Tuesday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time
(Genesis 5:5-8.7:1-5.10; Mark 8:14-21)
Just as winter rains prepare
for Spring plowing, today’s first reading about Noah us prepares for Lent. The reading mentions the vast extent of human
wickedness. Then it shows God taking
action to curtail it. Likewise, God
gives us the season of Lent to root out the sin that prevents our lives from
growing in love.
We are not too
different from the disciples in today’s gospel.
They think that Jesus is referring to rotten bread when he speaks of the
leaven of Herod and the Pharisees. But Jesus
has something else in mind. The leaven
represents inflated egos which cannot believe in Jesus. They refuse to have faith even after he meets
the needs of thousands of people with his words and blessings. Some of us, at least, doubt that Jesus is
God’s Son even after thousands of saints have testified to him with their
lives.
So we prepare again to
renew our faith during Lent. We will
desist from frivolous activity to concentrate on what the Lord is telling
us. We will do all that he asks of us. We will look forward to a stronger
relationship with the Lord as we celebrate his rising from the dead on Easter.
