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Today, 6th of December, we celebrate
Saint Nicholas
First Reading: Genesis 9:8-15
God said to Noah and to his sons with him:
"See, I am now establishing my covenant with you
and your descendants after you
and with every living creature that was with you:
all the birds, and the various tame and wild animals
that were with you and came out of the ark.
I will establish my covenant with you,
that never again shall all bodily creatures be destroyed
by the waters of a flood;
there shall not be another flood to devastate the earth."
God added:
"This is the sign that I am giving for all ages to come,
of the covenant between me and you
and every living creature with you:
I set my bow in the clouds to serve as a sign
of the covenant between me and the earth.
When I bring clouds over the earth,
and the bow appears in the clouds,
I will recall the covenant I have made
between me and you and all living beings,
so that the waters shall never again become a flood
to destroy all mortal beings."
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 25:4-5, 6-7, 8-9
R./ Your ways, O Lord, are love and truth
to those who keep your covenant.
Your ways, O LORD, make known to me;
teach me your paths,
Guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my savior.
R./ Your ways, O Lord, are love and truth
to those who keep your covenant.
Remember that your compassion, O LORD,
and your love are from of old.
In your kindness remember me,
because of your goodness, O LORD.
R./ Your ways, O Lord, are love and truth
to those who keep your covenant.
Good and upright is the LORD,
thus he shows sinners the way.
He guides the humble to justice,
and he teaches the humble his way.
R./ Your ways, O Lord, are love and truth
to those who keep your covenant.
Second Reading: 1 Peter 3:18-22
Beloved:
Christ suffered for sins once,
the righteous for the sake of the unrighteous,
that he might lead you to God.
Put to death in the flesh,
he was brought to life in the Spirit.
In it he also went to preach to the spirits in prison,
who had once been disobedient
while God patiently waited in the days of Noah
during the building of the ark,
in which a few persons, eight in all,
were saved through water.
This prefigured baptism, which saves you now.
It is not a removal of dirt from the body
but an appeal to God for a clear conscience,
through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
who has gone into heaven
and is at the right hand of God,
with angels, authorities, and powers subject to him.
Gospel Reading: Mk 1:12-15
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.
After John had been arrested,
Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God:
"This is the time of fulfillment.
The kingdom of God is at hand.
Repent, and believe in the gospel."
On the first Sunday of the Lent, we have The forty days of Jesus in the desert and his temptation by Satan.
Jesus is tested in the desert by satan for forty days. Number forty is significant in the Bible. The first references on this number is the Exodus story where the Israelites had travelled for 40 years through the desert before they entered the land that God had promised. During this journey, most of the people who had started this journey from Egypt died on the way. Hence number 40 is a reference to a life-time rather than just the exact number of days or years. For Jesus, his days in the desert is his own days of Exodus. And this exodus will lead him to Calvary and there he would cross over to the Promised Land of the God’s Kingdom. Therefore, as we read and meditate on this gospel passage today, register this message in our hearts: The 40 days are not merely the number 40, rather it refers to the life time of Jesus.
He was tempted by Satan. Satan means everything that obstructs a way, everything that opposes a certain way of life. Satan means the adversary, the one who opposes the way that God wills. Who is this Satan? Satan is indeed the impulse of the flesh that leads to making decisions that oppose the Spirit… that is Satan. It is also the logic of this world that incites you to think of yourself, to disinterest yourself in others, to do what you like. This impulse is ‘satan.’ Satan are also the institutions that promote immoral behaviors, that finance projects contrary to the good of man; Satan are the organizations that spread drugs, pornography; those who oppose the gospel, who obstruct the way of those who want to follow Christ.
Unlike other synoptic gospels, Mark does not specify what are the temptations. His temptations were neither just three in number and nor did they last just for 40 days. These are our misconceptions. His Temptations continued throughout his time in the desert – till his last breath on Cross. “If you are the Son of God, come down from the Cross” – does that ring familiar? If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become bread …”
The incarnation of this Satan is Peter… Jesus said to them: you are Satan because you have followed the reasoning of men and you oppose God. All these satans Jesus encountered in his life, he always defeated them. They are the same satans that we too must face and we must identify them well so as not to be led astray.
Bible Claret
