Texts taken from the “On Your Word” Daily Missal, January-February 2021.

1st Sunday of Lent (B)
Liturgy of the Hours, Week 1

“Repent and believe in the Gospel” is the appeal that resounds in the Gospel of this first Sunday of Lent. Welcoming this invitation from Jesus means courageously changing our lives and our way of thinking and, consequently, also contributing to changing the world in which we live, because if something changes within us, in the way we relate to others and in our lifestyle, something will also change around us. Let us make the decision that saves; let us not let this opportunity pass us by!

FIRST READING

From the Book of Genesis (Gen 9:8-15)
God said to Noah and to his sons with him: “As for me, I am establishing my covenant with you and with your descendants after you, and with every living creature that is with you: the birds, the livestock, and all the wild animals of the earth with you, all that came out of the ark, every living creature on earth. I am establishing my covenant with you: never again shall every creature be destroyed by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to devastate the earth.” God said: “This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you for all future generations. I have set my bow in the clouds, so that it may be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. When I gather the clouds over the earth and the bow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature among all flesh, and never again shall the waters become a flood to destroy all flesh.”

Commentary on the First Reading

The biblical account of Noah reaffirms God’s determination to save his creatures at all costs: “When the bow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature among all flesh.” God never tires of his creatures, and of human beings in particular. He remains their Creator, even when they have turned away from him out of pride and arrogance, ruining the original plan of goodness. The sign of the rainbow indicates the victory of friendship over evil, of the covenant over sin, and of the sun over deadly darkness. God, his goodness, and his faithfulness to his promises always prevail. The colors of the rainbow proclaim the victory of life over death, and God’s fidelity to his word in contrast with the unfaithfulness of the biblical ancestors. The Father’s faithful journey with the chosen people runs throughout the Old Testament and, despite a thousand difficulties and rebellions, culminates in: “This is the cup of the new and eternal covenant, poured out for you”; once again, he commits himself, this time in an unimaginable way, through the death and resurrection of Jesus: God’s love is truly without end.

SECOND READING

From the First Letter of Saint Peter the Apostle (1 Pt 3:18-22)
Beloved, Christ suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit. In the spirit he went to preach to the imprisoned spirits, who in former times had refused to believe, when God patiently waited in the days of Noah while the ark was being built, in which a few persons, eight in all, were saved through water. This water, prefiguring baptism, now saves you also; it is not the removal of dirt from the body, but an appeal to God for a clear conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. He is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven and receiving sovereignty over angels, Principalities, and Powers.

Commentary on the Second Reading

Saint Peter begins his first letter by reminding us of a profound truth of faith: “Beloved, Christ suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God.” How far we are from thinking this way! How often our exasperation in the face of evil leads us to say things like: “He brought it on himself. Let him deal with it!” Fortunately, this is not the logic God follows toward us. In the fullness of time, when he had tried everything to call people to turn away from evil and follow the path indicated by his prophets, the Father gave us the Son, a rainbow of peace made human, to return to the First Reading, “in every way like us except in sin.” And this was because he wanted to save us from sin and evil, and thus tell us that in his company sin disappears, negative temptation can be overcome, and the devil retreats: Jesus’ death is the greatest act of love that God could conceive. The Son’s death forgives his children their weaknesses and sin, and gives us once again definitive entrance into his Kingdom. If we accept him, he paid the price of our entrance into Paradise simply to enjoy our company and our eternal presence beside him: now that is true love.

GOSPEL OF THE DAY

From the Gospel according to Mark (Mk 1:12-15)
At that time, the Spirit drove Jesus out into the desert, and he remained in the desert for forty days, tempted by Satan. He was among the wild beasts, and the angels ministered to him. After John had been arrested, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God and saying: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is near; repent and believe in the Gospel.”

Commentary on the Gospel of the Day

John the Baptist has been beheaded, a macabre gift from the wicked Herod to his stepdaughter. At the end of his forty days in the desert, Jesus goes to Galilee and begins his proclamation of salvation: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is near; repent and believe in the Gospel.” The first to hurry to hear him are the disciples of John the Baptist, who were present at Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan and heard the voice from heaven say: “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him” (Mk 9:7). Listening to the Lamb of God, listening to the Messiah, clearly indicated by John the Baptist, is both the fulfillment and the beginning of a journey: he is the Savior; he has finally arrived, and we must not wait for another. And Jesus presents his plan: “Repent and believe in the Gospel”; change course, my friends - indeed, make a real U-turn, as they say in driving language; radically change your lifestyle and abandon misleading paths. Change your idolatrous plans, look into the face of the Son who came out of love, and believe what this beloved Son has to offer. Yes, to offer, not to impose. For “hearing” can be imposed - all you have to do is turn up the volume; “listening,” on the other hand, requires us to want it, to decide it in our hearts, to recognize that the good news we have heard causes love for God and our brothers and sisters to be reborn in us.