From the Pulpit Homily for the First Sunday of Lent, Year A, (9th March, 2014) on the Gospel Gen 2:7-9.3:1-7; Ps 50:3-6.12-14.17 (R. v.3) Rom 5:12-19; Matt 4:1-11. Topic: Your Desire, Your Temptation In today’s gospel reading, we see the temptation of Jesus. It is important to note that the tempter did not tempt Jesus immediately he went into the wilderness despite the fact that the bible tells us that Jesus was led into the wilderness for that purpose (to be tempted), cf. v. 1. It was as if the devil (tempter) waited for the appropriate time. This did not happen until Jesus had fasted forty days and forty nights and was very hungry. Anyone who was hungry ought to desire food. The tempter cashed in on this natural desire (condition): “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread” (v.3). When Jesus refuted the devil with a scriptural passage, the devil even backed his temptation up with scriptural passages: “… for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone’” (v. 6, cf. Ps 91:11-12). In Saint Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians he wrote: “… even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light” (2Cor 11:14). It is very important to note that the ability to quote the scripture is not and will never be a sign of being from God. Looking at all the temptations of Jesus at the face level it will be difficult if not impossible for one to see anything evil in them just like the suggestion he made to Adam and Eve in the first reading: “4… You will not die; 5for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God ….” (Gen 3:4-5). The first reading went further: “… the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate” (Gen 3:6). The serpent is very crafty (cf. Gen 3:1); as a result, will not allow anyone see the consequences of what he asks one to do because he knows that if he allows anyone see this it will be very difficult if not impossible for him to get anybody. Our watchword as Christians should be ‘Do not negotiate with the devil for anything; he has nothing good for anybody’. There is need for every Christian to fortify him/herself always but in a special way during this season through fasting and prayer. Following Jesus our Teacher and our Lesson, everyone is called to prayer and fasting. Fasting does not simply imply abstaining from food likewise prayer is much more than vocal prayers many know about. They do not exclude these but they mean much more than these. As we struggle to abstain from food it is also more important to abstain from every form of sin. Again, as we say our vocal prayers we should know that prayer is communication. No healthy communication is one-way. God expects us also to listen to him. In the words of St John Chrysostom “Prayer is a precious way of communicating with God, it gladdens the soul and gives repose to its afflictions. You should not think of prayer as being a matter of words. It is a desire for God, and indescribable devotion ….” (The Divine Office, II, 1997, pp. 21-22). The period of Lent is a special period for us. It is time to harken to the word of God through the apostle James: “7Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 10Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you” (Jas 4:7-8, 10). As we noted in the homily for Ash Wednesday, Lenten period is a period of learning (school) for everybody especially Christians. Just as in the Holy Eucharist where Jesus is both the priest and the sacrifice, in this school of Lent Jesus is also both the Teacher and the Lesson. He is the one who teaches us and it is about himself that he teaches, cf. Heb 8:10-11; 1Jn 2:27. And no one can graduate from this school. It is only at the end of one’s pilgrim life here on earth that one seats for the exam that will either prove that one did well in this school or not. No matter how long you have been taught by Jesus in this school he always has something new for each and every one. My dear one in the Lord, “Our pilgrim life here on earth cannot be without temptation for it is through temptation that we make progress and it is only by being tempted that we come to know ourselves. We cannot win our crown unless we overcame, and we cannot overcame unless we enter the contest and there is no contest unless we have an enemy and temptations he brings” (St. Augustine on the Psalms. In The Divine Office, II, p. 95). Take time to fast and pray with your desires. They will help you know how the tempter will cash in on them to tempt you. It is not bad for one to desire for anything good but let our desire/s not lead us into sin. Bible Readings: 2Tim 4:1-8; Jas 1:12-16; 4:1-10; 1Pt 5:1-11; Eph 4:25-5:2; 6:10-20; 1Jn 2:29-3:10. Silent Prayer: Do you know that it is in your desire/s that the tempter’s snare mostly lies? cf. Jas 1:14 Let us pray: Lord God, being fully aware that our life here on earth cannot be without temptation through which we are to know ourselves better and to make progress, help us to triumph in every temptation of this life so as to win the unfading crown of glory through Christ our Lord – Amen (cf. 1Pt 5:4).
Posted on: Sat, 08 Mar 2014 02:26:15 +0000
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