1st Sunday of Lent
In our first reading, God's word takes us back to the story of Noah. Because of all the evil and wickedness in the world, God decided to start over. But God preserved Noah and his family from the great flood. Noah was the only righteous and worthy person to be saved.
While everyone was going about their daily routine, Noah was commissioned by God to build a large ark that would house his family and all the species of animals. Noah may have been ridiculed, poke fun of, and regarded as near insane for building a large Ark. But the Ark preserved his family and the species of animals.
After that, God made a promise to Noah and his descendants to never again repeat the great flood. God placed his bow (rainbow) in the cloud as a sign of the covenant with Noah and descendants. In other words, God is putting down his bow, God is setting down his bow. This is a sign of peace.
2nd Reading
God's word through St Peter makes reference back to Noah's ark and the great flood. St Peter (first Pope) says that the "flood prefigures Baptism which saves you now." In other words, when we are Baptized in Christ (in the Holy Trinity) we get to be figuratively inside the Ark. Not in Noah's Ark per se, but in a place of refuge. Sort of like Noah and his family. We are safely inside the Ark. Baptism is the ticket to board the Ark.
St Peter, inspired by the Spirit said this: "Baptism 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." In other words, St Peter is essentially saying: 'Christ is the new Noah'. We know that Christ was a carpenter in Nazareth. Instead of building tables, chairs and other household items, he builds a New Ark. This New Ark will be a place of refuge for all. That Ark is Holy Mother Church. Christ gave his life to build this Ark. He sweat like drops of blood for this new Ark. He poured forth his blood to build this new Ark. And He is present within this New Ark (his Body and Blood). He is at the helm of this Ark guiding it to heaven.
Looking back to the time of Romanesque and Gothic period, Architects wanted to design and build taller, bigger and impressive Cathedrals to magnify the New Ark that Christ built. In order to do so, it required "Flying Buttresses". The flying buttresses served as a bridge to distribute the weight, load and pressure of the entire building. Visibly, the "flying buttresses" kind of looks like the oars of a boat.
During those periods, it was a considered a serious offense to God for building short, flat, unimpressive Cathedrals. Because of these "flying buttresses", Architects were able to build taller Cathedrals, to honor the New Ark of the Covenant. So that when a person looks at the Cathedral or enters inside, they know of the grandeur of God, and the New Ark that houses the new covenant.
So because of Baptism, we are in this New Ark of the Covenant. What are we suppose to do in this New Ark? God's word through His beloved Son says: repent and believe in the Gospel. The message of repentance is at the heart of this holy season of Lent. Last Ash Wednesday, we had ashes placed on our foreheads and heard God's words: "Repent and believe in the Gospel." In other words, why remain far from our loving God. Lent is a time to remain close to God, to turn to God, to hear God's voice through the Sacraments, prayers and devotions, to return to God, to be conscious of God's ever-presence. Being in the New Ark of the Covenant requires continued conversion. It means not to let our guard down when the spiritual enemy is attacking. It means to stay alert, keep vigil. And Like St Peter says: to appeal to God for a clear conscience.
If only we could access NASA satellite cameras and can see the world from space, we would be able to see the New Ark of Christ. We would see St Peter's Basilica and St John Lateran, with the Holy Father at the helm. We can see our own Archdiocese, and St James Cathedral with Archbishop Peter at the helm. And we could see all the local parishes like this one, with the Pastor at the helm. We could see houses that are smaller boats going in the same direction as their local parish.
And all the ships are going in one direction. Sometimes ships may steer off course and the Archbishop has to tell them: Hey, Get back on course! Some ships sink because of one reason or another. Many ships are stable or thriving, and going in the same direction as their pastor, Archbishop and the Holy Father.
If we look closely at the individual ships, we could see staff, council members, parishioners, all putting forth effort to keep the ship going. We could also see many people trying to board the ships (RCIA). And unfortunately some who want to jump ship for one reason or another.
Today, God's word calls to mind the blessing we have, which is that Baptism allows us to be in the New Ark of the Covenant. It's always better to be inside the Ark. Happy Lent and God bless you!
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