by Deacon Russell W. Duggins, St. Joseph Catholic Church, Beeville
I did not grow up in the Catholic Church. Yet, Christmas was one of the Christian Holidays that my family celebrated. We decorated our tree, that dad carefully picked out, with handmade paper chains and other decorations that we were able to form out of everyday things, and then we celebrated our Christmas dinner with my grandpa and grandma. The season was a bustle of activity with everyone looking for the best present to give. The family gathering was an exciting time for me and my brothers and sisters. However, I do not think any of us realized that the “best gift” was given to us many years before.
When we entered the blessed time in the Liturgical Year, the 40 days of Lent, many of us looked forward to the coloring of Easter eggs and preparing for the annual visit of the “Easter Bunny.” It was spring, time of searching for those elusive eggs; the ending of winter and looking toward summer; the time of no school and vacation down on grandpa’s farm; a time for playing in the hay barn and walking over the farm with grandpa; and just spending time on absolutely nothing except being away from school studies and having fun.
Then, as I answered the call of God, I began to realize what this season really is meant to be. It is the season before Easter and is derived from the Latin word for 40, a clue that something else important is happening, something that the Scripture talk about. In the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, the 40 days of Lent recall the 40 days of Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness by the evil one. Yet, when we look at the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ temptations, always read on the first Sunday of Lent, we see that they in turn direct us further. Jesus’ temptations recall the 40 years of Israel's temptation in the wilderness on their journey to the Promised Land.
We find many stories that in some way or another uses the number 40. In Genesis we find it in the story of Noah and the flood, where it rains 40 days and 40 nights. After the sealing of the covenant at Mt. Sinai, Moses stayed with God on the mountain for 40 days and 40 nights. When the prophet Elijah is being pursued by Queen Jezebel, he flees for his life and travels 40 days and nights. The number also appears in the New Testament. Jesus is tempted in the desert for 40 days and nights; his ascension to heaven occurs 40 days after the Resurrection.
Numbers in the Bible are often not meant to be taken literally, but serve as symbolic functions. Our curiosities are aroused especially with a number that recurs so frequently as 40. We wonder, “What would be the symbolic meaning of the number 40?” On one level, it represents a long period of time, but there is more. The longer time has content: it is a time of need, of struggle, of testing. In the Bible, a third level of meaning appears. Forty denotes a period of preparation for some special action of the Lord; it is a time of grace.
A new creation begins, after the flood in Genesis. After Moses converses with God, the covenant is renewed. After Israel's wandering in the wilderness, they entered the Promised Land. After Elijah's journey, God strengthens him to resume his prophetic ministry. After Jesus’ temptation, He begins His public ministry; after the Ascension, we entered the age of the Church. At the end of the season of Lent,
we enter Holy Week and the great feast of Easter.
What makes the past so attractive is precisely the fact that it is past. Nostalgia depends on distance and selective amnesia. When we bring the past into the present it is to help us live into the future. In nostalgia, on the other hand, we want to take the present into the past in order to avoid the future.
“Back to the Bible,” we hear, “back to the Bible.” However, have we ever heard, “Forward to the Bible?” When we go back to the Sacred Scriptures, what we find is a God who is always out ahead of us, calling us into the unknown, into the future. Could this be a temptation we face on the journey away from our true Home?
We have learned of the general aspects of Israel's wilderness experience. And we find that it is a place of covenant, of testing and of presence.
During His temptations in the wilderness, Jesus is tempted to live by a set of values totally different from those of the Father. Will He be the kind of Messiah that God was calling Him to be, or would He go the more culturally acceptable way of power, prestige and spectacle? We know the answer.
So, what does this season of Lent offer us? It offers us a time of covenant, of testing and of presence.
It is a time of covenant; a time to make our preparation for the events of Holy Week. A time to renew our own personal relationship with God and cleanse our hearts, minds and souls of all the things that stand between us and God causing us to lose focus of who He is and who we are.
It is a time of testing; a time when we make choices that can and will affect our future. It’s a time to decide what path we will travel; the path that our chaotic world offers us or the path that our loving Creator, Savior and Comforter offers. It’s a time to either say “yes” or “no” to the call that He offers us to follow Him into the “Promised Land” and eternal life, or follow the “evil one” who offers us nothing but eternal damnation.
It is a time of presence; a time when our Lord visits each one of us and wraps His unconditional love around our unworthy life. It is a time to spend in devotion to the “Passion of Jesus Christ” as we look forward to Holy Week and then the celebration of His resurrection on Easter Sunday. It is a time to enjoy His presence with us and a time to open our life to Him on a daily basis; to allow Him time in each of our days to tell us about Himself and His life; a time for us to tell Him about us, our failures, our successes and our desires knowing that He will give us what is “good” for us and not necessarily what we think is good for us.
Lent is truly a time for each one of us to examine our life and what we have accomplished or not accomplished. Truly a time to get our things in order ready for that day when our Creator will say, “Come home, good and faithful servant.”
So, as we approach this season of Lent, my prayers are that we, each of us, will find time to spend with God, to renew our covenant with Him and review our time when we have been tested. And make necessary adjustments to each.