Today

Homily for Saturday of the First Week in Lent

No  matter how many times I read the passage that we hear from the book of Deuteronomy, there is one word that sticks out and keeps on niggling at my mind. That word is “today.” Perhaps that is because I have a weakness of talking about the past. I have to keep on reminding myself that there is nothing I can do about the past. It simply is. The truth is, there is also nothing I can do about the future. We all have to admit that the future is not promised to us. What is really so important is the present, the now, today.

There is one historical fact about this reading that we have to keep in mind. The Israelites have been living in the desert for forty years. Now they are getting ready to enter the Promised Land. Most of them had not yet been born when God struck an agreement with the children of Israel at Mount Sinai. I’m sure their parents had told them about it and had taught them about God’s commands, statutes, and decrees. Moses, however, knew that he was not going to be entering the Promised Land with them. This was his last chance to remind them of what God was expecting of them. Preeminent in this sermon that he is delivering to them is the notion that God’s covenant has to be renewed each and every day.

People who are addicted to drugs or alcohol are constantly being reminded that the path to sobriety is simply getting through today. Sobriety is not about their past history. It is also not about tomorrow. All they have to do is get through this day without succumbing to their addiction. What is true of the addict is also true of us. Our relationship with God must be renewed each and every day. Conversion and repentance are not a one and done event. Each day that we come before the Lord must be a day in which we try once again to keep the Lord’s commandments, statutes, and decrees.

One of those commandments is that we are to love our neighbor as ourself. Jesus suggest that this is also something in which we need to renew our effort each and every day. By our joyful witness and proclaiming the Gospel, we can help grow the Kingdom of God.