BEING 'RIGHT' WITH GOD

        In this first Sunday of Lent we are invited to reflect on the theme SIN. In the beginning Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden lived in harmony with God and nature. They did not fear any creature. After the temptation from Satan and the fall that followed, destroyed that unity and harmony. This destruction is restored through Jesus in New Testament. Jesus before beginning His mission was led to the wilderness by the spirit as Adam and Eve were placed in the garden of eden before they started the human mission of procreation. The devil tempted Jesus but He did not allow Himself to be deceived by it. This is in contrast to Adam and Eve who were deceived by the satan. In the wilderness Jesus lived among wild animals. It makes us wonder how the wild animals exist in the wilderness?! The wilderness that mentioned in the gospel is not real desert with sand rather it is a dry and lonely place where people’s movements are rare. Hence, it is common that wild animals and deadly reptiles move around in places that are less frequented by human beings. Here Jesus lived in harmony with wild animals which shows that Jesus is starting a new beginning. After the temptation, the angels served Jesus. If Adam and Eve were to overcome the deception of satan they would have continued in their relationship with God and be fed by angels, but they didn’t. Jesus who makes everything new overcomes the trap of satan and restores the human relationship with God. Jesus creates a harmony between man, God and nature.  

        In the first reading we have the section from Genesis 9 that tell us about the covenant that God makes with Noah and his sons. Through flood God wiped the sinners from the earth. At the same time, through water Noah, his sons, all others and creatures who were in the Ark were saved, they were brought to life, God created new pure generation through them. He makes a covenant with Noah that He will never ever destroy the earth and all that dwell in it with water again. After many centuries, again God wanted to wipe the sinners away from the earth and to create pure generation but he could not send water to cause flood again because of the covenant that He had done with Noah. Thus, He sends his only son Jesus as a living water to wipe the sinners from sins and save the righteous. The baptism in Jesus’ name with water corresponds the water that caused flood in Noah’s time. This time no annihilation of sinners but only restoration. Through the waters of baptism in Jesus we are saved. The second reading taken from 1 Pet 3:18-22, tells that Jesus being put to death and raised by God in Spirit released the spirits which were in prison (hell) waiting to be saved even from Noah’s time. All who were put to death due to sin from the time of creation were saved through Jesus (the living water). The water that Jesus gave contained only life. It saved both righteous and the sinners, where as the water that caused flood in Noah’s time destroyed sinners and preserved only the righteous.

        In the gospel of mark today, after the being tempted by satan, Jesus begins His ministry of proclaiming the Kingdom of God in Galilee. The kingdom that Jesus proclaimed is Himself. He is the Kingdom. All who believe in Him will be wiped from the sins and be restored in their relationship with God. By restoring their relationship with God, they are allowing themselves to be ruled by God. ‘BEING RULED BY GOD’ is the crux of the kingdom of God. The season of lent is the right time to recall our relationship with God. In baptism we professed to be ruled by the commandment of God. Have we kept those commandments in all the circumstances? If not, Jesus is waiting for us to wipe us from all our failings. Let us get wiped by Jesus, the living water and allow ourselves to be ruled by God. When we are with Him, no evil can deceive us. Every step that we take in life must proceed from our relationship with God. The commandments of God are the basic criteria for our decisions. We are also in the year of St. Joseph, who lived in perfect harmony with God and nature. The bible says of him as righteous, a person who lived ‘right’ in the judgment of God. We should be judged only by our Lord. Thus, in all our actions we should never be embarrassed by the judgement that others make of us. Our focus should only be on Jesus and the questions such as, Am I ‘right’ with God? Do I find myself ‘right’ in the eyes of God? Am I doing what is ‘right’ from the judgement of God? As we get inspired by the faithfulness of St. Joseph and our imitation of him in our lives, let God to rule us.