Father Tom Boyer

Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, retired in Naples, Florida

  • Homily
  • Presentations
  • Retreats
  • About – Resume
  • Contact

The First Sunday In Lent March 9, 2014

Posted by Father Tom Boyer on March 8, 2014
Posted in: Homily.

Genesis 2, 7-9; 3, 1-7 + Psalm 51 + Romans 5, 12-19 + Matthew 4, 1-11

It is all about listening and who you listen to. Paul is the clue to this today as he pulls the Genesis and Matthew texts together speaking to the Romans about obedience. That word itself describes the ability to listen to what is said. I guess the root of the problem is that we don’t like to listen, we just like to talk. Too many of us like the sound of our own voices, which is a dangerous thing for someone to say who is preaching, but it is the truth! If I had not spent more time listening to the Word of God than I am speaking right now, I ought to sit down and be quiet. Listening is the issue which is why I think St John begins his Gospel with that deeply theological reflection on the “Word” made flesh. The Incarnation is about God speaking, and so is creation. Remember how God creates in Genesis. It says: “God said: Let there be Light.” “Let there be dry land.” It’s always about speaking on God’s part, but for anything to happen, there must be listening which is the obedience.

It occurs to me that the trouble for Adam and Eve is rooted in their listening habits. The Genesis story tells us that God was with them and they could walk and talk with God in this “garden.” But instead of a conversation with God, they talk with a serpent and with one another failing to “listen” to God: disobedience! We see the same thing unfolding with the Israelites in the desert. When Moses listens to God, and the People of Israel listen to Moses they make progress. When they listen to each other mumbling and grumbling, when they listen to Aaron (who never listens to God) there is trouble. We all have our own stories about that when it comes to listening to Mom and Dad. I can still hear their voices in my memory. “Listen to me!” was their threatening demand, and when I did, I was safe!

Jesus listens to the Father. He is attentive to the Father’s will. Jesus is “obedient” because he has listened to what God asks of him; and even though it takes him to Jerusalem and to Calvary, it also takes him to his resurrection. In my imagination when the noise of crowd at the crucifixion is gone, and the wailing of the saddened mourners was quieted, Jesus listened once more to his Father who said: “Arise.”

Now the Forty Days we have begun in this season should really be about getting quiet again so that we can hear God’s voice, listen, and be obedient. The story of Jesus in the desert is so much like the story of Adam and Eve who were talking instead of listening; listening to something created instead of the creator. In Matthew’s Gospel today, notice how the Adam and Eve story gets retold with different consequence. Jesus is tempted, but instead of listening to the tempter, Jesus listens and is obedient to the Word of God in the sacred scriptures which he quotes to the tempter. This is a model for these forty days: listening to the Word of God that means being obedient to the God’s Word.

In these times of secularism and individualism, some would prefer to take a narrow understanding of “obedience” suggesting that it is some kind of submissive behavior unworthy of truly independent free people; but that strikes me as coming out of the mind of an adolescent who has not yet gotten the priorities of life together leaving them to rebel and pretend that they are really free to do what they want all the time. Never mind what consequence their decisions in that mind-set might have upon others.

Those who have finally grown up and grown into their faith have their priorities set, and they have decided that God comes first because they have discovered that they cannot serve both God and this world. One or the other always has first place. So, they feel nothing but freedom and peace from becoming obedient, which simply means they listen to God before anyone else. The same kind of freedom and peace that guided the life, the decisions, and the relationships for Jesus of Nazareth is what we seek in this season, and it is what will lead us to one day hear God say: “Arise.”

Posts navigation

← Ash Wednesday March 5, 2014
The Second Sunday in Lent March 16, 2014 →
  • Recent Posts

    • Easter 4
    • Easter 3
    • Easter 2
    • Easter
    • The Friday of the Lord’s Passion
  • Archives

    • May 2025
    • April 2025
    • March 2025
    • February 2025
    • January 2025
    • December 2024
    • November 2024
    • October 2024
    • September 2024
    • August 2024
    • July 2024
    • June 2024
    • May 2024
    • April 2024
    • March 2024
    • February 2024
    • January 2024
    • December 2023
    • November 2023
    • October 2023
    • September 2023
    • August 2023
    • July 2023
    • June 2023
    • May 2023
    • April 2023
    • March 2023
    • February 2023
    • January 2023
    • December 2022
    • November 2022
    • October 2022
    • September 2022
    • August 2022
    • July 2022
    • June 2022
    • May 2022
    • April 2022
    • March 2022
    • February 2022
    • January 2022
    • December 2021
    • November 2021
    • October 2021
    • September 2021
    • August 2021
    • July 2021
    • June 2021
    • May 2021
    • April 2021
    • March 2021
    • February 2021
    • January 2021
    • December 2020
    • November 2020
    • October 2020
    • September 2020
    • August 2020
    • July 2020
    • June 2020
    • May 2020
    • April 2020
    • March 2020
    • February 2020
    • January 2020
    • December 2019
    • November 2019
    • October 2019
    • September 2019
    • August 2019
    • July 2019
    • June 2019
    • May 2019
    • April 2019
    • March 2019
    • February 2019
    • January 2019
    • December 2018
    • November 2018
    • October 2018
    • September 2018
    • August 2018
    • July 2018
    • June 2018
    • May 2018
    • April 2018
    • March 2018
    • February 2018
    • January 2018
    • December 2017
    • November 2017
    • October 2017
    • September 2017
    • August 2017
    • July 2017
    • June 2017
    • May 2017
    • April 2017
    • March 2017
    • February 2017
    • January 2017
    • December 2016
    • November 2016
    • October 2016
    • September 2016
    • August 2016
    • July 2016
    • June 2016
    • May 2016
    • April 2016
    • March 2016
    • February 2016
    • January 2016
    • December 2015
    • November 2015
    • October 2015
    • September 2015
    • August 2015
    • July 2015
    • June 2015
    • May 2015
    • April 2015
    • March 2015
    • February 2015
    • January 2015
    • December 2014
    • November 2014
    • October 2014
    • September 2014
    • August 2014
    • July 2014
    • June 2014
    • May 2014
    • April 2014
    • March 2014
    • February 2014
    • January 2014
    • December 2013
    • November 2013
    • October 2013
    • September 2013
    • August 2013
    • July 2013
    • June 2013
    • May 2013
    • April 2013
    • March 2013
    • February 2013
    • January 2013
    • May 2012
    • April 2012
    • March 2012
    • February 2012
    • January 2012
    • December 2011
    • November 2011
    • March 2011
    • December 2010
    • October 2005
    • March 2003
    • February 2003
    • December 2002
    • November 2002
    • October 2002
    • September 2002
    • August 2002
    • July 2002
    • June 2002
  • Meta

    • Log in
    • Entries feed
    • Comments feed
    • WordPress.org
Proudly powered by WordPress Theme: Parament by Automattic.