LENT, TIME OF DESERT, TIME OF TEMPTATIONS, TIME OF FAITH.

March 6, 2022
First Sunday of Lent – C.

READINGS: Dt 26:4-10; Ps 91:1-2, 10-11, 12-13, 14-15; Rom10:8-13; Lk 4:1-13.

“Filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the desert for forty days, to be tempted by the devil…” (Luke 4:1)

An Arabic proverb says: “In the desert of life the wise person travels by caravan, while the fool prefers to travel alone.” And a Portuguese proverb adds: “Good habits result from resisting temptation.”

In everyone's life, there are times when we pass through some kind of desert. During those times, we face all kinds of tribulations, trials, and temptations. Those moments, however, should be the greatest opportunity to confess our faith in God and stand firmly rooted in him. Temptations, when approached with firm faith in God turn into a blessing. For, a trial that does not kill you forms and strengthens you.

In human life, evil will always be near setting traps and any kinds of trials. The way we react and face them is what proves our relationship with the Lord. The Catechism of the Catholic Church says it rightly: “This dramatic situation of "the whole world [which] is in the power of the evil one" makes man's life a battle: The whole of man's history has been the story of dour combat with the powers of evil, stretching, so our Lord tells us, from the very dawn of history until the last day. Finding himself in the midst of the battlefield man has to struggle to do what is right, and it is at a  great cost to himself, and aided by God's grace, that he succeeds in achieving his own inner integrity.” CCC 409.

On this first Sunday of Lent, we are given to see and meditate on different confessions of faith: Moses and the people of Israel in the desert, Paul about our Christian confession of faith in Jesus Christ, and the Lord Jesus himself in the desert when confronted to temptations. Faith is one of the central elements of our Lenten journey and the summit of the mystery this Lent prepares us for. So, with faith, we see every happening in God's plan and with the eyes of God. Through the confession of faith of the chosen people, we are given a positive reading of the history of Israel, the descending of Jacob’s children in Egypt, their hardships and afflictions as slaves, the wonderful way the Lord took them out from the Egyptian bondage, brought them in the desert, the trials, but also the promise. And even though they have not yet reached the Land, their confession of faith expression their expectations about that Promised Land. For, faith, says the letter to the Hebrews, "is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see." They have the assurance that the land will be given them, and with hope, they already savor its blessings: a "land flowing with milk and honey." Their journey was not without trial, but faith sustained them amidst the hardships.

Paul, in the second reading, speaks of our faith as Christians. It is all about confessing by our lips and believing through our hearts that Jesus is the Lord, raised from the dead. And that faith, Paul tells us, will not put us to shame. No matter the tribulations and trials, the Lord will be with us.

In the Gospel, we see the Lord himself confronted with trials and temptations. He is in a battle against the devil to affirm his faithfulness to the will of his Father. Jesus is presented as one of us, subject to temptations and spiritual warfare, and so, he becomes one with us when we go through our daily deserts of temptations. The temptations of the Lord are the prototype of our own temptations. It is all about a challenge to remain faithful. And as we can see, temptations are always with what one needs or seeks. The devil will never tempt you with what is not important for you. He knows your needs; he knows your thirst. And that is what he tries to give you in a cheap way. The three temptations of Jesus could be summarized in three ‘P’: Pleasure, Possession, Power. These are what every one of us thirsts for. Pleasure at any cost, possession at any cost, power at any cost, even at the cost of our lives or the life of others.

Let’s reflect on those three elements of temptation. The first, “command this stone to become bread.” Luke mentioned that Jesus was in a barren wasteland, and not only so, but he also spent forty days without food nor drink. His present and imminent need is food, pleasure. And that is what the devil suggested him to satisfy and at an easy cost, change the stones. The triumph of the Lord on this first test is the first lesson for us. Pleasure is necessary, but we do not live only to satisfy our pleasures. “One does not live on bread alone.” Life goes beyond the needs of the mouth, of the belly, or of the sex.

The second test, another battlefield, possession or pride of life. “I shall give to you all this power and glory; for it has been handed over to me…” We all seek possession and the fame that comes with it. Each one of us thirsts for glory. But regrettably, the way to achieve that glory oftentimes passes through a denial of God and a worshiping of idols. Many people, today, have lost their freedom and sold their dignity at the altar of material possession and riches. The Lord resisting the devil in this second battle tells us that God alone deserves our worship, not the material or any other idol: “You shall worship the Lord, your God, and him alone shall you serve.” If your seeking for material possession has to make of you an idolater, think twice.

And lastly, the third test, power. Everyone wants to be powerful; everyone wants to show that he is potent. And the devil plays with us on that ground too. “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here…” If you are powerful, jump and make a show of your supremacy. Power is what is killing the world today. People in a position of authority want their power to be noticed. Some others are fighting, even at the expense of innocents’ life to impose their power. These days, the world is facing, impotent, the rise of violence and war in Ukraine. The main issue behind this is, ‘who will control the world? NATO and Europe or Russia and Allies?” Power, geo-politic, dominion… And the poor are dying, paying with their lives the thirst of greedy leaders. The Lord Jesus answers: “You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.”

The Lord Jesus is able to withstand and defeat the devil in all these temptations or battles because of his faith. As Christians, we are warned today, against the danger or the error of life without the cross. Trials will always be there. Battles will always be at our doors. We however must stand firm and rooted in our faith. The Lord is someone we can admire. He is not remote or away from us. He rather sympathizes with us in our weaknesses and battles, because he himself was the subject of those battles. He knows how easy it could be for us to be swept away by temptations. So, in faith, let us turn to him and ask his help when the thirst for pleasure, possession, and power tries to take us away from God and from the right way. In faith, may we travel with God in the deserts of our lives.


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