My take on the Sermon of February 22, 2015 1st Sunday of Lent; Chair of Saint Peter – Preached by Fr. Ecomog

The first reading of today tells us of the account of the events after the flood. God makes a covenant with Noah. This is the 1st covenant God makes with His people. God tells Noah that He will not destroy the human race again and Jesus comes into the world to fulfill this. But what is it with us in Ghana, especially Accra, with the least showers then we are losing lives. This is due mostly to our own indiscipline and lack of leadership to take the basic decisions we should take. So we go back to the same problem year-in-year-out.

In the 2nd reading we are reminded of our baptism, “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”. This is the means to our salvation that comes through Christ who sits at the right hand side of the Father and is perpetually interceding for you and me.

In the Gospel Mark tells us about the temptation of Christ. St. Mark’s Gospel was written around 70AD and is believed to have been written in Rome. At the time in Rome, persecution of the early Christians was a common thing; they were thrown to wild beast to be martyred. So for these early Christians it will have been encouraging that Jesus dwelt in safety among the wild beast (Mk 1:13).

The Prophet Isaiah announces that in Jesus the wild beast will likewise live in peace with all creation. “Isaiah 11:6 The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. 11:7 And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 11:8 And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ den.

The Lord in His power can shut the jaws of the wild beast to protect His holy ones. Daniel 6:23 Then was the king exceeding glad for him, and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no manner of hurt was found upon him, because he believed in his God. So we as Christians today should pray for God to shut the jaws of ISIS & Boko Haram. So the persecution and slaughter of Christians will stop.

Christ knows that we will be tempted and is the reason that He taught us the prayer that says and lead us not to temptation. Being tempted is not a sin; it is yielding to the temptation that that is a sin. In the synoptic gospels we hear about the 3 temptations of Christ.

Christ in resisting the devil relied on the Word. We need to learn and know the word. With the Spirit that He left being with us and we having Him as the Word. We can resist the tempter and he will flee.

The 1st temptation was about the changing stone to bread. Matthew 4:3 And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. 4:4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. The bread represents all kind of pleasures. Note that no pleasure is permanent. We should not sacrifice earthly pleasure for heavenly treasure. So Christ points us to what should be the priority. Note that Christ does not discount the need for bread, pleasure, the only thing He says is that there is a more important thing the Word, that when we have, can also bring us that bread we should also have.

The second temptation was Mat 4:5 Then the devil taketh Him up into the holy city, and setteth Him on a pinnacle of the temple, 4:6 And saith unto Him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear Thee up, lest at any time thou dash Thy foot against a stone. 4:7 Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. Power – the devil was playing up the power of Christ, for Him to show off. For some of us the small power we have gets into our heads and we show off and do not regard those we are to serve and from whom we derive our power. We treat people as if they do not matter. This does not apply to only political leaders, even in our homes. God made us all equally. So don’t suppress anyone. Are we serving the people we lead? Servant leadership. Lets note that the devil also knows the scriptures, so how do you know the Word, is it just an academic knowledge, do we misapply the Word, do we use it to mislead people and exploit them. If we do so we are the children of the devil. But as children of God as co-heirs with the Son, we have the superior knowledge of the Word to be able to deal with the devil as Christ did.

Third temptation; Mat 4:8 Again, the devil taketh Him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth Him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; 4:9 And saith unto Him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. 4:10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. – Processions, Property and Greed, how are we acquiring these? Corruption and greed, does the end justify the means for us? Christ is telling us that, the worship if God is more important than the whole world. What will it profit our souls if we lose it while acquiring these things that will fail and fade away.

Aristotle in his book, allude to 3 things that deprive us from attaining salvation:

1. Procession,
2. Power
3. Pride

Lets guide against them and lets seek Christ.

Christ as man is not only tempted once but also in the garden of Gestemeny Christ is tempted. Even on the Cross as a man when His strength was failing Him and He felt the separation of His Father from Him, He was tempted again. And He prays Ps 22:1 My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?. But in Luke 23:46 And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, He said, Father, into Thy hands I commend My Spirit: and having said thus, He gave up the ghost

As human beings we also have our Getsemany days, but Christ will not abandon us. People will abandon us, our family will not be there and we will be tempted to give up. But if we go to God in prayer we will be able to resist the devil. Lets pray Luke 23:46, when the times are difficult and He will take what we commend to Him and grant us His favor. In difficulty lets us pray, Ps  91:1 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.  91:2 I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in Him will I trust.  91:3 Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence”. – we will overcome them by the grace.

The devil will come, but when we pray and watch, we will resist the devil. Peter says we should be watch for devil is prowling seeking who to devour.

http://youtu.be/jeeuSoES0kw

Today we celebrate the feast of the Chair of St. Peter has been celebrated in Rome since the fourth century. It is a reminder to us that St. Peter established the Christian community in Rome. The chair is a symbol of authority, since a king rules from his throne. But where did St. Peter’s authority come from?

In the Gospel, we read how Jesus told Peter, “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church” (Mt. 16:18). Jesus knew that when he ascended back to his Father in heaven, his Church on earth would need a leader and guide. Jesus chose Peter to carry out this important mission. Peter would be the chief shepherd of the flock of Jesus. In John’s Gospel, the risen Jesus asks Peter three times, “Do you love me?” And just as the weak Peter denied knowing Jesus three times the night before he died, the Peter strengthened by faith in the resurrection declared three times, “Yes, Lord. You know that I love you!” And three times, Jesus told Peter, “Feed my lambs. Tend my sheep. Feed my sheep.” (See John 21:15-17.)

The bishops of the Church are like shepherds taking care of their flocks. At first, Peter cared for God’s people in Jerusalem and in Antioch, two big cities of the east. Later, he went to preach the Gospel in Rome, the capital of the world. St. Peter was the first bishop of the Church in Rome. After he was martyred, a new bishop was chosen to take his place. From the beginning of the Church until today, there has been an unbroken line of bishops following St. Peter as the bishop of the Church of Rome. And because Jesus put Peter in charge of all his followers, Peter and his successors have also been the leaders of the whole Church throughout the world. The bishop of Rome is called by a special name. We call him the pope.

On this day, we should try to pray more for our Holy Father the pope, who leads and guides the Church with the authority that Jesus gave St. Peter.

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LITURGY OF THE WORD

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 (see 10)

1. 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.

Remember that your compassion, O LORD, and your love are from of old. In your kindness remember me, because of your goodness, O LORD.

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.

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.

VERSE BEFORE THE GOSPEL – Matthew 4:4b

One does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.

GOSPEL – Mark 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.”

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