A Lectio Divina Approach to the Sunday Liturgy
BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD (Series 7, n. 14)
1st Sunday of Lent, Year B – March 1, 2009
“Saved Through Water”
BIBLE READINGS
Gen 9:8-15 // I Pet 3:18-22 // Mk 1:12-15
(N.B. Series 7 of BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD: A LECTIO DIVINA APPROACH TO THE SUNDAY LITURGY includes a prayerful study of the Sunday liturgy of Year B from the perspective of the Second Reading. For other reflections on the Sunday liturgy of Year B, please go to the PDDM Web Archives: WWW.PDDM.US and open Series 1 & 4.)
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS
Lent is a propitious season for spiritual renewal. It is a “fresh beginning” – a gift of God – like “gentle dew from heaven above”. The Lenten season is a preparation for baptism for catechumens and for the renewal of baptismal vows for the faithful at Easter. As the baptized Christians journey with the catechumens in their preparation for the sacraments of initiation, they too enter more deeply into the meaning of their baptismal consecration and thus assume more readily the challenges of their covenant relationship with God, who loves them beyond telling.
On this First Sunday of Lent, we hear in the Old Testament reading (Gen 9:8-15) of God’s primeval covenant with Noah whom he saved from the flood. The essence of that covenant is God’s benevolent permission to continue the history of the human race – that the whole earth and all its inhabitants will be placed under his saving hand - for he is a God of life and salvation, and not of death and destruction. The beauty of the rainbow reminds us of the tender compassion of a peace-loving God and of the universality of his irrevocable love for all creation.
The Gospel reading (Mk 1:12-15) sketches the beginning of the messianic ministry of Jesus, the new Noah, through whom God would fulfill radically the marvelous plan of salvation and stipulate the definitive and everlasting Covenant with all peoples of the earth, already prefigured in the inchoative covenant with Noah. Tempted for forty days in the wilderness by Satan, he was reinforced by the ministry of angels. Thus Jesus remained faithful to his baptismal consecration as the Servant-Son of God. He single-heartedly committed himself to the proclamation of the Gospel and the realization of the divine plan of salvation. At the end of his public ministry, Jesus would be immersed into the blood bath of his passion and life-giving death. From the aftermath of his paschal sacrifice on the cross, the ultimate rainbow of reconciliation would sweep upon the horizon of history, embracing all humanity and all creation, through time and space.
The Second Reading of this Sunday’s liturgy (I Pet 3:18-22) depicts the paschal mystery of Jesus Christ in a form of creed: “Put to death in the flesh, he was brought to life in the Spirit … he also went to preach to the spirits in prison … he is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities and powers subject to him.” The saving event experienced by Noah and his family, made possible by the ark, through the floodwaters in the primeval days, is a figure of the sacrament of baptism. Through baptism, a sacred action, the Christian believers are immersed efficaciously into the definitive saving event of the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Written late in the first century, probably in the nineties, the First Letter of Peter was addressed to Christians in Asia Minor experiencing persecution and suffering for their faith. Today’s passage (I Pet 3:18-22) exhorts these suffering Christians to consolation, based on the example of Jesus and the effects of baptism. Aelred Rosser comments: “The overall point of this passage is that our experience as Christians parallels Jesus’ experience. Our old selves are put to death when we go down into the waters of baptism and rise to new life – resurrected life. And it is our destiny, too, to be in the presence of God for all eternity. As the risen Christ is victorious over sin and death, so too are we, having been raised from the waters of baptism as completely new beings, fortified against every evil.”
The sacrament of baptism is a sacred and efficacious sign of our rebirth in Jesus Christ. As Christ died in the flesh and was made alive in the Spirit, we – baptized Christians - likewise rise from the wreckage of sins and the floodwaters of death. Just as we have a share in Christ’s many sufferings, so we too share in his new life and glorious destiny in heaven. We are the recipients of God’s compassionate concern and benevolent plan. Every moment of our life as baptized “in Christ and in the Spirit” is under the guidance of the mighty hand of God the Father, who delivers us from every evil.
The following story circulated through the Internet, entitled “The Scars of Life”, gives us an insight into the incredible love of our Father in heaven and the strength of his determination to save us. Read during this Lenten season, we baptized Christians – “saved through water” – appreciate the indomitable love of God. He would always be there for us as our loving Father and liberator through his Son-Servant Jesus Christ. When we are tempted and in danger of perishing, God will not let go of us in our struggle for life.
Some years ago, on a hot summer day in south Florida, a little boy decided to go for a swim in the old swimming hole behind his house. In a hurry to dive into the cool water, he ran out the back door, leaving behind shoes, socks, and shirt as he went. He flew into the water, not realizing that as he swam toward the middle of the lake, an alligator was swimming toward the shore. His father working in the yard saw the two as they got closer and closer together. In utter fear, he ran toward the water, yelling to his son as loudly as he could.
Hearing his voice, the little boy became alarmed and made a U-turn to swim to his father. It was too late. Just as he reached his father, the alligator reached him. From the dock, the father grabbed his little boy by the arms just as the alligator snatched his legs. That began an incredible tug-of-war between the two. The alligator was much stronger than the father, but the father was much too passionate to let go. A farmer happened to drive by, heard his screams, raced from his truck, took aim and shot the alligator.
Remarkably, after weeks and weeks in the hospital, the little boy survived. His legs were extremely scarred by the vicious attack of the animal. And, on his arms, were deep scratches where his father’s fingernails dug into his flesh in his effort to hang on to the son he loved. The newspaper reporter, who interviewed the boy after the trauma, asked if he would show him his scars. The boy lifted his pant legs. And then, with obvious pride, he said to the reporter, “But look at my arms. I have great scars on my arms, too. I have them because my Dad wouldn’t let go.”
You and I can identify with that little boy. We have scars, too. No, not from an alligator, but the scars of a painful past. Some of those scars are unsightly and have caused us deep regret. But, some wounds, my friend, are because God has refused to let go. In the midst of your struggle, He’s been there holding on to you. The Scripture teaches that God loves you. You are a child of God. He wants to protect you and provide for you in every way. But sometimes we foolishly wade into dangerous situations, not knowing what lies ahead. The swimming hole of life is filled with peril – and we forget that the enemy is waiting to attack. That’s when the tug-of-war begins – and if you have the scars of his love on your arms, be very, very grateful. He did not, and will not, ever let you go.
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART
What are your feelings about God stipulating a covenant with Noah when the latter was delivered from the flood? How do you respond to the goodness and loving mercy shown by God?
How does the fidelity of Jesus to his baptismal consecration impact you? What do you do in moments of temptation? Are you willing in this Lenten season to journey with Jesus toward greater openness to God’s grace and deeper baptismal fidelity?
How do you live out your baptismal consecration in the here and now? Do you believe that God’s covenant love will always be there for you to renew and strengthen you? What is your practical stance knowing that as baptized Christians you have been “saved through water”?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD
Leader: Loving Father,
we thank you for your goodness in saving Noah
through the floodwaters of destruction.
We thank you for your Son Jesus Christ, the new Noah,
who saved the world through the wood of the cross.
By his fraternal love,
he has brought us to the Church, the ark of salvation.
Through the sacrament of baptism,
we were immersed into the blood bath
of your Son’s passion and death
and participated in his glorious resurrection.
Help us to be fully aware that we are a redeemed people,
- “saved through water” -
and that we are called to live the “life of Christ in the Spirit”.
In the floodwaters of today’s violence and temptations,
be with us and hold on to us.
Strengthen us with the grace of the Holy Spirit
and comfort us by your ministering angels.
Help us to be faithful to our baptismal consecration.
Make us credible witnesses
of your irrevocable love for us all.
Let the beautiful, fascinating and awesome rainbow of reconciliation
that resulted from Christ’s blood bath on the cross
span the horizon of human history,
through time and space,
now and forever.
Assembly: Amen.
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the week. Please memorize it.
“They were saved through water. This prefigured baptism, which saves you now.” (I Pet 3:20b-21a)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION
ACTION PLAN: Pray that the baptized and the catechumens may understand more intimately the dignity, beauty and challenge of baptismal consecration. In this Lenten season, commit yourself to the salutary spiritual discipline of prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Also make as part of your Lenten spiritual program the seven key-themes of the Church’s social teaching.
ACTION PLAN: To help us appreciate with greater thanksgiving our baptismal consecration and our status as a people “saved through water”, make an effort to spend an hour in Eucharistic Adoration. Visit the PDDM WEB site (www.pddm.us) for the EUCHARISTIC ADORATION THROUGH THE LITURGICAL YEAR: A Weekly Pastoral Tool (Year B, vol. 5, # 14).
Prepared by Sr. Mary Margaret Tapang PDDM
PIAE DISCIPULAE DIVINI MAGISTRI
SISTER DISCIPLES OF THE DIVINE MASTER
60 Sunset Ave., Staten Island, NY 10314
Tel. (718) 494-8597 // (718) 761-2323
Website: WWW.PDDM.US