26 February 2023

First Sunday of Lent

Year A

The Father did not like the death of the beloved Son but rather his free decision to die spontaneously for the
salvation of the world.

The Gospel of Matthew can be divided into three large arcades.
In the first, the evangelist wonders about origins of Jesus (cf. Mt 1,1-4,16); in the second he narrates his mission (cf. Mt 4,17-16,2); the third leads into the paschal mystery, that is, into his death and resurrection (cf. Mt 16:21-28:20).
In the first arcade, where the passage of this first Sunday of Lent is inserted, we have a sort of diptych in seven scenes. Mt 1:1-2,3, deals with the generation and infancy of Jesus (four scenes). Mt 3:1-4,16, gives us three big revelations. The first is that at the Jordan, at baptism; the second is in the desert, through temptations; the third is in Galilee, where Jesus begins his public ministry. At the Jordan, Jesus’ “yes” reveals him as Son of God; in the desert, as an obedient Son; in Galilee, as Son who came to proclaim the Kingdom. We will dwell only on an expression of Matthew, where we read that Jesus «was led by the Spirit into the wilderness” (Mt 4:1). The Spirit had descended upon him at the Jordan (cf. Mt 3:16), now he leads him to the desert.

It is clear that there is a connection between the two episodes; at baptism, Jesus is consecrated by the Spirit and the Father reveals him as a beloved Son. In the desert, however, Jesus is called to internalize this event, to make his vocational identity his own. But Matthew, as we have mentioned above, notes that Jesus “was led”. This passive expresses all his docility (he is not forced). In a beautiful homily, Abbot Isaac of Stella wrote: “My Lord Jesus Christ does everything, he is either led, or sent, or called, or commanded; but on his own initiative, he does nothing. Sent, he comes into the world; led, he goes into the desert; called, he rises again
from death. Towards his passion, however, he hurries spontaneously and of his own free will because there he has to say the “yes” of love. It will be precisely this spontaneity that will be pleasing to the Father, as another great man reminds us: Cistercian monk, Saint Bernard: Non mors placuit sed volunta sponte morientis. The Father didn’t like the death of the beloved Son but the free decision of him to die spontaneously (sponte) for the salvation of world.

Commentary by b. Sandro Carotta, osb
Abbazia di Santa Maria – Praglia (Italy)

Translation by f. Mark Hargreaves, Prinknash Abbey

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This

Questo sito utilizza i cookie per fornire la migliore esperienza di navigazione possibile. Non utilizza cookie per finalità commerciali né fornisce a terzi le informazioni sugli utenti. Continuando a utilizzare questo sito senza modificare le impostazioni dei cookie o cliccando su "Accetta" permetti il loro utilizzo. Per saperne di più sui cookie, clicca su maggiori informazioni

Questo sito utilizza i cookie per fornire la migliore esperienza di navigazione possibile. Continuando a utilizzare questo sito senza modificare le impostazioni dei cookie o cliccando su "Accetta" permetti il loro utilizzo.

Chiudi