Sermon Cloud

On Friday of this past week, we welcomed the Ark of the New Covenant here in the parish.  It’s actually quite fitting that this visit should coincide with the beginning of the Lenten period because this 40-day period of preparation for Easter is a time for all Christians to examine our lives through the eyes of faith, to admit our shortcomings and to strengthen the bonds that unite us with our God and with all those who are his children.

The bible tells us that covenants have been made between God and his people on many occasions.  The first such agreement was reached in the Garden of Eden.  Within the first few lines of the Old Testament, we already begin to see that God loves us so much that he wants to give us everything that will make us happy.  The creation account in Genesis 2 (Gen 2: 7-25), which we heard in the first reading today, tells us that God took great pains to create us in his image, and gave us everything that we could possibly want.  There was only one stipulation, ‘… of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat …’ (Gen 2:17).  Have you ever noticed how human beings have an inordinate desire to do the things we are told we should not do?

It’s not long before the man and woman give way to temptation (Gen 3:1-7) and thus begins the story of humanity.  Luckily for us, that’s not where the story ends.  God does not leave us alone to struggle in the world.  In fact his love for us is so great that he sent Jesus, his own son to show us the way to live according to his original plan (Rom 5:17-19).

In his public life, Jesus taught many lessons by speaking with friends and strangers alike, either one-on-one or in groups.  More importantly though, he also modeled for us the way we should live.  Jesus never denied the fact that life can be difficult and complicated at times, but he showed us that if we remain focused on God, everything we do or say can be a reflection of divine love and life within us.

Outward appearances, the way we interact with others, our choices in life and many other aspects which mould and determine our personalities begin with the inward self.  Each of us strives to be at peace with ourselves, but this is often a life-long journey of learning how to accept ourselves, rejoicing in the strengths and working to overcome the weaknesses.  When we are at peace with ourselves, when we like the person we have become, it shows, but that’s just the thing: we are always becoming the person we want to be.

There is always a part of us that is tempted by hunger (Mt 4:2-3): hunger for acceptance, hunger for prestige, hunger for objects and items.  In reality, behind many of these desires is a deep-seated hunger for love and Jesus came to show us that the Father is the ultimate source of this love.  If we realized the depth of His love, we could do without all but the most necessary of material things.

We have been created in God’s image, but sometimes we can think that we ourselves are God (Mt 4:5-6), that we have somehow been given the right to expect that the world owes us something.  What will it take for us to truly understand that we’re all in this together, that there truly is no competition and that the secret to life, love and happiness is giving of ourselves?

At times, we are also tempted by wealth and independence (Mt 4:8-9).  Many first world countries, including our own are truly blessed by the riches we enjoy, but such riches can also blind us to the truth that all earthly possessions, including the food we eat, the trees and minerals which are the basis of our livelihood, and the people who are our brothers and sisters in faith are all gifts from God.

The pilgrimage of the Ark of the New Covenant is meant to prepare us for the International Eucharistic Congress.  Its visits in schools, churches, cities, towns and villages call us all to realize that the Eucharist is God’s gift for the life of the world, meant to return us to the original state of grace that was present in the Garden of Eden, and to unite us in faith with one another and with God.