To watch Fr. Joe’s homily for the First Sunday of Lent: CLICK HERE!
There’s something about a rainbow – when we see a rainbow in the sky it’s something that gets our attention. As we heard in the first reading from Genesis today; after the Great Flood – Noah and the Ark – God promised that he would never flood the world again. This covenant/promise/agreement by God with Noah and with all humanity was meant to last for eternity and the reminder to us of that eternal covenant is the rainbow.
But the Covenant between God and Humanity is not a one sided agreement. The covenant involves two sides/two parties – God being one and God’s people for every generation being the other party.
The point of the Covenant is that God cares about humanity, God cares about you and me and every single person yesterday, today, and tomorrow. God does not wish for his people to perish, but God wishes his people to prosper and to enjoy life eternally.
God’s care for us does not waver. God’s care for us is a reality, even when we turn from God. Truth be known, we probably turn away from God more than we would acknowledge, yet God is there again and again and again; 7×70 times to receive us back.
And as we know throughout salvation history people like the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah, as well as the prophets of today and even the Son of God, Jesus himself, come into our lives and remind us to repent and believe in the Gospel.
Our God, especially through his son Jesus continually reminds us to live good and God-like lives, not just for our own good but also for others as we together grow in love of God and God‘s people.
Just maybe one of the questions this weekend is what is it for our self, for our family, and for our parish that the scriptures, that Jesus our God, is calling us to do, to change, to improve, to believe in, and bring to reality.
As we know by baptism we are the present day disciples of Jesus, and like the disciples of past centuries we may not be perfect, but hopefully, like the Disciples of the past, we keep on trying to be faithful in both word and deed….
May these 40 grace filled days we call Lent, be for us the next steps in living the gifts of faith, hope and love that we continue to be blessed with daily.