FIRST SUNDAY OF LENT

Deuteronomy 26:4-10; Romans 10:8-13; Luke 4:1-13

 

    We are pilgrims on this Earth. During the season of Lent, the church invites us to examine our lives. The purpose of Lent is to provide that purification by weaning human persons from sin and selfishness through self-denial and prayer, by creating in them the desire to do God’s will and to make his kingdom alive by making it first come into their hearts. 

 The real aim of Lent above all else is to prepare Christians for the celebration of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  The better the preparation for this day, the more effective the celebration will be. One can effectively relive the mystery only with a purified mind and heart. The Church invites all to repent from evil ways and return to the Lord who is eagerly waiting for each one to come to him.

 In the First Reading Moses speaks to the Israelites at the end of their forty years wandering in the desert and he prepares them for their new life in the Promised Land. He gives them an extended lesson on survival in the Promised Land. He was aware that he himself would not cross the river Jordan and without him, they may even succumb to temptations that may be harmful to their spiritual welfare.

 He reminds them that in the Promised Land they have to rely on God as much as they did when they were in the desert. As a leader Moses gives them a preview of the wonderful experiences they would have in the Promised Land. The forty years of wandering would now come to an end. They would not eat Manna; rather they will have an abundance of food, the produce of the land flowing with milk and honey.

At the harvest time, he called on them to bring the first fruits and offer them to God. 

 The Second Reading tells us that those who believe in him will have no cause for shame, for the person in faith it makes no difference whether he is a Jew or a Greek.

    He will support us and when we ask for his help he will not refuse. Paul tells them that salvation is offered to all Jews and the Greeks included. 

    He calls on them to live a life of faith.  Faith in Jesus and calling on his name in prayer leads all to salvation.

 In the Gospel, we see, the Temptations of Jesus in the desert that reveal to us the way in which the Son of God as the Messiah responded to the deceitful methods of the evil one. What Satan proposes to Jesus is contrary to the will of the father and indicates the way in which human beings are generally tempted with. 

 The purpose of the temptations indicates that all those who are called by God, be it an individual or a nation must be tempted in the desert.  This was true of the Israelites and is true of Jesus the messiah who spent forty days in the desert. Here Jesus shows how a person can conquer the evil one and remain triumphant and be at the service of God. In the early centuries, this was a lesson to the catechumens to prepare themselves after the person of Jesus who himself was tempted.

 Jesus resisted the three temptations that were placed before Him.  His temptations make it clear that Jesus was fully human as well as divine.  The episode also tells us that what happened to Jesus will happen to us and we too can be tempted at any time. Through Jesus and with Him, we are reminded that we too can be triumphant in our battle against evil.

 In fact, all the three temptations of Jesus are all rolled into one: to be unfaithful to the mission of the Father. The Father had given him the mission to redeem the world through his life, suffering, and death on the cross. Satan now shows him the easy way to fulfill his mission. He need not go the hard way but take the easy path. Jesus refuses to succumb to the temptations and takes the path of God. 

    The last sentence of today’s Gospel tells us: “The devil left him to return at the appointed time.” The battle with evil was not over for Jesus. It will occur again and again at various stages in his life, right up to and especially at those last hours in the garden and on the Cross.

 For us, too, the battle against evil never stops. The selfishness, the greed, the anger and hostility, the jealousy and resentment, above all the desire are our temptations. Our only success in life can be what we achieve in building a society that is more loving and just, based on the message of Jesus, a message of truth and integrity, of love and compassion, of freedom and peace.

 Satan through these temptations tries to divert Jesus from his proper mission, which is that of leading all souls to The Kingdom of God. Jesus is the Servant of God par excellence: he is at the service of the Father who wants to save all men.

 Thus the tempter leaves him for a while and he will come again and again to tempt him during his life.  This in fact is the human situation. We too are constantly led to temptation or negative thoughts. During this season of LENT – lets Leave Every Negative Thought, Yes, we can, with the grace of God.

 

    - @Avinash Bitra OFM Cap.