First Sunday of Lent
I want to begin my homily by saying that the first reading for the very first Sunday of Lent is rather intriguing. It describes the establishment of the ritual for the feast of the “Firstfruits”. How do we interpret it, especially since the gospel reading recounts Jesus’ forty days in the desert. What has Firstfruits got to do with Jesus in the desert or for that matter, Lent?
A cursory reading may not make the connection obvious. But the connection lies in this – that just as the forty days of Lent is connected to Jesus’ forty days in the desert, Jesus’ responses to the temptations in the desert captures the idea behind the establishment of the feast of the Firstfruits. In fact, we can connect Firstfruits to all of Lent. Today, I want to explore these readings and draw their practical implications for Lent.
Feast of the Firstfruits - A Celebration of Selflessness
The Firstfruits ritual prescribed that every family offer the first fruits of the harvest to the priest at the Temple. In fact, no further crops were to be harvested until the firstfruits were offered. The human instinct is contrary to it, is it not? Our instinct is to keep the first and best for ourselves and give the second best or leftovers to others.
In this context, the feast of the Firstfruits accomplished two things. First, it reminded the Hebrew people that it not their own accomplishment by which they became a nation and find themselves in the Promised Land but that was God’s mercy, love, and faithfulness that accomplished it. Secondly, it kept them from deceiving themselves. At the very beginning of their sojourn from Egypt, the people had installed a golden calf and worshipped it. People had offered their homage to a god of their own making. The feast of the Firstfruits kept the people kept people in the truth.
Here is precisely where the first reading connects with the temptation of Jesus in the desert. Every temptation that came Jesus’ way was a temptation to uproot God from God’s legitimate place. Each temptation was a temptation to replace God with the self, or power and glory. Jesus simply would not succumb. Jesus refused to displace God in his life, but rather, gave God what was God’s due. This is the precise purpose of offering the first fruits.
And here in lies the practical implication for us. A friend of mine became wealthy after some of his properties began to give him good returns. Gradually he stopped going to church, praying, and even believing in God. In a conversation later, he told e that God has nothing to do with his newfound success. He said that God did not help him when things were bad. It was he himself who worked hard. It was he who took risks and used his intelligence. He owes nothing to God or the Church.
Of course, my friend does not describe us, but unless we are careful, egoism, pride, lack of dependence on God, lack of gratefulness to God can all sneak into our spiritual life. Here is the question that I place before us for reflection. If we had to offer our firstfruits, what would it be?
A Festival with Social Implications
There is yet another dimension to the Feast of the Firstfruits – the firstfruits themselves. As you and I know, God does not need anything. God did not consume any of the firstfruits. What happened to all the firstfruits offered to God? Well, some of it went to the temple priests, some of it went towards the temple upkeep, but much of it was given to the poor. And this is very significant, isn’t it?
I find this idea of the firstfruits used for the use of the temple and the poor very relevant these days. The firstfruits, the best of each crop was used to elevate worship and to take care of the poor. I wonder what it meant for people to see the best of their harvest being distributed to the poor.
The lesson is simple. The Hebrew people were once poor. Now they must take care of the poor and the aliens in their midst. Not just at the feast of the Firstfruits, but Israel had laws to protect the poor, the orphans, the widow, and the foreigners in their midst. We don’t know what happened the rest of the year, but at least once a year, the best was offered for the temple and the poor. And that this was institutionalized in the religious faith of the people is significant. It says a lot about God and about the kind of religion and society that God wanted Israel to build.
In the desert, Jesus offered not just his best but his whole self for human redemption. He made a conscious choice against a self-focused spirituality. He gave his best to God and to our cause.
Today’s scripture invites us to evaluate the connection between the blessings we have and how we use it. Are we generous enough to give our best for the good of others? What is our attitude toward the poor and the aliens? How much of our attitude is guided by God will rather than our own false assumptions?
Prayer, Fasting, Almsgiving - Christian Firstfruits?
There are three acts – prayer, fasting, and almsgiving that guide our Lenten practices. I would like to propose them as the Christian firstfruits. All of them are acts that draw our attention from ourselves and put God and others centerstage. In fact, Jesus makes a very special appeal that we do not perform these actions for self-praise and glory. Rather, prayer, fasting, and almsgiving are meant to give glory to God and to help others.
Once again, Jesus’ prayer and fasting in the desert was not for his glory or to draw attention to himself. Rather, it led him away from himself and offer his life as a ransom for human redemption.
This Lent, what is our prayer like? If we are fasting and doing acts of penance, is it helping other people? If we are giving alms, is it directed toward the poor, the hungry, and the homeless or are we doing for our own benefit?
Very soon we will bring bread and wine and offer it to God. May they represent the best we have to offer to God and to the poor. Amen.
- Fr. Satish Joseph