LAITY REFLECTIONS FOR THE 1ST SUNDAY OF LENT (YEAR B)
1st Reading: Genesis 9:8-15
RESPONSORIAL PSALM Ps 25:4-5ab.6 and 7bc. 8-9 (R. cf. 10)
2nd Reading: 1 Peter 3:18-22
Gospel Reading: Mark 1:12-15
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| . Michael Umande |
From the Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 25:4 NASB
Make me know Your ways, O LORD; Teach me Your paths.
David expressed his desire for guidance. How do we receive God’s guidance? The first step is to want to be guided and to realize that God’s primary guidance system is in his Word, the Bible. Psalm 119 tells of the endless knowledge found in God’s Word. By reading the Bible and constantly learning from it, we will gain the wisdom to perceive God’s direction in our lives.
Another step is prayer. Prayer does not change God's Ways but conforms our ways to God's Ways. Therefore, by communicating with God through prayer, we come to know his ways and purposes in our life. As we journey through lent, we should intensify our prayer life and study of the word. May we not just bear knowledge of the Word but also be doer and observers of the Word.
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| Rosemary Ibazebo |
MY REFLECTION "O Lord, make me know Your ways.
Teach me your paths.
Guide me in your truth, and teach me;
For You are the God of my salvation"
This is a deep and heartfelt prayer by the psalmist, which resonates with our desire of walking with God.
In our world today where different ideologies, concepts and even sermons are springing up, we need to keep asking God to guide us in His truth, and not the world's truth.
I think this is a prayer we can all key into in this Lenten season and beyond.
Glory to Jesus!
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| Nnanna K. Ogbonna |
MY REFLECTION Jesus charges us to REPENT and BELIEVE in the gospel. The Gospel is the WORD of God, and the WORD is Jesus.
In summary, we should repent and believe in JESUS.
How do we do this?
1). Obedience is the way of showing we believe. So we should be ready to total comply with what Jesus wants from us. This is the only way for us to enjoy the mercy of God. In the first reading, if Noah had not believed and obeyed, he, too, would have been destroyed.
The responsibility psalm reminds us that if we keep believing God by our obedience, we will keep enjoying the mercy and the faithfulness of God.
2) Repentance / turning away from those things that don't please God. This is a way to show we're really ready to follow Christ.
May God give us the grace to be faithful to our baptismal vows and be ever ready to do His will, Amen.
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| Comfort Edewor |
MY REFLECTION On the Gospel.
"The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand".
This statement which continues to resound today has been preached from time immemorial, even during the era of the old prophets. This no doubt is a clarion call to repentance. This call will continue to be relevant till the end of time. Since no one is aware of their own time, this call by our Lord Jesus Christ is therefore a call to daily conversion and perpetual life of holiness. Since we are not holy before God, this call must continue to resound in the mind of every serious Christian who wants to make heaven.
Again reflecting on the temptation of Jesus
I am personally convinced from experience that each time I want to be deliberate in carrying out spiritual exercises to get closer to God, or prepare for an assignment, all manner of temptations, like wild beasts sometimes unbelievable in nature, would overwhelm me but by remaining calm , prayerful and feeding on the word of God, God always takes charge and victory is often assured in each case. I pray for continued growth in perseverance to always allow God to show up for me in all my life's challenges.
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| Philip Okoye |
MY REFLECTIONThe first reading of this first Sunday of Lent, reiterates God's covenant and faithfulness to me in the face of temptations and trials. These stumbling blocks are likely to come as I strive in retracing my steps to Him in repentance and reconciliation.
Here, I am being reassured of God's mercy and compassion, which are the very fruits of His covenant with me, even in the face of sins.
To enjoy this covenant on His mercy and compassion, I have a duty to ensure I do not default on my part this Lenten season.
The Psalmist in the responsorial psalm, re-echoes the need for me to persist in being upright on the path of the Lord. Saying that if and when I do, I will be privileged to enjoy the mercy, compassion and faithfulness of God.
In the second reading, St. Peter reminds me of the covenant God made with Noah of old. On this, it teaches that the suffering, death and resurrection of Christ, comes as the new covenant God has made with me. It reassures me of His compassion, mercy,
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| Stanley Oregie |
MY REFLECTION The First Sunday of Lent is usually set aside for us to reflect on the temptations of Jesus. Mark's Gospel doesn't give us the details of either the baptism or the temptations but tells us that Jesus was first baptised, and then he was tempted. But why would the devil wait till after his baptism before tempting him?
The second reading lay emphasis on the theme of baptism as prefigured by the ark of Noah - the first reading. Yet, what is most outstanding in the first reading is the fact that after the flood, God enters a covenant with Noah. The terms of this covenant were that man was to abstain from flesh with its blood while God will never again destroy man by a flood. This is only a shadow of the new covenant.
All the baptised, by virtue of their baptism have entered into a covenant with the Lord. The Lord saves us through the waters of baptism and receives us into his family - the Church. We are, thus, a covenantal people. We have become members of the family of God. This is what God did.
