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Reuben's Sermon for The First Sunday of
Lent:
Reuben's Theme: "Be with me, O Lord, in trouble"
(Lent 1) - MORNING MASS
0800hrs. and 0930hrs at Saint George's Parish Church - Cullercoats.
Sunday, 29th. February 2004 Anno Domini.
Morning Mass: Deuteronomy: 26.1-11
Ps: 91. 1-2, 9-16 Romans: 10.8b-13 Luke: 4. 1-13
February 29, 2004 Cycle C Lent 1.
COLLECT
Almighty God, whose Son Jesus Christ fasted
forty days in the wilderness, and was tempted as we are, yet
without sin:
give us grace to discipline ourselves in obedience to your Spirit;
and, as you know our weakness, so may we know your power to save;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns
with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for
ever.
Morning Masses:
FIRST READING (morning Mass)
Deuteronomy 26.1-11
A reading from the book of Deuteronomy.
Moses spoke to the people, saying:
1 When you have
come into the land that the LORD your God is giving you as an
inheritance to possess, and you possess it, and settle in it,
2 you shall take
some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you harvest
from the land that the LORD your God is giving you, and you shall
put it in a basket and go to the place that the LORD your God
will choose as a dwelling for his name.
3 You shall go
to the priest who is in office at that time, and say to him,
'Today I declare to the LORD your God that I have come into the
land that the LORD swore to our ancestors to give us.'
4 When the priest
takes the basket from your hand and sets it down before the altar
of the LORD your God,
5 you shall make
this response before the LORD your God: 'A wandering Aramean
was my ancestor; he went down into Egypt and lived there as an
alien, few in number, and there he became a great nation, mighty
and populous.
6 When the Egyptians
treated us harshly and afflicted us, by imposing hard labour
on us,
7 we cried to the
LORD, the God of our ancestors; the LORD heard our voice and
saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression.
8 The LORD brought
us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with
a terrifying display of power, and with signs and wonders;
9 and he brought
us into this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with
milk and honey.
10 So now I bring
the first of the fruit of the ground that you, O LORD, have given
me.' You shall set it down before the LORD your God and bow down
before the LORD your God.
11 Then you, together
with the Levites and the aliens who reside among you, shall celebrate
with all the bounty that the LORD your God has given to you and
to your house.
Psalm: 91.1-2, 9-16 (morning Mass)
RR Be with
me, O Lord, in trouble.
or
RR You, O Lord, are my refuge [my God in whom
I put my trust].
1 He who dwells
in the shelter of the Most High, abides under the shadow of the
Almighty.
2 He shall say
to the Lord, 'You are my refuge and my stronghold, my God in
whom I put my trust.' RR
9 Because
you have made the Lord your refuge, and the Most High your habitation,
10 There shall
no evil happen to you, neither shall any plague come near your
dwelling. RR
11 For
he shall give his angels charge over you, to keep you in all
your ways.
12 They shall bear
you in their hands, lest you dash your foot against a stone.
RR
13 You
shall tread upon the lion and adder; you shall trample the young
lion and the serpent under your feet.
14 Because he is
bound to me in love, therefore will I deliver him; I will protect
him, because he knows my name. RR
15 He shall
call upon me and I will answer him; I am with him in trouble,
I will rescue him and bring him to honour.
16 With long life
will I satisfy him, and show him my salvation. RR
SECOND READING (morning Mass)
Romans 10.8b-13
A reading from the letter of Paul to the
Romans.
8 What does scripture
say? 'The word is near you, on your lips and in your heart' (that
is, the word of faith that we proclaim);
9 because if you
confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your
heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
10 For one believes
with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the
mouth and so is saved.
11 The scripture
says, 'No one who believes in him will be put to shame.'
12 For there is
no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of
all and is generous to all who call on him.
13 For, 'Everyone
who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.'
GOSPEL (morning Mass)
Luke 4.1-13
Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ
according to Luke.
1 Jesus, full of
the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the
Spirit in the wilderness,
2 where for forty
days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during
those days, and when they were over, he was famished.
3 The devil said
to him, 'If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become
a loaf of bread.'
4 Jesus answered
him, 'It is written, "One does not live by bread alone."'
5 Then the devil
led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the
world.
6 And the devil
said to him, 'To you I will give their glory and all this authority;
for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please.
7 If you, then,
will worship me, it will all be yours.'
8 Jesus answered
him, 'It is written, "Worship the Lord your God, and serve
only him."'
9 Then the devil
took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the
temple, saying to him, 'If you are the Son of God, throw yourself
down from here,
10 for it is written,
"He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you,"
11 and "On
their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash
your foot against a stone."'
12 Jesus answered
him, 'It is said, "Do not put the Lord your God to the test."'
13 When the devil
had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune
time.
POST COMMUNION
Lord God, you have renewed us with the living
bread from heaven;
by it you nourish our faith, increase our hope, and strengthen
our love:
teach us always to hunger for him who is the true and living
bread,
and enable us to live by every word - that proceeds from out
of your mouth;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Reuben's Theme: "Be with me,
O Lord, in trouble."
+ In the
name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.
"Be with me, O Lord, in trouble."
Luke often refers to the power of the Holy Spirit being with
Jesus.
In our reading from Luke's Gospel this morning, Jesus, "full
of the Holy Spirit" is led into the wilderness.
Jesus, in preparation for His ministry on earth, faces temptation
in the wilderness.
The Holy Spirit is with Him.
The first temptation.
'If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a
loaf of bread.'
In the first temptation, Jesus proves that although He is totally
divine, He can take on the wholeness of total humanity.
The Holy Spirit is with Him.
"Be with me, O Lord, in trouble."
The second temptation.
'...all the kingdoms of the world.'... ...'If you, then, will
worship me, it will all be yours.'
In the second temptation, Jesus proves that His mission on earth
is not to be political.
It is a divine mission.
God's mission... ...to us.
The Holy Spirit is with Him.
"Be with me, O Lord, in trouble."
The third temptation.
'If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here,
for it is written, "He will command his angels concerning
you, to protect you," and "On their hands they will
bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone."'
In the third temptation, Jesus rejects the idea that, as He is
the Son of God, He could have some special protection. His total
humanity is as fragile as yours or mine, making Him obedient
to death...
...even death on a cross.
The Holy Spirit is with Him.
"Be with me, O Lord, in trouble."
In the Bible, the wilderness is the classic place of encounter.
Encounter with ourselves and the place where we are put to
the test.
For forty years the Jewish people were searching through
the wilderness.
Searching for the "Promised Land".
That long search brought them closer to God...
...and closer to themselves.
God was with them.
They regularly called on God to be with them...
...and He was.
"Be with me, O Lord, in trouble."
The wilderness is a place of preparation.
Lent is a place of preparation
A time of reflection.
When we can learn more about ourselves and get closer to God.
"Be with me, O Lord, in trouble."
The importance of our closeness to God cannot be underestimated.
We must bring ourselves close to God and God will be with us.
"Be with me, O Lord, in trouble."
To be hide from God is technically impossible.
As it says in one of my favourite psalms - Psalm 139
Where can I go then from your Spirit?*
where can I flee from your presence?
If I climb up to heaven, you are there;*
if I make the grave my bed, you are there also.
If I take the wings of the morning*
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
Even there your hand will lead me*
and your right hand hold me fast.
To turn away from God can be done so easily.
If we don't call on God, regularly - and mean it - we turn away
from God.
Anyone can think themselves religious...
...but our closeness to God is up to us.
"Be with me, O Lord, in trouble."
We have a reading from the history of the Jewish Nation as our
first reading this morning.
It's from the book of Deuteronomy.
The word 'Deuteronomy' comes from two Greek words 'deuteros'
and 'nomos' which literally mean second law.
Written by Moses when the previous generation of Israel had now
died while searching in the wilderness, it was important for
the law to be repeated and developed for the new generation,
still searching, before they entered the 'Promised Land'
So what we have here is part of ancient, traditional 'Jewish
law'.
It is written that after travelling through the wilderness, and
on reaching the 'Promised Land", it is to belong to the
Jewish nation for them to possess and settle in.
But...
Always at the first harvest some of the produce must be taken
to the house of the Lord, temple or synagogue - the place of
worship where the ark is kept and God is perceived to dwell.
After presenting the offering the law says:
You shall set it down before the LORD your God and bow down before
the LORD your God. Then you, together with the Levites and the
aliens who reside among you, shall celebrate with all the bounty
that the LORD your God has given to you and to your house.
Now I chose my words very carefully here:
There are those of us around the world that look on, in horror,
as the nation of Israel (not necessarily the Jewish people) -
the nation of Israel turns from God and oppresses the Palestinian
people, robbing them of their land, their freedom and their lives.
"Be with me, O Lord, in trouble."
And just as bad, the nation of Palestine (not necessarily the
Palestinian people) the nation of Palestine turns from God and
militant Palastinians sacrifice their lives in a futile and horrific
attempt to free themselves from oppression by dying what can
only be described as a most horrific death, as their bodies are
torn apart by an explosion that also kills as many innocent jews
as possible.
What happened to: "Then you, together with the Levites
and the aliens who reside among you, shall celebrate with all
the bounty that the LORD your God has given to you and to your
house"?
"Be with me, O Lord, in trouble."
You see, if we ignore God...
If we turn from God...
We're in deep trouble.
The nations of Israel and Palestine must turn to God.
And we all know the only way to God!
Through Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour.
As Paul reminds us, in our second reading today...
For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; (anyone
really) the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to ALL
who call on him.
For, 'EVERYONE who calls on the name of the Lord shall
be saved.'
In this, our first week in Lent...
Our first week in the wilderness...
Our journey of discovery...
...as we call on God
...as we get closer to God
...and closer to ourselves...
Remember to keep the lines of communication open.
God is with us...
but
...are we with God?
We must call on God every moment we can.
For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same
Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him.
Remember God's generosity...
His gift to the world...
...His only Son.
For, 'Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.'
I can tell you now...
(and I know and totally believe this to be true)
that the day will come...
..when ALL the peoples of the world will turn to God, through
Jesus Christ...
...and on that day all the world will be saved.
May your Lent be devout. - May
your Lent be Holy.
May your Lent be with God.
For, 'Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be
saved.'
+ In
the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,
Amen.
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