1ST SUNDAY OF LENT (C)

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.

Lk 4: 1-13

The Holy Spirit came down on Jesus at his baptism. The same Spirit is with him as he begins to carry out his mission.

The desert is not a desert of sand but of rocks. Hence, it can also be called a wilderness. It is believed to be the home of Satan. By going to the wilderness, Jesus begins the war against the devil. The battle between Jesus and the devil takes the form of temptation.

He ate nothing during those days.

As Jesus fasted 40 days in the wilderness, so we also fast during Lent, a period of 40 days.
Somehow fasting disposes us to prayer. It also strengthens us against tempta-tion, probably by strengthening our will power and self-discipline.

The gospel narrates the three temptations of Jesus. All of them are basically the same. The devil was trying to make Jesus choose a way of saving mankind different from the way willed by the Father. The Father wanted Jesus to save mankind through the cross. The devil, on the other hand, was trying to convince Jesus to save mankind through a show of power and glory.

If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.

At his baptism, the Father declared to Jesus: “You are my beloved son.” Now the devil tells Jesus: “If you are the Son of God, then you must possess extra-ordinary powers. Show your power by turning these stones into bread. Then people will follow you.”

The devil was tempting Jesus to not follow the way of the cross but the promise of material things

“I shall give to you all this power and glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I may give it to whomever I wish. All this will be yours, if you worship me.”

The devil was offering political power to Jesus. With political power, Jesus would be a Messiah who would chase away the Romans and restore the kingdom of Israel. But if he were to take the path of political power, Jesus would be the Messiah of the Zealots instead of the Messiah sent by the Father.

“If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written: He will command his angels concerning you, to guard you, and: With their hands they will support you, lest you dash your foot against a stone.”

People will follow you if they are convinced that you are from God. You can do that if you jump from the top of the Temple into the Kidron Valley below and then come out unharmed. But if you end up suffering and dying on the cross, how can people ever be convinced that you come from God?

OVERCOMING TEMPTATION AND SIN

Jesus models for us what Lent should be. It should be a time of spiritual combat against the devil. It should be a time of victory over the devil. During this time we should not fall into sin and instead, overcome temptation.

To win we must have a strategy. We must identify our weak spot and then guard it.

We need to identify our weak spots because that will be the target of the devil. Is my temper my weak spot? Is it my tongue? Perhaps my flesh is weak? Or is it my pride?

Once we identify our weak spot, we have guard it against the attacks of the devil. Guarding our weak spot means being alert. For example, if my weak spot is my temper, then I have to be conscious when I am getting angry. Once I am conscious that I am getting angry, I will be ready to control myself. If I am not conscious of my temper, then I will not be ready to control my anger. Then my anger would get hold of me and I am bound to say or do hurtful things.

But this is not enough. We need reinforcement. Reinforcement means streng-thening our defenses. There are three things we can make use of in order to fortify ourselves against temptation and sin: confession, prayer and sacrifice.

1. Sacraments. They are traditionally called channels of grace. Confession is not only a channel of the grace of forgiveness. It is not only a channel of sanctifying grace. It is also a channel of actual grace, that is, through confession God comes to help me overcome temptation and sin. After a good confession, it really feels a lot easier to be good.

2. Prayer. In time of temptation we should rush to God for help. We should say a little prayer. In the Life of St. Anthony of Egypt we are told that he went as a youth to live the life of a hermit. There the devil assaulted him with all kinds of temptation. But according to his biography he did not fall because of his great faith and constant prayers. But by prayer we are not only referring to prayer at the moment of temptation. We are also talking about the general attitude of prayer which means giving time to get in touch with God throughout the day.

3. Sacrifice or penance. It means giving up something that we like. It means going against our desires. In this way we strengthen the muscles of our will o will power. Giving up smoking during the Lenten season can be tough for most people. If they manage to say ”no” to cigarettes, then they probably will have enough will power to say “no” to the temptations of the devil.

CONCLUSION

Lent is a time of spiritual combat. If we are to defeat the devil, then we need to identify our weak spot and guard it against his attacks. We also need reinforcement: confession, prayer and sacrifice.
We are not alone in this spiritual combat. The Holy Spirit was with Jesus. The Holy Spirit is also with us. He was given to us in Baptism and Confirmation. To-gether we can do it.