HOMILY/REFLECTION FOR 1ST SUNDAY OF LENT (1)

HOMILY/REFLECTION FOR 1ST SUNDAY OF LENT

TOPIC: TEMPTATIONS TO SIN

BY: Fr. Mike Lagrimas

Gospel: Lk 4:1-13

Message # 306: “The Fast which I Ask of You”

a) The Blessed Mother urges us to “walk along the road of penance and of mortification” (letter a). Specificallshe asks for a four-fold fast: bodily fast, spiritual fast, fast of the heart, and fast of the soul.

b) The bodily fast pertains to the mortification of the senses so that we will not fall prey to the seduction of the devil through bodily and material pleasures (letter b). All kinds of impurity and worldly pleasures should be avoided, taking particular care against the dangers of the modern means of social communication – TV, radio, and literature – which spread the venom of impurity, lust, deceit and errors.

c) The spiritual fast refers to fasting from “every form of evil” (letter c). In particular, it is fast of the mind, “preserving it from every error” that is rapidly spreading. In this regard, it is important to reject “all ideologies which are contrary to your faith and which contain subtle and dangerous errors.” The Blessed Mother reminds us to nourish ourselves regularly with the Word of God, by reading, meditating and living the lessons of sacred Scripture, especially the Gospel of Jesus.

d) The fast of the heart is about purifying our hearts of all “inordinate attachments to yourselves, to goods and to creatures” (letter h). These attachments hinder us from coming closer to God and render us blind and deaf to the cries of the poor and the needy. The sins of avarice or greed, selfishness and materialistic behavior are the bitter fruits of these attachments.

e) The fast of the soul is by fleeing far away from all kinds of sins, “even the least” (letter j). In line with this, the Blessed Mother reminds us to revive the practice of daily examination of conscience, and regular and frequent confession. Even the mere occasions of sin must be avoided at all times – “close your eyes and ears to television and to the cinema, in order to preserve your soul in the light of purity and of grace” (letter k).

The Sunday Readings

a) The first reading is the admonition and reminder that Moses gave to the people of Israel about the wonderful acts of God for them. This is an invitation for the people to trust God and be faithful to Him at all times. In response to God’s goodness and generosity, the people are to offer their firstfruits to God: “Therefore I have now brought to you the firstfruits of the products of the soil which you, O Lord, have given me.” This is the basis of the practice of tithing among God’s people.

b) The Responsorial Psalm is a song of trust in God’s powerful protection for His people: “Be with me, Lord, when I am in trouble.”

c) The second reading is about St. Paul’s admonition to the Romans to have full and living faith in the Lord Jesus, the Word of God. It is this faith that leads to salvation, not the reliance in passing earthly things.

d) The Gospel is about the temptation of Jesus by the devil. He prepared himself for his mission by fasting and praying for forty days and nights. This reminds us of the people of Israel’s forty years of wandering in the desert as they prepare and purify themselves before they enter the Promised Land. This is also the basis why we have the forty-day season of Lent, as we prepare and purify ourselves for the joyful celebration of the glorious resurrection of Jesus. The story of the temptation of Jesus is meant not to discourage us but to give us the courage and hope that we will overcome the power of the enemy if only we remain faithful and united with the Lord.

Some Points for Reflection

a) The three temptations of the devil give us a clear picture of what sin is all about. If we look at the temptations, we can see how the devil tried to block and distract Jesus from fulfilling his mission. Sin is basically trusting in oneself rather than in God, and this leads to disobedience. All these temptations were meant to entice Jesus to trust in his own power, and not in God. In that way, he will not be able to accomplish his mission. He was hungry, and the devil tempted Jesus to use his power to turn stones into bread. The devil also tempted him to acquire all the kingdoms of the world, not by the power of God, but by the power of the devil. And finally, he was tempted to use his power over the angels who will catch him when he jumps from the parapet of the Temple. Every time we trust our own power and resources instead of turning to God for help, we easily fall into sin and we disobey God. Then we will not be able to accomplish the mission God has sent us to do.

b) The world is heading towards self-destruction because man wants to control everything independent from God. The global financial crisis is one manifestation of how some people want to control the world economy. Wars are fruits of obsession for worldly power. Cloning and stem cell research are man’s attempt to manipulate human life. Abortion is a mother’s way of controlling the life of an unborn baby, claiming she has the power over the life and death of the baby. Trying to have control over others, instead of just obediently following God, is arrogance and excessive pride of man. This is the reason why so many people are living in sin because they do not trust in God anymore, and they readily disobey Him. They want to act like God. This disobedience will surely lead to our own destruction. This is the whole story of the original sin by Adam and Eve, and we are repeating the same story.

c) The only way to halt this march of humanity to damnation is for all of us to realize the need for God – that trusting in our own power will lead us nowhere; that we have to reject the whole notion of being self-sufficient. This is what Pope Benedict XVI said in his Lenten message a few years back: “Conversion to Christ, believing in the Gospel, ultimately means this: to exit the illusion of self-sufficiency in order to discover and accept one’s own need – the need of others and God, the need of His forgiveness and His friendship.”

d) One beautiful way to combat the temptation of self-sufficiency is the celebration of Holy Mass. During the offertory, the congregation contributes their own offerings. We are not supposed to put in our leftovers, but our first fruits, acknowledging our dependence on God and gratitude towards Him, and exercising our hope in the eternal happiness He has in store for us. This is our way of expressing that everything we have comes from God, and so we offer our gratitude to God for everything. This is what Moses has shown us in the first reading. But something more happens in the Mass.

The priest then receives these offerings and places them near the altar to symbolically include them in the offering of bread and wine on the altar. Afterwards, the priest blesses these offerings and says the Prayer over the Gifts. During the Eucharistic Prayer, Jesus himself becomes present under the appearances of bread and wine. And at the end of the Eucharistic Prayer, the priest lifts up the Body and Blood of Jesus and says the doxology: “Through him, with him, in him…” offering to the Father, not just the first fruits of our own labors, which are contaminated by our selfishness, but the first fruits of the redeemed human race: Jesus himself.
Jesus offered himself perfectly to the Father on the cross, and at Mass, that offering is made present so that we can unite our imperfect offerings with him. That is the power of the Mass. We just do not present to God our humble and imperfect offerings; we also offer to God the unblemished Lamb, the perfect and eternal sacrifice to the Father in atonement for our sins.
Frequent attendance at Mass, especially during this season of Lent will surely help us overcome pride, selfishness and self-sufficiency, and we become more docile and obedient children of God.

e) Another beautiful way to overcome self-sufficiency and of expressing our dependence on God is the practice of Tithing. Tithing is our own modern version of giving “first fruits” to the Lord. It entails giving the first ten percent of our earnings, no matter how small or how large, to God. Every Catholic has the responsibility to help support the Church’s efforts to evangelize the world. This is one reason we have a collection every Sunday. But it is easy to think that this support is just another charitable donation. It is not; it is an act of worship.

The basket we pass around each week is like the basket Moses placed before the Lord. It is meant to be filled with meaningful gifts, gifts that express justice and hope, gifts that express our awareness that all the good things in our lives have come from God, and that the fulfillment we yearn for in life will also come from God. Tithing helps our weekly gifts take on that meaning.
Tithing helps makes sure that we don’t just give our leftovers to God. Tithing reminds us that we are only passing through this earth, and that our true home, and our true happiness, will be found in the Father’s house. Tithing, properly understood in this way, is a beautiful way of expressing our need for God and His abundant graces, mercy and forgiveness. This will surely help us overcome the devil’s temptation of trusting in our own limited power and resources.

f) Knowing the enemy, we have won the battle halfway. That is why this Gospel account is quite useful for us, since it reveals the tactics of the devil. These three temptations represent the three idols, which pull us away from God.

The first is the idol of sensuality – the desire for comfort and pleasure. Turning stones into bread is symbolic of our desire to seek the easy way of pleasure and comfort. Though they are good in themselves, they become dangerous and destructive when we are obsessed with acquiring them. In the end, they do not last long – they leave us dissatisfied and frustrated. Many people fall into this trap because the devil is using the most potent weapon: money. But the Lord said that man does not live on bread (or money) alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.

The second is the idol of power. The devil gave us the formula for the attainment of power: just worship him, not God. But this is a lie. Only God is self-sufficient; the rest of us depend on him. When we reject that dependence, we end up becoming slaves of selfishness and worshippers of the devil. This is what we see in the world nowadays. Many people have sold their souls to the devil just to have political and financial power. They employ all means, immoral and illegal, to hold on to that power. But it does not last long either.

The third is the idol of vanity – the desire for praise and popularity. Jesus was tempted to obtain instant popularity by diving down from the parapet of the Temple. But looking for people’s admiration will lead us nowhere – people’s opinions are fickle; fashions change all the time; whereas God’s friendship is firm and dependable. Risking God’s friendship for the sake of passing popularity is bad business. Thus Jesus says, “You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.”

Closing
Song: “Lord I Offer My Life to You” (or any other offertory song)
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