HOMILY OF THE 1ST SUNDAY IN THE LENT — YEAR C

HOMILY OF THE 1ST SUNDAY IN THE LENT — YEAR C

HOMILY THEME: DRAWING STRENGTH FROM THE DESERT EXPERIENCE

BY: Fr Peter Gabriel Okon

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

The season of Lent is a special moment for spiritual renewal marked by Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving. Prayer and fasting lead us to re-examine our relationship with others. While through Almsgiving we are able to share with others what we have received from God in the spirit of solidarity and communion. What we share with others in love, is actually what we preserve for ourselves, since it is done for God’s sake and He rewards every act of kindness.

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Traditionally, the Gospel for the first Sunday of Lent in the three cycles narrate the temptation of Jesus Christ during His 40 days/night desert experience. Significantly, Lent, a 40 days journey from Ash Wednesday to Easter is likened to Jesus’ 40 days/nights prayers and fasting in the desert before His public ministry. Equally, the desert holds a significant importance for us Christians. We recall that Moses met with God in the desert to prepare for his mission of leading the Israelites out of Egypt (Exo 3:1-12). Elijah fasted for 40 days/nights in the desert to prepare for his prophetic ministry (1Kings 19). John the Baptist lived most of his life in the desert preparing for the great task of introducing the Saviour to humankind (Isaiah 40: 3, John 1:23).

The desert therefore is a place of preparation, of molding, of detachment, testing and transformation. It offers to those drawn to it, a clarity of purpose and the disposition to overcome the tempter and respond effectively to God’s call. The season of Lent every year offers us the opportunity to go through our own desert experience and thus draw the needed strength and grace to overcome the enemy, the devil.

Jesus’ temptation (Luke 4:1-13) is a sure reminder that we too are not immuned from trials and temptations. And His victory is a sure hope that if we rely on God’s grace and are open to the promptings of the Holy Spirit we too will be victorious. Notice how the temptations were packaged in line with human needs and yearnings -food, wealth and power. None of these are evil in themselves, but how we go about acquiring them and satisfying our needs can lead us away from God into the dungeon of sin and death. True satisfaction comes not in granting our needs but in grounding ourselves with the Word of God. As we go through our own desert experience during this Lent, let us lean unto the wisdom of God’s word. Jesus’ response to the devil in the first instance offers us some help here. “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God (cf Deut 8:3, Luke 4:4).

St. Paul in the Second reading Romans 10:8-13, emphasizes two significant aspects of our salvation. Firstly, confessing with our lips that Jesus is Lord, and secondly believing in the heart that God raised Him from the dead. This is to say that, faith in God is not to be found merely in words; but it involves a complete self surrendering to Christ and His Gospel – it must come from the heart and expressed in deeds. Thus, our Lenten observances must lead to true repentance and deepening of our relationship with God and our neighbours.

Beloved in Christ, the Lenten season therefore challenges us as Christians, to set out on our own desert experience after the example of our Lord Jesus Christ. Observe that Jesus was led into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit where he was tempted. Temptation itself is not sin, it becomes one when we fall to it. Hence, temptation really helps us to know better who we are, where we are, vis-a-vis who and where we ought to be and thus make effort to become the best version of ourselves. As always, it is not the fall that counts, but the many times we rise again and again and continue the race. The desert is a place both of testing and transformation. Notice that whenever we set out to be with the Lord in prayers, distractions multiply. However, at every moment we overcome them, we are transformed and strengthened, leading to re-discovery of ourselves and the clarity of our purposes in life.

Our subject of temptation will always remain our needs, desires, passions, whatever we crave for and hardly what we dislike. While we remain on the watch, let us continue to pray for renewed grace to handle daily our temptations and trials without the lost of faith and trust in God.

Lord God, as we journey during this season of Lent, help us to deepen our commitment to You, so that we may not be swept away in the face of trials and temptations but be transformed and renewed by your grace after the pattern of our Saviour Jesus Christ. We ask this through Christ our Lord Amen.

Wishing you a grace-filled Lenten experience and a happy Sunday.

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