into the house, you’ll never be rid of the devil.”
Read C.S. Lewis classic, The Screwtape Letters – and he will get you in touch with the devil and how the devil tempts and operates.
Speaking of Postwar Germany, Helmut Thielicke said, “There is a dark, mysterious, spellbinding figure at work. Behind the temptations stands the tempter, behind the lie stands the liar, behind all the dead and bloodshed stands the 'murderer from the beginning.'”
You might have seen or read Elie Wiesel’s comments the other day about how his foundation lost a lot money in the Madoff scam – and he blurted out in anger how evil Madoff was. Or you could read Elie’s Wiesel’s story Night or about his experience in the concentration camp horror – and realize people do evil things.
CONCLUSION
Each day we all have to wrestle with good and evil – to lie or not to lie – to be attentive or to be lazy – to give of ourselves or to be self-centered or selfish – at home or at work.
Lent is the time to face this serious stuff – and to ask, “How am I doing with patience or generosity or laughing or singing or being creative or hard working or giving good example?”
Lent is the time to go to our inner room – and check out what it looks like. Is it empty? Is it a disaster area? Is it a chapel? Is it beautiful? Are we at home with ourselves?
Imagine the example we would give each other if a kid saw mom or dad sitting in a quiet place in the basement or upper room – reading a spiritual reading book or the scriptures or writing down some good journal stuff – or at times kids seeing both mom and dad praying or reading scriptures or a spiritual reading book together?
People are in book clubs. Others say, “I have no time for that.” What a book club that would be – mom and dad – husband and wife – doing a book together. Kids – the couple themselves - would reap big time dividends down the time line of their lives. Amen.
[Top Photo from 5000 Color Photos - Delux Edition]
