Today brings us the first Sunday of Lent as we are still in the beginning days of accompanying Jesus on his journey to the cross during this holy season. While we hear the story of the fall of man as Adam and Eve choose to sin in disobedience to God in our first reading from Genesis, St Paul writes to the Christian community in Rome that in spite of our sins, we are assured of the saving power of salvation in the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. St Paul states that through the disobedience of one man, Adam, all humanity was tainted by original sin, and through the obedience of one man, our Lord Jesus Christ, humanity is made righteous.
The obedience that St Paul addresses is Christ’s acceptance of death on the cross on our behalf is reflected in the triumph of Jesus over the temptations he receives from the Devil in Matthew’s Gospel. Christ had just been baptized by the Jordan River by John the Baptist. The Holy Spirit descended upon him in the image of a dove to reveal Christ’s identity to the world. Both Jesus and the Devil cite Scripture to one another, showing that they both acknowledge and understand the power that God has in the world. But they use Scripture in different ways. The words that the Devil speaks are focused on the self, while Jesus’ words emphasizes God and his love.
This Lent, I was often use image of pilgrimage as we journey with Jesus during this holy season. The documents of the Second Vatican Council, emphasize that we Catholics are pilgrims on a journey through life, that the Church itself is a pilgrimage church. As a Church and as individuals, we are going to have moments of renewal and transformation on our journey of faith. We are going to have moments of suffering and struggle as well.
On Ash Wednesday, I emphasized how we who are on this pilgrimage journey must keep our spiritual destination in focus during Lent. We must be intentional about our Lenten pilgrimage of accompanying Jesus on his journey to the cross.
But even with our Lenten destination in focus, as we journey with Jesus through his passion, his death on the cross, and his resurrection, we still must ask ourselves on our pilgrimage journey: how do we get there? What disposition must we have? The journey of a pilgrim involves prayer, sacrifice, and charity. This is how one travels as a pilgrim. The prime goal of a pilgrimage is not comfort or convenience, but rather to have an open mind and a generous heart in whatever encounters God has in store for us.
As Lenten pilgrims, we cannot foresee all the roadblocks we will encounter on our journey. However, we can control how we travel along this journey. We all place certain expectations on our Lenten practices. Do I journey with an open mind? With a generous heart? What happens if my journey is interrupted or taken for a detour or a roadblock? The Lenten journey is a pilgrimage to the Cross, but how will I get there?
We have our physical journey through life. We have our spiritual journey as well. May we make this Lenten spiritual journey truly fruitful and meaningful. May our actions, movements, feelings, and dispositions on our physical journey illuminate our Lenten journey with Jesus.
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