“I set a bow in the clouds and it shall be a sign of the Covenant between me and the earth” (Genesis 9 v.13)

On Wednesday the sign was the ashes on our foreheads; for the first Sunday of Lent the liturgy opens with the sign of the rainbow. This was the sign for Noah and future generations that God’s love is everlasting and unconditional. We may go far astray, his love stays constant. Just as we know the sun is there however dark the clouds and heavy the rain, so his love is there however darkened our lives may have become. He is faithful to his Covenant.

The rest of today’s liturgy is leading us towards the celebration of God’s new Covenant with us, his new creation. In the Gospel we hear that Jesus, having received affirmation from his Father that he is indeed the Beloved Son, goes into the wilderness to prepare for his mission of bringing all people to faith in that same love. And so we go into the wilderness with him for forty days.

St Benedict says in his Rule that: “A monk’s life should always be Lenten in character.” By this he means that we should always be looking ahead to the great feast of Easter and living lives that prepare for it. That is why it is “the joyful season of Lent”. But it is just as possible to see Lent as a miniature of our Christian lives. There are times when we feel as if we are in the wilderness and struggling with demons within and without ourselves: the demons of doubt, demons of greed, selfishness, pride; or the temptation to do what we want instead of what God wants. Lent can be a time when we face up fairly and squarely to the demons in the way that Jesus did - by responding to temptation with the Word of God.

St. Benedict says that the community should be given a book to read during Lent and it is good to have a special focus for one’s Lectio Divina or prayerful reading. This year we have been given St Paul's letter to the Philippians.

You might like to join us and read the same.

But don’t forget that the Gospel account ends with Jesus being supported by angels, so another thought for this week could be to be more aware of the support and love we receive from those around us - they are signs too that God loves us. And, who knows, you might also see a rainbow!

“I will sing forever of your love, my mouth will proclaim your praise.”

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