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Year C: First Sunday of Lent First Reading: Deuteronomy 26:4-10 The First Reading also speaks of wanderers in deserts. The Hebrew people had been liberated from slavery but had then to pass 40 years in the desert. Moses reminds the people of the great things God had done for them - starting with a few wanderers in a desert looking for refuge in Egypt and making from them a great nation. The Egyptians had seen the population growth of the Hebrews as a threat and had responded as states so often do - by oppressing them. Faced with a seemingly all-powerful regime, the plight of the Hebrews must have looked hopeless. Moses speaks of God seeing their misery and hearing their cries for help. - and acting with power to liberate them. He promises them that they will have a land of their own and today, they celebrate the first harvest in the Promised Land. The story of the Exodus has always had a strong pull for people who are oppressed - think of some of the Spirituals “Let My People go...” It reminds us, in our day, that God’s love is tender - but not sugary and sentimental. It is powerful and liberating - and sets people free from the things that oppresses them - whatever it might be and no matter how strong it seems to be.
What does it mean for me?
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