Reflection/Homily: First (1st) Sunday of Lent Year C (February 17 2013)

Reflection/Homily: First (1^st) Sunday of Lent Year C (February 17 2013)

Theme: The Temptations of Jesus

This first Sunday of lent, the gospel reading (Luke 4:1-13) presents us with the temptations of Jesus Christ in the wilderness. The Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness immediately after his baptism for a forty day period of prayer and fasting. Jesus went to prepare for the commencement of his public ministry. As we begin our annual Lenten observance, it is worthwhile to learn from Jesus’ experience that nobody is above temptation and that the closer we are to God, the more we are tempted. From Jesus’ temptations, we realize that almost all our temptations are either to satisfy the desires of our flesh or to acquire material goods or to presume divine favours under the influence of spiritual pride.

The first temptation of Jesus concerns the human appetite and all that the flesh desires. The devil said to him “if you are the son of God, tell this stone to turn into bread”. But Jesus replied “The Scripture says: No one can live on bread alone.” The devil wanted Jesus to use his supernatural power to satisfy the desire of his flesh (hunger). But Jesus conquered this temptation by proving to the devil that “matter” (food) was not the only thing required for man’s survival and that we must not use what we have to get what we want when it pertains to the desires of the flesh.

Today, we are often tempted to use what we have to satisfy the desires of our flesh. That is why some people use their wealth, influence and position to lure young girls and boys into immorality. Others engage in alcoholism and the consumption of hard drugs while others still engage in all sorts of sexual immorality just to satisfy the desires of their flesh. In conquering this temptation, Jesus is teaching us to consider the desires of the spirit as more important than the desires of the flesh. We should always be aware that the devil knows what is pleasing to our appetite and tempts us with that. Therefore, we should be conscious not to give in to lust, gluttony, and inordinate desires of the flesh for these temptations come when our bodies are vulnerable.

Reflection/Homily: Second (2nd) Sunday of Lent Year B (March 4 2012)

Theme:  Faith through Sacrifice gives way to vision at the mountain-top

            As a little boy, when I first heard the passage read in the first reading, the first question that was raised in my mind was whether God could tempt one to sin since Abraham would have sinned if he had sacrificed Isaac. I later grew up to understand this passage better bearing in mind the distinction between temptation and test. The Hebrew word “nacah” is rendered in English as “to test or tempt”. Its Greek equivalent “peirasmos” also means “to test or tempt”. The words “test and tempt” though similar are not exactly the same, the former is positive while the latter is negative. For this reason, exegetes recommend we look into the context to differentiate between the two meanings, bearing in mind that God only tests while Satan tempts. The goal of God’s tests is for us to prove our faith but the devil tempts to destroy our faith. St. James stresses this distinction when he says “consider it a great joy when tests of many kinds come upon you, for you well know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance… (1 v.2-3) and “… God does not tempt anyone to sin” (1 v.13).

            In Genesis 12, God tested Abraham to leave his father’s land for an unknown land. Abraham through his obedience demonstrated that he loved God more than his father’s land. In the first

 reading as we saw today, God tested Abraham again to see how convinced and strong his faith was by