Surviving Forty Days

Feb. 17: First Sunday of Lent

Whenever I have to type the word “forty,” and inevitably try to remember whether or not there’s supposed to be a “u,” I think of this scene from The Simpsons—

Forty is, of course, a common number in the Bible. It basically means “a very long time.” But more than that, it represents thoroughness. If you’ve been tested for forty days, the results can be reasonably trusted.

Reading 1

Gn 9:8-15

God said to Noah and to his sons with him: "See, I am now establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you and with every living creature that was with you: all the birds, and the various tame and wild animals that were with you and came out of the ark. I will establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all bodily creatures be destroyed by the waters of a flood; there shall not be another flood to devastate the earth."

God added: "This is the sign that I am giving for all ages to come, of the covenant between me and you and every living creature with you: I set my bow in the clouds to serve as a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. When I bring clouds over the earth, and the bow appears in the clouds, I will recall the covenant I have made between me and you and all living beings, so that the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all mortal beings."

Noah and his family survived a forty day flood. They trusted God would save them from the waters in the end, which He did. But we shouldn’t think that God rewarded them with the rainbow. A covenant is, in some ways, a one-way contract. God makes a promise that He won’t break, no matter what we do.

And it’s not like God thinks we won’t sin anymore. Just a few verses later, Noah gets drunk and naked, then blames his sons for witnessing his behavior. The reason God won’t flood the world anymore isn’t because we don’t deserve it, but because He is merciful despite our sins.

It’s gratitude for that mercy that leads many people to still celebrate the rainbow to this day.

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 25:4-5, 6-7, 8-9.

R. Your ways, O Lord, are love and truth to those who keep your covenant.
Your ways, O LORD, make known to me;
teach me your paths,
Guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my savior.
R. Your ways, O Lord, are love and truth to those who keep your covenant.
Remember that your compassion, O LORD,
and your love are from of old.
In your kindness remember me,
because of your goodness, O LORD.
R. Your ways, O Lord, are love and truth to those who keep your covenant.
Good and upright is the LORD,
thus he shows sinners the way.
He guides the humble to justice,
and he teaches the humble his way.
R. Your ways, O Lord, are love and truth to those who keep your covenant.

A psalm of lament, like this one, doesn’t have to be hopeless! No matter how we sin, God promises to show us the way back to Himself. Humility means (at least in part) knowing that we aren’t perfect, and that we still have a lot to learn.

We shouldn’t take pride in our sins, but we also shouldn’t be so ashamed that we can’t bring them to God. Lent is a perfect time to go to confession, if it’s been a while.

Reading 2

1 Pt 3:18-22

Beloved: Christ suffered for sins once, the righteous for the sake of the unrighteous, that he might lead you to God. Put to death in the flesh, he was brought to life in the Spirit. In it he also went to preach to the spirits in prison, who had once been disobedient while God patiently waited in the days of Noah during the building of the ark, in which a few persons, eight in all, were saved through water. This prefigured baptism, which saves you now. It 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.

If you ever wonder about modern theologians reading the Old Testament as prefiguring the New, remember that this kind of analysis dates all the way back to the first century. Peter reads the story of Noah in light of events he personally witnessed just a few years before writing this letter.

Jesus died for us, so we don’t have to die in sin the way antediluvian civilizations did. We still have the option to repent.

Verse Before the Gospel

Mt 4:4b

One does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.

This is what makes fasting possible.

Gospel

Mk 1:12-15

The Spirit drove Jesus out into the desert, and he remained in the desert for forty days, tempted by Satan. He was among wild beasts, and the angels ministered to him.

After John had been arrested, Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God: "This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel."

Mark’s version of the Temptation of Christ is much shorter than Matthew’s and Luke’s, which is typical of his Gospel. The only additional detail is the wild beasts. Mark wants to emphasize that Jesus is surrounded by both physical creatures and spiritual ones. Jesus, being fully man, is both, and the implication is that Satan tempts both natures.

I think leaving out the specific temptations actually makes it easier for the reader to identify with Jesus’ situation. We’re all tempted by sin; not many of us are tempted to throw ourselves off the temple or to rule all the kingdoms of the earth. By not stating the exact temptations, we can imagine Jesus resisting the same ones we face every day.

His resistance gives us reason to hope we can, too. But if we fail, we still have other reasons to hope, thanks to His sacrifice for our salvation.