Lent 1, Year B, 26 February, 2012 Bilingue

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“Después [del bautismo], el Espíritu llevó a Jesús al desierto.  Allí estuvo cuarenta días, viviendo entre las fieras y siendo puesto a prueba por Satanás; y los ángeles le servían (Marcos 1:12-13).”
“And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beast; and the angels waited on him (Mark 1:12-13).”
So Jesus is driven out, right after this amazing baptism by John the Baptist.  Justo después de su bautismo tan impresionante, Jesús esta llevado al desierto por el Espíritu.  Have you ever felt the Spirit driving you to spend time by yourself?  ¿Acaso alguno de Ustedes han sentido algo semejante?
Right now we have Lent to try to figure out our own version of these 40 desert days of Jesus—Sabemos que Jesús estaba en el desierto para cuarenta días.  Pero San Marcos no nos dice que pasa.  San Mateo y San Lucas ayudan un poco.  Matthew and Luke add some spicy details about Jesus’ temptations, but basically, one way to see the whole point of Lent is to see that we are somehow trying to figure out, in our own imperfect way, each year, what this was all about.  Lo que Jesús hacia en sus días en el desierto—encontrar esto es una manera de entrar en la estación de Cuaresma.
And the inward journeying that we do during Lent sets us up for living the Christian life in general.  También podemos estar edificados en nuestra oración y estudio durante la Cuaresma a ser mejores cristianos también.[1]
If you think about it, just as Jesus is strengthened for ministry by going to the desert, you too can treat Lent as a time to be on retreat a bit, to recharge your Christian life.  Jesús necesita este tiempo antes de hacer su ministerio publico, y cada Cuaresma nosotros también tenemos una oportunidad de tener un tiempo de reflexión que nos puede fortalecer para nuestros ministerios.
Now Jesus doesn’t come up with this concept on his own, but his journey to the desert mirrors the journeys many prophets made,[2] as well as the desert memories of the Exodus of his people.[3]  
In the same way, the Jordan where Jesus was baptized echoes down the banks of history.[4]  Es significativo que Jesús repite su tradición en estar bautizado en el rio Jordán y en ir al desierto para luchar con tentación. 
Now, Jesus was baptized in community as well as needing to spend time alone wrestling with temptation the desert.  And we, too, need an experience in Lent in community as well as to do interior work.  Durante Cuaresma es necesario trabajar en comunidad y tener momentos espirituales individuamente.
As a community we, too, go back, not to ancient history today, but in fact to our more recent history, to see what God has been doing with us.  We go back in order to go forward.  Volvemos al pasado para poder ir adelante a nuestro futuro.  Un futuro a que andaremos Juntos como Hermanos.  Once we have talked today, All Saints can walk forward as one family in Christ, together as brothers and sisters.  Porque tener un momento para meditar en quienes somos y hemos sido, podremos caminar adelante con ojos abiertos.  
We can, with eyes wide open to the past, walk toward the future and embrace all of its joy and possibility.  
As individuals, there are so many ways to journey inward this Lent.  Hay muchísimas posibilidades para hacer el viaje interior esta Cuaresma.  Posiblemente Ud. va a sentir un llamado a participar en la clase de Cuaresma sobre peregrinaje.  Maybe you will be drawn to the literal pilgrimage across the desert of California to join us in prayer at the border during Holy Week.  Posiblemente ¿Dios le llama a algo diferente?  Maybe God’s calling you to something else?
But this time is a special time, es un tiempo especial, cuando el Dios quien le AMA esta llamando a su corazón y le esta diciendo, “¡ven, ven!”  The God who LOVES you is calling you to come!   
Come to the desert, remember the waters of your baptism, Love me again as you did once as a child.  Recuerda la fe profunda que Ud. en su niñez.  This call may be to repentance.  Maybe you will choose to use my office hours this Lent for the Rite of Reconciliation.  Si necesita hacer confesión, Ud. Puede hacerla durante mis horas de oficina esta Cuaresma.  
O posiblemente están llamados a algo más liviano.  A lighter Lenten observance is participation in Lent Madness, a fun online game where in you learn about and vote for your favorite saints as they duke it out these forty days.[5]  Si es profundo o cómico, seco como el desierto o tan liquido como la fuente bautismal, whether the call is dry as a desert or wet as the splash of baptismal waters, God’s Spirit calls you out this Lent.  Will you listen?    ¿Van a escuchar?

[1] Marilyn McCord Adams, “Theological Perspective: Mark 1:9-15,” FOTW Year B, Vol. 2.    
[2] David M. Carr, Footnotes from the Oxford Annotated Bible.
[3] Stanley P. Saunders, “Exegetical Perspective: Mark 1:9-15,” FOTW Year B, Vol. 2.
[4] Ibid.

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