First Sunday of Lent – Mar 9, 2025
Some biblical scholars describe today’s passage from Deuteronomy as an early historical creed. Standing at the edge of the promised land, Moses teaches the Israelites the rituals that will help them remember how they became God’s people so they would never forget who saved them.
When they give thanks to God, they should recall how they were outsiders enslaved in a foreign land. Having heard their cries, God not only freed them but also blessed them abundantly. Only after having remembered that shared history of suffering and salvation are they to offer themselves in praise and thanksgiving to God.
As we stand with the catechumens on the precipice of their new life in baptism, we look forward to the promise of Easter when together we will remember how God freed us from death and, with Christ, offer our lives back to the Father to whom we all belong.
The essence of this brief account of our Jewish ancestors’ faith is the foundation of what Christians call the kerygma, the proclamation of how God has saved God’s people in Jesus. On this First Sunday of Lent, catechumens all around the world will confess their desire to declare this faith in Jesus as their own, and the church will accept the testimony of those who have accompanied them on this journey that continues to build up God’s people.
As we stand with them on the precipice of their new life in baptism, we look forward to the promise of Easter when together we will remember how God freed us from death and, with Christ, offer our lives back to the Father to whom we all belong.
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