HOMILIES

Dear Audience,
For better understanding of the spiritual message behind this homily I kindly remind you to first read and contemplate the biblical texts before reading or listening to my preaching - a human reflection on the Word of God!

First Sunday of Lent (Year A)

Mar 9, 2014

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First Reading

A reading from the Book of Genesis (2:7-9; 3:1-7)

The Lord God formed man out of the clay of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and so man became a living being. Then the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and placed there the man whom he had formed. Out of the ground the Lord God made various trees grow that were delightful to look at and good for food, with the tree of life in the middle of the garden and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the animals that the Lord God had made. The serpent asked the woman, "Did God really tell you not to eat from any of the trees in the garden?" The woman answered the serpent: "We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; it is only about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden that God said, "You shall not eat it or even touch it, lest you die."" But the serpent said to the woman: "You certainly will not die! No, God knows well that the moment you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods who know what is good and what is evil."

The woman saw that the tree was good for food, pleasing to the eyes, and desirable for gaining wisdom. So she took some of its fruit and ate it; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.

Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized that they were naked; So they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.

(P) The word of the Lord.
(R) Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalms of David (51:3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 17)

(R) Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.

Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness. In the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense. Thoroughly wash me from my guilt and from my sin cleanse me. (R)

For I acknowledge my offense, and my sin is before me always. "Against you only have I sinned, and done what is evil in your sight." (R)

A clean heart create for me, O God, and a steadfast spirit renew within me. Cast me not out from your presence, and your Holy Spirit take not from me. (R)

Give me back the joy of your salvation, and a willing spirit sustain in me. O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall proclaim your praise. (R)

Second Reading

A reading from the Letter of Saint Paul to the Romans (5:12-19)

Brothers and sisters: Through one man sin entered the world, and through sin, death, and thus death came to all men, in as much as all sinned - for up to the time of the law, sin was in the world, though sin is not accounted when there is no law. But death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who did not sin after the pattern of the trespass of Adam, who is the type of the one who was to come. But the gift is not like the transgression. For if by the transgression of the one, the many died, how much more did the grace of God and the gracious gift of the one man Jesus Christ overflow for the many. And the gift is not like the result of the one who sinned. For after one sin there was the judgment that brought condemnation; but the gift, after many transgressions, brought acquittal. For if, by the transgression of the one, death came to reign through that one, how much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of justification come to reign in life through the one Jesus Christ. In conclusion, just as through one transgression condemnation came upon all, so, through one righteous act, acquittal and life came to all. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so, through the obedience of the one, the many will be made righteous.

(P) The word of the Lord.
(R) Thanks be to God.

Gospel

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (4:1-11)

At that time Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. He fasted for forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was hungry. The tempter approached and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become loaves of bread." He said in reply, "It is written: One does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God." Then the devil took him to the holy city, and made him stand on the parapet of the temple, and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written: He will command his angels concerning you and with their hands they will support you, lest you dash your foot against a stone." Jesus answered him, "Again it is written, You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test."

Then the devil took him up to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in their magnificence, and he said to him, "All these I shall give to you, if you will prostrate yourself and worship me." At this, Jesus said to him, Get away Satan! It is written: The Lord, your God, shall you worship and him alone shall your serve." Then the devil left him and, behold, angels came and ministered to him.

(P) The Gospel of the Lord.
(R) Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Homily

One day a mother walks into the kitchen and interrupts her 3-year-old son, who is on top of a chair eating cookies. She asks, "My son, what are you doing?" The toddler says, "Oh! Mom, I just climbed up here to smell them but my tooth got caught."

Friends, we all face temptations at some point in time. When we are tempted, do we fight the temptation or give in to it? Today's gospel gives us instructions about how, we, as Christians are supposed to deal with temptations. In the gospel of Matthew, it is written, "Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil." Some of you might be wondering why the Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness to face temptations. It was done so that Jesus, the Son of God, could experience humanity in its weakness to the full. Jesus had to experience what it is like to be tempted and then emerge victorious and perfect.

When we read about the temptations of Jesus, many questions may come to our mind - "what happened" and "how" this could have happened. For instance, do we not wonder why Jesus was out there for forty days rather than seven or ten days, or how it was possible for Jesus to have fasted for forty days and nights, or how he was taken from the wilderness to the top of the temple and then to the mountain? While we do not know exactly how all these happened, we do know and believe that just as Moses fasted for forty days before receiving the Ten Commandments and just as Elijah fasted for forty days while fleeing in fear from the wicked King Jezebel and, just as the Israelites were tested during their forty years in the desert, Jesus also fasted for forty days and was truly tested, as He prepared Himself for the mission that God the Father has sent him to accomplish.

The word "tempt" means to entice someone to do what is wrong or forbidden. But in Greek, which is the language of the New Testament, the word peirazo means "test" which is far more than "tempt" in our sense of the word. So, Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness with the express purpose of being tested and tempted. The devil enticed Jesus to sin. He was tempted in every way like we are, but he didn't sin. Throughout his tests Jesus submitted Himself entirely to the Will of God as revealed in the scriptures.

What were the temptations of Jesus? Jesus was confronted with three temptations. In the first temptation the devil said, "If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become loaves of bread." Jesus had not eaten for forty days. He was tired, hungry and weak. Yes. Jesus was most vulnerable at the time when the devil approached him. This was not just a temptation to satisfy Jesus' own personal hunger, but a distraction to change the path that God had set for Jesus. So Jesus resisted the temptation and quoted the scriptures, Deuteronomy (8:3), in defence, "One does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God." Food for the body is important. We have to eat it to live. Jesus knows that. As a matter of fact, in the Lord's Prayer, Jesus has instructed us to ask God for our daily bread. So, Jesus was not minimizing the importance of bread or food. He was simply saying there is something else just as important, or even more important. And that is the "Word of God". What Jesus was saying was that we need God's word to feed our mind, heart, and spirit.

In the second temptation the devil took Jesus to the highest point of the holy temple and said, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written: He will command his angels to minister to you, and with their hands they will support you, lest you dash your foot against a stone.", Psalm (91:11-12). It is interesting that this time the devil quoted the Scriptures to back up his temptation for Jesus. The devil was cunning. He was suggesting that Jesus would believe what is written in the scriptures and rely on divine power to save Him. After all Jesus is the Son of God. As Son, the least he could expect is safety and protection from God, the Father. Here the temptation for Jesus was not only to use his miraculous powers to attract followers and seek glory for himself but also presume God's goodness. But Jesus resisted once again by quoting the Scriptures, Deuteronomy (6:16), "You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test." In other words, Jesus told the devil that we are not to put God to the test for it is not pleasing to Him.

In the third and last temptation the devil took Jesus to a high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms and said, "All these I shall give to you, if you will prostrate yourself and worship me." Here, Jesus was tempted with the promise of power. He was tempted to take a "short cut" to authority and power. Jesus was just asked to bow to the devil and inherit the powers of all the kingdoms of the world. It was Satan's way of enticing Jesus to avoid Calvary but Jesus understood that without His going to the cross, we would all perish in our sins. So Jesus once again resisted the temptation by quoting the scriptures, "Get away Satan. The Lord, your God, shall you worship and him alone shall you serve." With these words, Jesus never looked back again. The devil offered Jesus food and a life of glory and power but Jesus overcame the temptations.

Friends, we are also tempted in similar ways. We are also more vulnerable when we are alone or when we are hungry or when things do not go well. During times of trials or tests, we are tempted to sacrifice our beliefs and values and take the easy way out and often we choose to do what is forbidden. Perhaps the greatest temptations come when we are successful and seem to have enough possessions.

The temptation of Jesus reminds us not only to beware of the worldly things that can distract us from the path God has set before us but also to use the Word of God to resist temptation. The greatest weapon in our fight against temptation therefore is the Word of God. When we are tempted to do any wrong or anything forbidden by our Christian faith, let us remember to use the words or teachings of the Holy Bible to go against it. It is said that of all the words known to man, there is nothing more powerful than the word of God. For it was by His Word that the world came into existence. Let us remember even Satan tried to use the Word of God to bring down Jesus but He could not. This might explain why the Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness. Jesus gives us all an example on how to overcome temptations with the Word of God. Friends, let us feed on every word of the Holy Bible and use it to resist the devil. Therefore, it is very important that we read the Bible or at least a passage from it every day first before we can teach it or apply it the way that God desires.

(P) Amen.

God Bless You!

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