(First Sermon)
Genesis 2:7-9, 16-18, 25; 3:1-7 Romans 5:12, 17-19 Matthew 4:1-11
The African lion and the wild cat look so much alike, yet
they are different. An ancient African theory explains it this way. The same
lioness gives birth to numerous cubs some of which are truly lions at heart
and some of which are not. How does the mother lion know which is which?
Months after the birth of the cubs, just before they are weaned, the mother
lion leaves the den and then, in an unsuspecting moment, she jumps into the
den with a thundering roar as if she was an enemy attacking the cubs. Some of
the cubs stand up and fight back the presumed enemy while others flee the den
with their tails between their legs. The cubs that hold their ground to face
the danger prove themselves to be real lions. Those that run away prove to be
mere wild cats, false lions. As testing distinguish true lions from the false
so also does it prove true Christians from false ones.
Under the old covenant God subjected His people Israel to
testing in the desert. They failed that test, which made a new covenant
necessary. In today’s gospel reading we see Jesus the bearer of the new
covenant being subjected to testing again in the desert. He stands his ground
and gives the enemy a good fight, thus showing that he is truly the Son of
God. Immediately before the Temptations of Jesus, Matthew has the story of
the baptism of Jesus in which a heavenly voice declared of him: “This is
my beloved son with whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17). As he leaves
the baptismal waters of Jordan to embark on his public ministry as the
Anointed Son of God he had to go through the test. No child of God can go
without trials, because this is the means to distinguish between a true and a
false child of God. As Ben Sirach advises, “My child, when you come to
serve the Lord, prepare yourself for testing” (Sirach 2:1).
Somehow we can understand, and are more comfortable with,
the idea of testing or trial than with the idea of temptation. The fact,
however, is that testing or trial or temptation are one and the same thing.
In fact they all translate the same Greek word peirasmos. When we see
the situation as coming from God, who would like us to pass the test, we call
it a test or trial. And when we see it as coming from the evil one, who would
like us to fail, we call it temptation. But both trials and temptations are
experienced by us in exactly the same way: as a situation where the principle
of evil (the devil) and the principle of good (the Holy Spirit) in us are
vying for our allegiance and whichever one we vote for wins and becomes the
master of our lives until we can reverse the decision.
Jesus is given three tests. The first one, to turn stones
into bread, has to do with how we use our God-given gifts, talents and
abilities. The temptation is for us to use our gifts to make a living for
ourselves. But Paul tells us that spiritual gift are given to the individual
“for the common good” (1 Corinthians 12:7). Jesus would later on in
his ministry multiply bread to feed others. But he would not do it to feed
himself. Do we see our talents and abilities, our jobs and professions, as a
means to serve others or simply as a means to make a living for ourselves?
In the second test Jesus is tempted to prove that he is
God’s son by jumping from the pinnacle of the Temple and letting the angels
catch him as was promised in the Scripture: “For he will command his
angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. On their hands they will
bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone” (Psalm
91/90:11). Though Jesus fully believes the word of God, he would not put God
to the test. This contrasts sharply with the case of a college student in
Nigeria who claimed that he was born again and to prove it he jumped into the
lion’s cage in the zoo because the Bible promises that nothing can ever harm
God’s children. Maybe his soul is in heaven today but his body provided a
special lunch for the hungry lions that day.
In the third temptation the devil promises Jesus all the
kingdoms of the earth if only Jesus would worship him. Jesus wants the whole
world to acknowledge him, of course, but would he achieve that by worshipping
a false god? Can we pursue our goals by any means whatsoever? Does the end
justify the means? Jesus says no. He remains steadfast and faithful to God, rejecting
the short-cuts offered by the devil. In the end he attains an end more
glorious than that offered by the devil: “All authority in heaven and on
earth has been given to me” (Matthew 28:18).
Today, let us realize that as God’s children we too are
under constant testing. If you do not know it, then try to answer these
questions: Will you believe in God whether or not you get that one thing that
you have always been praying for? Would you still believe that God loves you
if you or your loved one contracted a shameful disease that has no cure, and
God does not give you healing in spite of all your prayers? Do you sometimes
put God to the test and say: “If you do this for me, then I will serve you,
but if not, I will have nothing more to do with you.” Jesus shows us today
that to serve God is to surrender ourselves to Him unconditionally and in all
situations.
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FIRST
SUNDAY OF LENT A
(Second Sermon)
Genesis 2:7-9, 16-18, 25; 3:1-7 Romans 5:12, 17-19 Matthew 4:1-11
A story has it that Cyrus; the founder of the Persian
Empire, once captured a prince and his family. When they were brought before
him, Cyrus asked the captured prince, “What will you give me if I release
you?”
“The half of my wealth,” was his reply.
“And if I release your children?”
“Everything I possess.”
“And if I release your wife?”
“Your Majesty, I will give myself.”
Cyrus was so moved by his devotion that he freed them all. As they returned
home, the prince said to his wife, “Wasn’t Cyrus a handsome man!” With a look
of deep love for her husband, she said to him, “I didn’t notice. I could only
keep my eyes on you—the one who was willing to give himself for me.” Lent is
the time for us to remember Jesus, the one who was willing to give his life
for us and the manner in which he did, in fact, give his life for us.
In today’s second reading from the Letter to the Romans,
Paul talks about the two men who, more than anyone else, influenced the
history of our salvation. The first is Adam, through whom sin and death came
into the world and humankind fell from God’s favour. The other is Jesus,
through whom humankind is once more reconciled to God and grace and eternal
life restored to us.
Therefore just as one man's trespass led to condemnation
for all, so one man's act of righteousness leads to justification and life
for all. For just as by the one man's disobedience the many were made
sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous. (Romans 5:18-19).
If you find Paul’s reasoning in this passage difficult to
follow it is because Paul is speaking as a Jewish rabbi. As such he assumes
popular Jewish beliefs and uses Jewish forms of reasoning.
One of such Jewish beliefs that Paul uses here is the
belief that one person can act in the name of a whole group of people in such
a way that the fate and destiny of that group hangs on the success or failure
of that one person. This belief was at play in the famous story of David and
Goliath. In it we see how the war between two nations, the Israelites and the
Philistines, was settled by a one-on-one combat between David and Goliath.
David won, and so the Israelites were victorious; Goliath lost, and so the
entire nation of the Philistines was defeated. Paul presumes a similar
viewpoint when he argues that all humankind stood condemned on account of
Adam’s disobedience or that all humankind stands justified before God on
account of Christ’s obedience.
Even so, there is a big difference between our sharing in
Adam’s loss and our sharing in Christ’s merits. Since Adam is the father of
all humankind, it can be said that all humankind was literally in Adam’s
loins. Adam’s DNA is stamped in the DNA of all humanity. Original sin,
therefore, is our genetic inheritance from Adam. But we cannot make the same
argument for Jesus Christ. The DNA of Jesus has not been passed down to all
humanity. Our belonging to Adam is by nature. We have no choice in the
matter. But our belonging to Christ is by choice. That is why all humankind
inherits Adam’s fallen human nature, whether we like it or not. But it is
only those who choose to belong to Christ that will inherit the blessings
that Christ has won for humanity.
Lent is the opportune time of the year when the church
reminds us of what Christ has done for us and invites us all to make a
conscious decision to belong to Christ.
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FIRST SUNDAY OF LENT A
(Third Sermon)
Genesis 2:7-9, 16-18, 25; 3:1-7 Romans 5:12, 17-19 Matthew 4:1-11
In the Gospel story of the temptations, Jesus is
engaging the powers of this world. The powers of this world are the great
resistant forces, largely strong that hold people captive, captive to the
institutions and systems that carry us along, the forces that drive the
spirit of the age promising life but leading to death. The powers of this
world seek to render us powerless, before the immensity of the world's
problems.
These are the powers that say, "No one really
wants war, but the bodies keep piling up. “These are the powers that say,
"No one really wants homelessness, but we can't seem to do anything
about it." These are the powers that say, "No child needs to die of
hunger anywhere, but especially in the wealthiest nation on earth, and yet
they do."
The powers of this world are characterized by
domination and violence, relentlessly seeking to have their own way
regardless of the costs, even to the point of death. These are the powers
that Jesus resists in the wilderness temptations, and they are the powers
that will eventually crucify him.
In the first temptation, Jesus says no to the use of power
for his own survival. Jesus is hungry.
And the devil invites Jesus to use his power to turn stone into bread.
Jesus is tempted to use his power to meet his own needs, to secure his own
survival. And Jesus turns to the Scriptures and speaks a word in the face of
the powers. Jesus reminds the devil that one cannot live by bread alone.
The ancient people of the Hebrews cried out in
desperation for God to provide manna in their wilderness, but Jesus
declares in his wilderness that faith and obedience to God will be his
security. Jesus does not yield his body and soul to the false security of the
powers of this world. Jesus knows that people can suffer death by bread
alone. This we can clearly see in our own indulgent, consumer-driven globally
reckless society. If Jesus yields to this temptation, he secures his own
survival, but there would be no need for the cross.
In the second temptation, the devil invites Jesus to tempt
God: "Throw yourself down from the pinnacle of the temple so that God's
angels can save you before the eyes of all who are watching and then they
will know for sure that you are who you say you are, then all will know that
you are the Son of God." This is the powers of this world at their best:
claiming God to be on their side, making their own power, their own political
ends, their own way of seeing the world, into God's way of seeing the world
with no regard whatsoever whether it is God's way or not.
The devil tries to outsmart Jesus by turning as Jesus
does to the great tradition. Jesus quoted Scripture to the devil. Now the
devil is going to quote Scripture to Jesus. This turn in the story is a sad
reminder that in the wrong hands even the Bible can be a weapon to be used in
opposition to the will of God. Once again, Jesus says no. Once again, had
Jesus said yes, there would have been no need for the cross.
In the third temptation, the devil invites Jesus to use his power to establish
a political regime based upon the ways of the world. "Take charge of it
all," the devil says to Jesus, "all the power in the world can
belong to you: all you have to do is to claim it by worshiping me, by
yielding to domination and violence."
Again, Jesus says no. To follow the devil's lead will
make Jesus the emperor--the King of Kings of the kingdoms of this world, but
Jesus refuses to take the world by domination and violence. The only weapon
Jesus uses against the powers of this world is the Word: the only sword Jesus
ever draws is the sword of the Spirit. Had Jesus not said no, had Jesus
assumed the powers of this world, there would have been no need for the
cross.
Today's gospel is important to us because in it we see
the resistance of Jesus to the powers of this world, the resistance that
begins right after his baptism and leads eventually to his crucifixion. The
powers must crucify Jesus because of the "no" he speaks to their
ways, to their ideologies, to the false securities they promise. The powers can
only deliver death and destruction. Only Jesus can deliver life. Intent on
their survival at all costs, the powers of this world must crucify the one
who threatens their authority. Committed to domination by the sword, the
powers must put to death the one who threatens their values.
The gospel story of the temptations of Jesus is unconditional for all that lies ahead. In it we see the conflict between the
ways of this world and the ways of God, between the way of death and the way
of life, between the way of darkness and the way of light. And at the center
of this conflict stands the cross of Jesus.
All of us struggle with the powers of this world. All
of us know, as Jesus knows, that it is often easier to choose power,
violence, and domination instead of the reconciling ways of the reign of God.
All of us know, as Jesus knows, that it is easier to pick up lifeless stones
and hurl them toward one another, instead of passing the bread that sustains
life.
My dear people, as we walk these great forty days from temptation to
crucifixion, let us walk gently and with our heart wide open. Listen to Jesus. Jesus
will call us as he makes
his way from temptation to crucifixion. Jesus will call us from the
cross. And in the midst of death, domination, and violence, we will hear his
voice: "Choose life," he will say. "Choose life!"
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FIRST
SUNDAY OF LENT A
(Fourth Sermon)
Genesis 2:7-9, 16-18, 25; 3:1-7 Romans 5:12, 17-19 Matthew 4:1-11
All
great cultures and religions have a sacred story that describes the beginning
of the world. The regular theme in these stories is that in the beginning
everything was good, but then it got bad. For us Christians, Genesis gives us
the complete story of how good the world was until the entry of sin with the
fall of our first parents after they were tempted by the devil. Their
temptation and fall consist of three rounds.
First
round.
The devil, being the master of deceit, knows human psychology too well. His first task was to get the
attention of Eve. Thus his question: "Did God really tell you not to eat
from any of the trees in the garden?" Eve right away saw the half-truth
in the question so she corrected him saying that they could eat of the fruit
of all the trees except that of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Bad.
And on this last, God's command was clear: "You shall not eat it or even
touch it, lest you die." We see here how Eve, by arguing with the devil,
got hooked.
Second
round.
The devil took immediate advantage of his gain. He told Eve they would not
die; instead, "your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods who
know what is good and what is bad." Her curiosity aroused, Eve saw that
the fruit was good for food, pleasing to the eye, and desirable for gaining
wisdom.
Third
round.
Eve then took a fruit and ate it. She gave one to her husband Adam who
likewise ate it. All of a sudden both of them realized that they were naked.
Ashamed of their nakedness in front of each other, they covered themselves,
and afraid of God, they went into hiding. They had fallen and sin had entered
the world!
However,
not everything was lost. God went searching for them in the garden. Not
seeing them, God called out to Adam, "Where are you?" Adam answered,
"I heard you in the garden; but I was afraid, because I was naked, so I
hid myself." On hearing this, God told him, "You have eaten, then,
from the tree!" He pleaded guilty as charged and the finger pointing
began. But before punishing them by driving them out of the garden and
barring them from the Tree of Life, God promised them a future Saviour.
This
sacred story teaches us that salvation has become a matter of being sought
and found by God. Since then, God has been constantly asking each one of us
"Where are you?" so He can save us.
Sin
brings about dislocation in our relationships. Instead of openness, hiding or
covering–up has become our way of relating to God and to each other. And we
justify our weaknesses and sins with all kinds of rationalizations. This is
the story of our life ever since.
St.
Paul tells us of the fulfillment of God's promise of a Savior with the coming
of His Son and Anointed, Jesus: "If by the transgression of one person,
death came to reign through that one, how much more will those who receive
the abundance of grace and of the gift of justification come to reign in life
through the one person Jesus Christ" (Rom 5:17). We, too will triumph
over sin and death in, with and through Christ if we but let Him find us.
Jesus'
mission is to seek us out: "For the Son of Man has come to seek and to
save what was lost" {Lk 19:10). And in this regard, His question has
always been, "Where are you?" But to save us, He, like our first
parents and us, must also undergo trials and sufferings. We see the first of
these in his three–fold temptation (Mt. 4:1–11). Our first parents fell
because of their disobedience to God's Word; Jesus triumphed because of His
complete openness and obedience to the Word of God.
Thus
to Satan's "turn these stones to bread," Jesus answered, "It
is written, `One does not live by bread alone but by every word that comes
forth from the mouth of God.'" To Satan's offer of all the world's
kingdoms along with the power and glory that go with them, Jesus answered, "It
is written, `The Lord, your God, shall you worship and him alone shall you
serve.'" And to Satan's "throw yourself down" from the parapet
of the temple, Jesus answered, "It also says, `You shall not put the
Lord, your God, to the test.'"
It
was also because of Jesus' complete openness and obedience to God's Word that
He was able to overcome His other trials and sufferings, including and
finally the cross, the great sign of our promised salvation. Jesus was the
complete opposite of our first parents' and our own inclination to hide
things, to cover up our misdeeds, from others and from God.
During
Lent, our primary task is to discover where we are in our relationship with God
and neighbour
and then do something about it so that we may be able to answer without fear
God's saving "Where are you?" question.
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FIRST
SUNDAY OF LENT A
(Fifth Sermon)
Genesis 2:7-9, 16-18, 25; 3:1-7 Romans 5:12, 17-19 Matthew 4:1-11
I understand there is a new show on TV called
“God, the Devil, and Bob.” It’s supposed to be about God wrestling with
the decision to destroy the Earth because humanity has gotten so evil.
God decides to give it one more chance by entrusting the future to Bob.
If Bob can show why it’s worth God’s effort to keep the planet going the
Earth will be saved. Sound familiar? That’s essentially the story
of Noah and the flood.
That story from Genesis is in some
ways the story of humanity in every age. I am sure that at some point
you must have asked yourself, “Why does God care about us? Why should
He keep forgiving us and looking for new ways to redeem us? You would
think that by now we would have figured out the proper thing to do.”
Even the Psalmist says, “What is man that you care for him, mortal man that
you are mindful of him.” But then the psalmist says, “I have made you
little less than a god. With glory and honor I have crowned you.”
Yes, God has created us with glory and honor. God takes that seriously,
even if we sometimes do not.
The story of Noah is a reminder
that God prefers to redeem that which is lost rather than destroy it.
That is the whole reason for the incarnation. Jesus came to earth that
we might be saved. His taking on human flesh is God’s ultimate sign
that we are worth the effort.
When Jesus came among us He
would embrace everything of our humanity. Probably the one thing that
we find the most perplexing is temptation. Intellectually we know what
we should do. Most of us know the commandments including the Great
Commandment of Jesus to love God and love our neighbor as ourselves.
Yet, just because we know what to do doesn’t mean we follow it.
The very first thing Jesus did
to begin His ministry with us is to embrace our most perplexing
problem. He entered into the desert and faced the demons and beasts of
temptation in their own kingdom. He went out to the desert where they
roamed. That is what Israel believed about the desert. Probably
because they saw wolves, snakes, and scorpions in the desert. These
were things humans had to stay away from. It was natural to imagine
that Satan lived out in the desert too.
Mark’s Gospel doesn’t give us
much detail as to what that temptation was like. We can recall the
incidents in Matthew’s Gospel where Jesus is tempted by Satan to turn stones
into bread, to plunge off the temple parapet, and to worship the devil.
Here, in Mark’s Gospel, all we hear is that Jesus was tempted while at the
same time was ministered to by angels. In some ways we are being told
from the very beginning of this Gospel that Jesus’ life would be in the
center of the struggle between good and evil.
Maybe its better that we don’t
have the particulars of what that temptation was like for Jesus. If
Jesus was like us in every way but sin and we know that each of us will be
tempted, but that those temptations will be different for each of us.
Most of us have some kinds of temptations to deny our true selves and adopt
some false self, various forms of peer pressure. We are tempted to buy
things we don’t need because we have to “keep up with the Jones.’”
Sometimes the temptations are to enter into gossip or bad language because
others are doing it and we want to be accepted. Maybe the temptation is
to be silent about our faith or moral beliefs because they aren’t
popular. All of these temptations are some form of denial of who we are
as individuals.
I would guess that Jesus was
tempted like we are to indulge in the sins of the flesh. We are
inclined to eat too much, drink too much, or spend too much time on
diversions of entertainment. All of these things can be good in
themselves. When we overindulge or become obsessed with the goods of
the earth we replace God with these lesser gods.
Our temptations can also be
about power and influence. All of us want to be in control of our own
destiny. We can use our influence to harm another person’s
character. We might use the power that has been given us to enrich
ourselves instead of serving others. Maybe we become obsessed with our
own security we fear people and choose not to address the needs of the poor
if they look different from ourselves.
Jesus was tempted but used the power of God to combat the demons
and beasts he encountered in the desert. Throughout this Lenten season
when you go into the desert on your spiritual journey and face your own
demons and beasts, ask for the power of God. God desires that we return
to Him with our whole heart. He has not given up on us. Let us
make this a season of grace. Amen.
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|
FIRST
SUNDAY OF LENT A
(Sixth Sermon)
Genesis 2:7-9, 16-18, 25; 3:1-7 Romans 5:12, 17-19 Matthew 4:1-11
Today we begin the first Sunday in the
season of Lent. Lent is a season of penance that has been set apart by the
Catholic Church in memory of the forty days fast of Our Lord Jesus in the desert.
Beginning on Ash Wednesday, Lent includes forty fasting days. The Lenten Season
is a time to fast for the purpose of gaining spiritual strength in order
to resist all forms of temptations. So the church proposes that we
should do penance to regain spiritual strength.
Once upon a time a
very earnest young man visited a famous rabbi. He told the rabbi that he wanted
to become a rabbi and asked for his advice. It was winter time. The rabbi stood
at the window looking out into the yard while the rabbinical candidate gave him
a glowing account of his piety and learning. The young man said, ‘You see,
Rabbi, I always dress in spotless white like the sages of old. I never drink
any alcoholic beverages; only water ever passes my lips. I perform numerous penances.
For instance, I always carry sharp-edged nails inside my shoes to mortify me.
Even in the coldest weather. I lie naked in the snow to punish my flesh. And to
complete my penance, I take a dozen lashes every day on my bare back.’ As the
young man spoke, a stable boy led a white horse into the yard and
took him to the water trough. The horse drank his fill of water, and
having done so, rolled in the snow, as horses sometimes do. ‘Just look!’ cried
the rabbi. “That animal, too, is dressed in white. It also drinks nothing but
water, has nails in its shoes and rolls naked in the snow. Also, rest assured,
it gets its daily ration of lashes on the rump from its master. Now, I ask you,
is it a saint, or is it a horse?” The point the rabbi was making was that penance
is not an end in itself. (Flor McCarthy in ‘New Sunday & Holy Day
Liturgies’)Our penance
should be a means to obtaining grace to resist all temptations in life.
Today's First Reading from the Book of
Genesis [Gen. 2:7-9, 16-18, 25; 3:1-7] recalls the creation of our first
parents and the entry of original sin into the world. Adam and Eve enjoyed an
innocent nature. But when Eve was tempted to disobey the command of God,
it could not be resisted. She just gave in, and Adam followed. It is human
nature to choose the easiest path. The path that offers no resistance. The
path that has no hurdles. The path that does not place any demand of
sacrifice on us.
Anyone who has ever paddled downriver in a
canoe knows that a river does not travel in a straight line. Rather, it twists and meanders wildly, whipping
blindly around bends, constantly pushing the craft back and forth from sand bar
to overhung branch to brambly shore. The river follows the
path of least resistance and following the path of least
resistance is what makes the river crooked. The same is applicable to us
too.
Once upon a time
there were three shepherds who each was responsible for a flock of sheep. One winter’s night all three were awakened by the
howling of a wolf. The first was about to get out of bed when he heard the rain
beating against his bedroom window. He had second thoughts, turned over in bed,
and went back to sleep. The second got out of bed, dressed, and went to the
front door. However, on opening it he was hit by a squall of sleety rain. He
went back inside and returned to his warm bed. The third got up, dressed, and
went outside. There he had to contend with rain, wind, darkness and cold. But
he stuck to his task until he had seen that his sheep were secure. When he got
back indoors he was wet through and got a nasty cold as a result of his
efforts. Now which of the three shepherds knew most about the rain, the wind
and the dark? The third of course. Those who give in easily to temptation know
little about the struggle involved. Those who struggle with temptation and
overcome it know it best. If you want to know what victory over temptation
costs, don’t ask a sinner ask a saint. (Flor McCarthy in ‘New Sunday &
Holy Day Liturgies)
Today’s Gospel gives an account
of the temptations Jesus endured. After fasting for forty days and forty
nights, Jesus was put severe temptations.
In
the first temptation, the tempter said to Jesus, "If you are the Son of
God, command these stones to become loaves of bread." [Mt. 4:3] To this,
Jesus answered, "It is written, 'One does not live by bread alone, but by
every word that comes from the mouth of God.'" [Mt. 4:4]
It is a temptation the modern world faces
much more than that of any age. The greed for material possession.
The insatiable greed for luxury. When the world around us suffers, we
run after the latest fashions. The world is constantly hit by natural
disasters. (Tsunami in Japan). Countless number of people loses
their shelter, clothing and means of livelihood. They are reduced to
nothing. In such a world to run after satisfying our greed for
luxury is a great sin, and easily giving into temptation. The season of
lent reminds us to open our eyes and see the world around us; to act
promptly and not to wait.
In the second temptation, "the devil
took Jesus to the holy city and placed Him on the pinnacle of the Temple."
{Mt. 4:5] Then Satan said to Jesus, "If you are the Son of God, throw
yourself down; for it is written, 'He will command his angels concerning you,'
and 'On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot
against a stone.'" [Ps. 91:11-2; Mt. 4:6] To this, Jesus replied,
"Again it is written, 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'"
[Mt. 4:7]
The temple of Jerusalem was very high and
there were always plenty of people gathered in the courtyards of the
temple. If the people see a person coming down from the top of the
temple without getting hurt, He would become popular hero. Winning
popularity always remains an unconquerable temptation. We are ready to do
anything to become popular – live with serpents, walk through fire, laid buried
under the earth for hours and so on. If we have an examination ourselves,
we can recount countless occasions, when we acted differently to gain
popularity, even at the cost of others. Jesus’ answer is a warning to us too.
In
the final temptation, the devil took Jesus to a very high mountain and showed
Him all the Kingdoms of the world and their splendour. [Mt. 4:8] There, Satan
said, "All these I will give You, if You will fall down and worship
me." [Mt. 4:9] Quoting Deuteronomy 6:3, Jesus answered with severity,
"Away with you, Satan! For it is written, 'Worship the Lord your God, and
serve only him.'" [Mt. 4:10]
Thirst for power is deeply embedded in
each one of us. All the wars in our history were just to satisfy the
thirst of some one. We practice it in the little spheres of our
influence; at home, in the work place, in the parish and so on.
The message of lent for us is
to fight against three basic evil natures in us: temptation to amass
material possession, temptation to gain popularity through unfair means,
temptation to get power at the cost of others. If we are able to resist them in
little measures we will be able to contribute to the alleviation of
suffering and injustice that prevail today.
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FIRST
SUNDAY OF LENT A
(Seventh Sermon)
Genesis 2:7-9, 16-18, 25; 3:1-7 Romans 5:12, 17-19 Matthew 4:1-11
He was a privileged
young man. He had everything going for him, a loving family, wealth, and social
connections. Then he was dared to try drugs. He could not resist the noble
pressure and the curiosity. He became hooked. He was placed in a rehabilitation
center where he finally recovered, with his family’s love and support. She was
an honor student. Her father wanted to send her to medical school. While in
college she got romantically involved with a classmate who abandoned her when
she got pregnant. She was afraid to come home but her parents looked for her
and brought her home. Now her daughter is enjoying the loving attention of
grandma and grandpa. She is once more back to medical school.
We can multiply the
stories, but the original one is contained in the story of Genesis, the first
reading. It is the story of Adam and Eve. It is the story of paradise lost. The
story did not end in the loss. It continued with Jesus, the new Adam. As St.
Paul says in the second reading, through one man’s disobedience we have been
alienated from God, but through one man’s obedience we are restored to the
Divine favour.
We have already entered
into the season of Lent from Ash Wednesday. It is a time that reminds us of the
human journey of fall and redemption. As the Gospel tells us, everyone is
tempted. Even the Lord Jesus experienced temptation while praying in the
desert. A temptation is a proposal that comes from the Evil One. He is trying
to sell us a bundle of goods (pun intended). He makes what is evil appear good
to us. It is good to eat the forbidden fruit. You will be like gods. And Adam
surrendered. It is good to have power, popularity, and wealth in exchange for
the Cross. This was the temptation of Jesus. Jesus did not give in to the
temptation.
The good news is that
the human journey did not end with the fall. God sent His only Son to redeem
us. Redemption is greater than the fall. The early theologians and fathers of
the church even went so far as to call sin a “happy fault” because of which God
sent His Son into the world. The point of the church fathers is not that we
should sin, but rather that we should be grateful.
By Jesus’ dying on the
cross, there came a new direction to human history. The downward journey that
began with Adam’s fall was arrested. Jesus raised us up to His Father. There is
a new turn to human history. The journey goes forward and upward. This is true
not only to humanity in general. This paradigm of innocence, fall and
redemption is played out in every person’s life. We experience temptation. We
fall into sin. We look for redemption and absolution. We want to have a new
direction to our life.
Redemption is possible.
It is a reality. It is available. It begins once we allow Jesus to take over
our life. We surrender ourselves to His power, acknowledging that by ourselves
we are powerless. Jesus saves. Jesus can help us overcome the wiles of the evil
one. This experience has been the experience of many people who have gone
through the downward journey of alcoholism, drug addiction, political corruption,
and a life of crime. Redemption begins once they surrender their lives to the
Lord.
The journey of
redemption passes through the road of Calvary. It is not an easy journey. It is
the Way of the Cross.
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FIRST
SUNDAY OF LENT A
(Eighth Sermon)
Genesis 2:7-9, 16-18, 25; 3:1-7 Romans 5:12, 17-19 Matthew 4:1-11
A mother camel ad her
baby are talking one day and the baby camel asks, “Mom why have we got these
huge three-toed feet?” The mother replies, “To enable us walk across the soft
sand of the desert without sinking.” “And why have we got these long, heavy
eyelashes?” “To keep the sand out of our eyes on the trips through the
desert”replies the mother camel. “And Mom, why have we got these big humps on
our backs?” The mother, now a little impatient with the boy replies, “They are
there to help us store fat for our long treks across the desert, so we can go
without water for long periods.” “OK, I get it!” says the baby camel, “We have
huge feet to stop us sinking, long eyelashes to keep the sand from our eyes and
humps to store water. Then, Mom, why the heck are we here in the Toronto zoo?”
Modern life sometimes makes one feel like a camel in a zoo. And like camels in
a zoo we need sometimes to go into the desert in order to discover who we truly
are. Lent invites us to enter into this kind of desert experience.
The desert was the
birthplace of the people of God of the first covenant. The Hebrew people who
escaped from Egypt as scattered tribes arrived the Promised Land as one nation
under God. It was in the desert that they become a people of God by covenant.
In the course of their history when their love and faithfulness to God grew
cold, the prophets would suggest their return to the desert to rediscover their
identity, their vocation and their mission as a way of reawakening their faith
and strengthening their covenant relationship with God. The great prophets
Elijah and John the Baptist were people of the desert: they lived in the
desert, ate desert food and adopted a simple desert lifestyle. The desert is
the university where God teaches His people.
In today’s gospel we
read that after Jesus was baptized “the Spirit immediately drove him out into
the wilderness. He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he
was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him” (Mark 1:12-13). Where
else but the desert could you have such a meaningful encounter of the Holy
Spirit as well as Satan, of the wild beasts as well as the holy angels? The
desert was the school where Jesus came to distinguish between the voice of God
which he should follow and the voice of Satan which is temptation. How many
voices do we hear from the moment we get up in the morning till the moment we
go to sleep at night? The countless voices in the daily paper, the soliciting
voices on the radio and the television, the voices of those who live and work
with us, not forgetting our own unceasing inner voices. In the desert we leave
most of these voices behind to focus on distinguishing between the guiding
voice of God and the tempting voice of Satan.
In the desert we come
to know ourselves, our strengths and weaknesses, and our divine calling. In the
desert Jesus encountered beasts and angels. There are wild beasts and angels in
everyone of us. Sometimes, owing to our superficial self-knowledge, we fail to
recognize the wild beasts in us and give in to vainglory, or we fail to
recognize the angel in us and give in to self-hatred. But in the silence and
recollection of the desert we come to terms with ourselves as we really are, we
are reconciled with the beasts and the angels in our lives and then we begin to
experience peace again for the first time. Lent is the time for the desert
experience. We cannot all afford to buy a camel and head off for the desert.
But we can all create a desert space in our overcrowded lives. We can set aside
a place and time to be alone daily with God, a time to distance ourselves from
the many noises and voices that bombard our lives every day, a time to hear
God’s word, a time to rediscover who we are before God, a time to say yes to
God and no to Satan as Jesus did. Welcome to Lent! Welcome to the desert!
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