BY Jose “joesum” Sumampong, Jr.
MARCH 6, 2022
1st Sunday OF LENT ©
Deuteronomy 26: 4-11 / Psalm 91: 1-2, 10-15 / Romans 10: 8-13 / Luke 4: 1-13
SAYING “NO” TO TEMPTATIONS
Word: The Gospel according to St. Luke describes a temptation in the desert that leads to grace. 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 4:1-2). We, the citizens of these ultra-modern times, need the discipline of the desert. Christ shows us the way. In the Gospel Jesus left the noise of affluence and experienced the emptiness of the desert to cope with temptation in the raw. Unlike the attitude of the modern age, there is no denial of the reality of sin and temptation here.
Jesus opened himself to the experience of temptation. His vision and determination had been cleansed by his prayer and fasting – the discipline of the desert. He felt the tug of the tempter but he also stood unshaken. He did not deny temptation. He denied the tempter. He never pretended sin as unreal. He denied the triumph of sin.
Satan thought he had an opportunity to exploit the condition of Jesus. Satan proposed that Jesus fully deploy his spiritual power to control things within man’s nature—i.e, food, power, and possessions.
Christ has given us the example of self-discipline in the face of temptation and sin. How? In the Gospel, we see him facing temptation with the power of the Word of God: Jesus said to him in reply, “It is written (cf. Lk 4:4,8.12). He did not argue himself. Instead he used the Word of Scripture and made fidelity to that Word the mark of his mission. He lived by the Word of God.
Obedience to that Word will also take us through trial and temptation with the victory of Christ. Christ offers us the power and grace to undertake our own self-discipline as we find ourselves in the hurly-burly Garden of Eden of our everyday situations. Say yes to self-discipline. Say No to the tempter. Then say Amen to the gracious example and power of the Lord (Lk 4:1).
When the devil had finished every temptation, he departed from him for a time (Lk 4:1).
o0o
Order: Mark Twain once said, “The only thing I have never been able to resist is temptation.” There is one contention which we often times hear that the best way to handle temptation is to give to it. We might have heard someone say: “Laugh sin away!” as if temptation is just an object of humor.
But sin is not a joke. The cruelty that causes child abuse, battered wives, raped women, cheated husband, drugged youngsters, broken homes, traitorous friends, contemptuous bosses, abusive public officials, anomalous transactions, impoverished communities or corrupted societies causes no cheer in the human heart. Who could look at the humiliation and torture of Christ on the Cross and think temptation and sin as something to be merely dismissed as a joke?
To talk about sin is a big taboo in our times. There maybe talks about crime, offense, lapse, misbehavior, misconduct, backsliding and the like but never do we call any of them as sin anymore. Destroy the awareness of sin and there is no need to speak of salvation, for there is nothing to be saved from.
Today’s message from the Gospel of Luke speaks to us of the triumph of Jesus in the desert. Led by the Spirit in the wilderness, the Lord Jesus resisted the three temptations that were placed before Him. Through Jesus and with Him, we are reminded that we too can be triumphant in our battle against evil.
In accordance with the tradition of the Church, during the Lenten Season, we as believers are called to repent of our sins that offend God. We are called to frequently remember the triumph of Jesus. We are called to triumphantly live our faith in Christ as baptized children of God. We are called to go forward and shine by our obedience, our servitude, our charity towards others, through prayers, sacrifices, all in the love of God.
By doing so, we know that in the end, our triumph shall also be glorious through the eternal life that we shall inherit as children of God.
o0o
Realities: Even today Red Indian boys go away into solitude to prepare for manhood. One such youth decided to test himself against a tall mountain. He threw his blanket over his shoulder and set off to climb the peak. When he reached the top, he stood on the rim of the world. His heart swelled with pride. Then he heard a rustle at his feet, and looking down, he saw a rattlesnake. Before he could move, the snake spoke, “I’m starving and freezing to death up here. Put me under your shirt and take me down to the valley.”
“No,” said the youth. “I have been warned about you rattlesnakes. If I pick you up, you will bite me, and your bite will kill me.”
“No way!” said the snake. “I will treat you differently. If you do me this favor, you will be special. I will not harm you.”
The youth resisted for a while, but that was a very persuasive snake with beautiful markings. So he picked up the snake and tucked it under his shirt. When they were back down in the valley, he took the snake out of his shirt and gently laid it on the grass. Then suddenly it coiled, rattled and sprang, biting the boy on the leg. “But you promised,” he cried.
“You knew what I was when you picked me up,” answered the snake as he slithered away.
Today, Red Indians tell that story to their youth who are tempted to take drugs. They repeat to them the rattlesnake’s own words: “You knew what I was when you picked me up.” (Iron Eyes Cody, ACCOUNTABILITY)
o0o
Direction: Jesus, you were not afraid to take time to evaluate your mission. You did not flinch from being tried and tested as you planned for your future. You give us the example of how to become better persons by facing our own moments of truth. May we also do the same. Amen.