March 9, 2025; Deuteronomy 26:4-10; First Sunday of Lent
Today’s first reading provides us with a three-step pattern for the season of Lent. This reading from Deuteronomy describes a ritual that is to take place in the Jerusalem Temple. Every Israelite is to bring a portion of the harvest and place it before the altar of God in thanksgiving. This mirrors our common practice of grace before meals, giving thanks to God for the food that God has given to us. So the first step of this pattern is thanksgiving.
But then Deuteronomy adds something more. It asks the Israelites to remember their weakness, to remember that the origins of their family, their father Abraham, was described as “a wandering Aramean.” This could also be translated as “a refugee Aramean,” or “a fugitive Aramean.” The point is that as they give thanks they are to remember that their family began as refugees—moving from one place to the next, without home or power. So the second step of the pattern is in giving thanks, the Israelites were asked to remember their weakness, their need.
The third step of this pattern is not found in our Lectionary reading, but you can find it in your bibles in the verse that comes right after it. After giving thanks and remembering, the Israelites were asked to act—to share a meal from their bounty with those in need, with refugees and strangers. So the three-step pattern of Deuteronomy is thanksgiving, remembering weakness, and action.
This is a useful pattern for Lent. We must always begin with thanksgiving. Thanking God is more important than any penitential practice we adopt for Lent. We have received so much. We have family, food, health care, security. Therefore, we should begin every day of Lent with thanks to God for all that God has given us. But in that thanksgiving, we should also remember our weakness. We should recall times when we were in need. It might have been a time of sickness, or a time of rejection, a time when we had to struggle with anxiety or fear. Remembering that weakness will deepen our thanksgiving, because it will drive home that the blessings of our lives need not be ours. And remembering our weakness will also motivate us to action.
There are many actions we can undertake during Lent. Lent is a time of service. And if we remember our own need, we will be more inclined to serve others, to reach out to family members or friends who are and struggling, to console someone who is grieving, to give our time and our presence to someone who needs it. Lent is a time of reconciliation. We will be more able to offer forgiveness to someone who has hurt us if we remember our own failures and weaknesses, if we remember how much we need to be forgiven. Lent is a time to work for what is just. All of us know that the immigration system in this country is broken. Lent is a time when we can influence our government officials to fix it. Both the United States and Mexican bishops have called for the reform of our immigration system. They look for a system that is generous, just, and humane. We can dedicate our energies to achieving that goal in this season of Lent. And we will be more inclined to take up that action when we remember that members of our own families suffered hardships to immigrate to this country and to give us the life that we now so deeply enjoy.
The pattern for Lent is thanksgiving, remembering weakness, and action. And on this first Sunday of Lent, I encourage you to make that pattern your own.