Psalms 37:3 For your arrows have been driven into me, and your hand has been confirmed over me.

 

What are the arrows? St Augustine says they could be the effects of Original Sin: the pain and suffering of a fallen human existence. He also likened these arrows to the Word of God calling us back to right relationship. As such, these arrows are like love darts which wound the heart, not to destroy but it but to heal it. The heaviness of God’s hand is meant not to crush us but to heal us. His loving correction seeks to bring us back to right relationship with him. After Peter denied Jesus, Jesus looked at him. It was a look of merciful love that pierced the heart of Peter, leading to repentance. Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner.

 

 Psalms 37:2 O Lord, do not rebuke me in your fury, nor chastise me in your wrath.

 

We know we have sinned in many ways. We know that justly we desire severe punishment for our sins. But with the Psalmist we plead for the mercy of God, which we do not deserve. But how often has God shone us his loving mercy, but we then returned to sinful actions, which are abominable to God! How long can we presume on the mercy of God? As we plead for his mercy, repent as a sign of gratitude. Lord, have mercy for we have sinned. Show me, once again, your loving compassion. Treat me as the Father treated the Prodigal Son.

 Psalms 31:11 Rejoice in the Lord and exult, you just ones, and glory, all you upright of heart.

 

The Psalmist began by realizing how blessed he was for God’s merciful forgiveness of his many sins. Now he ends by praising God and joining with others so forgiven to glorify God. It is one thing to ask God to show his mercy. It is another to thank God for his everlasting compassionate love, shone us through reconciliation. Isn’t this one of the reasons we gather to give thanks to God each Sunday in the Eucharist? We remember the death and resurrection of Jesus, saving us from eternal alienation from God and we offer the sacrifice of thanksgiving to God, not just as an individual but with others so redeemed. Thank you, Lord!

 

Homily Fourth Sunday of Lent Year C

Reading 1: What was the reproach of Egypt?  It was the rebellious heart of the people of God. For 40 years many of them grumbled and turned their hearts against God. Many of them died in the desert without seeing the promised Land.

 

Now the people have entered the land of plenty. They began their journey in Egypt with the celebration of the Feast of Passover, the Feast of their deliverance from physical bondage. They left Egypt. Now in the Promised Land, they celebrate the Feast of the Passover. They have been delivered from the bondage of a heart hardened against God. They finally come to a place of trust in God. They ate from the produce o the land. No longer did God had to provide manna for their survival.

 

The central message was that God delivered them, led them, purified them, provided for them and now fulfilled his promise to them.

 

As we look over our past journey since the time of our baptism when we were delivered from the bondage of Satan from Original Sin, what has God done for us? How often has he fed us with the Eucharist, the true bread from heaven? How often has he forgiven our sins when we turned away from him? How often has he provided for our many needs?  We come together today in this assembly to celebrate our Passover from death to life through the sacrifice of Jesus, our reconciler and redeemer. We come to give thanks, to renew our covenant with God, to hear his Word and to be nourished for the week ahead with the Bread of Life.

 

Gospel: In the Gospel, who is the father? God. Who are the two sons? Each of us. For like the sons we are sinners. What does the father seek to do? He is a reconciler. He reconciles the younger son to himself through unconditional love, mercy and forgiveness. He seeks to reconcile the elder son to himself by unconditional love and truth. The younger brother is still his brother, in spite of his sins. He needs forgiveness and acceptance, not condemnation and rejection.

 

Like the younger son, we have separated ourselves from the father and from the family. We have taken our inheritance, our relationship with God and squandered it for a life of sin. We are no different from Adam and Eve nor from all other sinners who have lived. We do not deserve anything but what we have become. Like the younger son, we are not even good enough to eat the food of the pigs.

Like the younger son we have many times returned to the father, ashamed and riddle with guilt and shame and full of self-condemnation.

 

Unknowing to us, the   Father has been waiting for us, not to punish or reject us      or to treat us as a slave. He is waiting for us to embrace and restore us to our rightful identity. What we failed to realize is that when we were baptized we became adopted sons and daughters of God. Nothing can delete that reality, even Hell itself.  It is because of this given identity that moves the father to embrace, kiss and restore his son with joyful celebration.

 

At the same time, we have been like the elder son, resentful and angry, condemning and judging others. We think that we are better and more deserving than others. Our sin is not physical but mental separation. The father reminds him that he is loved unconditionally. He calls him to do learn to do the same.

 

All of us are sinners before God. All of us are in need of mercy, forgiveness and reconciliation. Both the younger son and the elder one were focused on themselves. That was their sin. What is in it for me? The father was focused on them and not himself. Jesus through his death on the cross focused on us and not himself. The Father, who accepted Jesus’ death for our sake, focused on us.

 

Reading 2: Who is the central figure in this reading? Jesus. Whoever is in Christ is a new creation. Are we in Christ? Are we seeking to life in and with Jesus as the Lord of our lives? What is the old and what is the new? The old is our sinfulness. The new is our life in Christ.

 

We have been reconciled in Christ and through Christ. Because of Christ’s death and resurrection our sins have been forgiven and we have been restored and reconciled as a son or daughter of God. We must choose to be reconciled, to remain reconciled and to be ambassadors of reconciliation. This means that as God has forgiven our sins, so we must forgive others. As Jesus has said: The gift you have been given is the gift that is to be given to others.

 Psalms 31:10 “Many are the scourges of the sinner, but mercy will surround him that hopes in the Lord.”

The scourges can come from the effects of sin in one’s life or from the chastisement of God. Both can have the same two results. Either the sinner will remain in the obstinacy of his rebellion or he will convert and return to the Lord. When he does turn back to God and puts his hope, not in himself but in God’s mercy and healing, his restoration and his love, the repentant will be surrounded with grace and new life. It is our choice to make, the sooner the better. Like the father of the prodigal son, God waits to restore us to the fullness of life in him. Thank you, Lord!

Fourth Sunday of Lent Gospel C

Tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to Jesus, but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” So to them Jesus addressed this parable: “A man had two sons, and the younger son said to his father, ‘Father give me the share of your estate that should come to me.’ So the father divided the property between them. 

· The Son was basically saying I can’t wait until you die. I want my inheritance, which is not mine by right yet, now. The love of the father is beyond measure.

After a few days, the younger son collected all his belongings and set off to a distant country where he squandered his inheritance on a life of dissipation. 

· How often have we done the same with our inheritance as a son or daughter of God through our personal sins?

When he had freely spent everything, a severe famine struck that country, and he found himself in dire need. So he hired himself out to one of the local citizens who sent him to his farm to tend the swine. And he longed to eat his fill of the pods on which the swine fed, but nobody gave him any. Coming to his senses he thought, ‘How many of my father’s hired workers have more than enough food to eat, but here am I, dying from hunger. I shall get up and go to my father and I shall say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I no longer deserve to be called your son; treat me as you would treat one of your hired workers.”’ 

· He recognized that he did not deserve to be treated as a son because of what he had done. Because of his sins he lost sight of his true identity, even though the father was still father.

So he got up and went back to his father. While he was still a long way off, his father caught sight of him, and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him. 

· The foolishness of the father is evident. First, he allowed his son to disrespect him by giving him the inheritance as if he was dead. Second, he runs to the son and embrace him when he should have waited for the son to crawl back to him and beg him to restore him.

His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son.’ But his father ordered his servants, ‘Quickly bring the finest robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Take the fattened calf and slaughter it. Then let us celebrate with a feast, because this son of mine was dead, and has come to life again; he was lost, and has been found.’

· The foolish father does not wait for the son to ask his forgiveness. Calling him father again was enough. The foolish father restores him as son and lavishes his blessings and gifts upon him.

· How often has God done the same and more for us? Even if our repentance is imperfect, even if we may sin again, God forgives and restores us to our dignity as sons and daughters because of his great love and mercy.

Then the celebration began. Now the older son had been out in the field and, on his way back, as he neared the house, he heard the sound of music and dancing. He called one of the servants and asked what this might mean. The servant said to him, ‘Your brother has returned and your father has slaughtered the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’ He became angry, and when he refused to enter the house, his father came out and pleaded with him. He said to his father in reply,

‘Look, all these years I served you and not once did I disobey your orders; yet you never gave me even a young goat to feast on with my friends. But when your son returns who swallowed up your property with prostitutes, for him you slaughter the fattened calf.’ 

· Have we been self-righteous at times in the past? Have we complained that we are not treated by God like others are?

He said to him, ‘My son, you are here with me always; everything I have is yours. But now we must celebrate and rejoice, because your brother was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’”

· How do we apply this parable to our life? When have we been the father, the younger son or the elder son?

· What is the grace God is offering us at this moment? 

 

Psalms 31:8 I will give you understanding, and I will instruct you in this way, in which you will walk. I will fix my eyes upon you.

 

Once the sinner has repented and turned back to the Lord, the repentant is more open to and ready to accept the instruction from the Lord. Sin made the person stubborn and unruly like a donkey. The instruction of the Lord will guide the person in the ways of God, his Master and teacher. With a docile heart the converted sinner is able to be obedient to the directions of the Lord. Have we noticed in our own lives it was because of arrogance that we refused to be obedient to the commands of God? But after we experienced the loving mercy of God, we became more in tune with his plan for us. Lord, thank you for your patience with me. Look upon me with mercy and love.

 Psalms 31:7 “You are my refuge from the tribulation that has surrounded me. You are my exultation: rescue me from those who are surrounding me.”

Once David experienced the merciful forgiveness from God, he relished in the certainty of God’s providential care and the inner peace that comes with it. Even tough trials will come from within and from without, his refuge will be the Lord. As God rescued him from the darkness of sin, David believes that God will provide for him no matter the tribulation. Do we have that same confidence in Our Father? Do we turn to the Lord, our defender, in the times of difficulties? Or do try to take on things ourselves? What has been our track record? The battle belongs to the Lord. Lord, be my defender and my sure hope.

 Psalms 31:5 “I have acknowledged my offense to you, and I have not concealed my injustice. I said, ‘I will confess against myself, my injustice to the Lord’ and you forgave the impiety of my sin.”

 

Once God confronted David of his sins in a dramatic way, the sinner was contrite and accused himself of his wanton wrongdoing. He could have tried to deny or try to excuse himself, but he did not. God could have withheld his forgiveness, but he did not. As quickly as David was contrite and confessed his sins, God forgave him. How often have we delayed going to confession, choosing to live in denial? But once we do confess with a contrite heart, God’s merciful forgiveness is poured upon us. God awaits our contrition. Lord, have mercy on me, for I have sinned against you, who has loved me beyond measure. Like the Prodigal Son, I don’t deserve to be your son, but you embrace me with your love.

 

Homily Third Sunday of Lent Year C

 

Reading 1: The background to our reading. Moses had killed an Egyptian and has fled the wrath of Pharaoh. Now, God appears to him to reveal his plan. God first reminds Moses of God’s sacredness and Moses’ sinfulness. “This is holy ground.... remove your sandals.” He then reveals to Moses that he is the same God that his ancestors, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob worshipped. In response, Moses hides his face. This is in contrast to later on in Moses’ relationship with God when God invites Moses into his presence to see his glory.

 

The purpose for this present revelation is to reveal God’ plan for his Chosen people who are in bondage. “I will deliver my people from their bondage in Egypt and lead them to the land I promised Abraham and his descendants.”

 

Moses initially protested that the people would not believe him. But God reveals to Moses to tell them I AM sent you. This identity of God will be the foundation of the people’s new relationship with God. Later, it will become the distinguishing factor separating the Jews from the pagans.

 

When Jesus applied the term I AM to himself, the leaders sought to stone him for, in their minds, he was equating himself with God, which was blasphemy.

 

Reading 2: Paul picks up on the journey of Israel in the desert. He reminded his Christian readers of how God provided many blessings for his people. But in spite of these signs and wonders, the people still sinned. They grumbled and complain; they were disobedient; they fashioned a god to worship; they doubted God. As a result, Paul says, all who refused to trust in the Lord, died in the desert before seeing the Promised Land.

 

To us and his Christian readers, Paul says to take note. These things happened as examples for us, so that we will not remain in the state of sin of rebellion and disobedience and thus not see the face of God in eternity. In other words, learn from the past. Do not repeat the mistakes of the past.

 

Gospel: Our reading tells us what we must do. Repent! Turn away from sin and live a life pleasing and in union with God! Jesus uses the remembered events. He says suffering at the hands of others is not a punishment by God; suffering at a result of a natural calamity is not a punishment by God.

 

But seeing these things, we are called to repent of our sins, so that, whether we suffer at the hands of others or from some natural or accidental cause, we will not be separated from God.

 

The third illustration of the barren fig tree shows us what will happen as a result of our own unrepentant misdeeds. If we do not repent, turn to the Lord and bear the fruit of union with him, a day will come when we will be cut down like the tree and thrown into the everlasting fire. The scriptures are clear. God does not want the death of the sinner, but that he repents, reforms and turns back to God.

 

We have been called by God. We have experienced the compassion and mercy of God in abundant ways. We do not know the day or the hour of God’s visitation. All of this is not said to put fear into our hearts but to help us to respond to the grace God offers us.

 

The question is: are we bearing the fruit of God’s mercy and love? What does that look like? It is a life in union with God; a life of love and mercy; a life of obedience and surrender to the will of God; a life that will allow us to take off our shoes of sin; a life of looking at the face of God and sharing in his glory.

 Psalms 31:4 “For, day and night, your hand was heavy upon me. I have been converted in my anguish, while still the thorn is piercing.”

It wasn’t until the prophet Nathan confronted David with the realization that God knows what he had done, did the King acknowledge his wrongdoing. The word of God was like a piercing spear. Nathan reminded David all that God had done and given him. Is this how David shows his gratitude to God. His words were like a weight on the King to bring him to humble confession. When we remain in sin, God reminds us of his blessings and our ingratitude. He does it to convict us of the stupidity of our actions. He could easily abandon us, but he loves us too much to do that. Like a loving Father he calls back. Lord, have mercy on me for I have sinned. I have been ungrateful and selfish.

 Psalm 32:3 Because I was silent, my bones grew old, while still I cried out all day long.

After David committed adultery and Bathsheba is with child, the King sinned again by commanding the death of Uriah, her husband. The King was trying to cover up his sin. He remained silent, refusing to confess his sins, even to God. It was like a sickness within him, weighing him down. How often we continue to sin, even refusing to admit our guilt out loud, as the weight of our sins bring us into deeper darkness and leaving us unfulfilled. We know the remedy, but refuse to act on it. But God is relentless in his pursuit of us. He allows the weight of our sin to become unbearable, until finally we acknowledge or sins. Lord, have mercy.

 Third Sunday of Lent Gospel C

Some people told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with the blood of their sacrifices. Jesus said to them in reply, “Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were greater sinners than all other Galileans? By no means! But I tell you, if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did! Or those eighteen people who were killed when the tower at Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than everyone else who lived in Jerusalem? By no means! But I tell you, if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did!” 

· Luke’s Gospel is the only account of these two events. Innocent people die daily as a result of human violence and natural events. Do these events say anything to us about the need to always be in right relationship with God? We know not the day or the hour or the event.

· During this season of Lent, have we responded to the grace of repentance given to us by God?

· What are the areas of sin we need to be repentant of and be reconciled back to God for?

· Have we taken advantage of the Sacrament of Reconciliation?

And he told them this parable: “There once was a person who had a fig tree planted in his orchard, and when he came in search of fruit on it but found none, he said to the gardener, ‘For three years now I have come in search of fruit on this fig tree but have found none. So cut it down. Why should it exhaust the soil?’ He said to him in reply, ‘Sir, leave it for this year also, and I shall cultivate the ground around it and fertilize it; it may bear fruit in the future. If not you can cut it down.’” 

· Is our life spiritually barren like the fig tree after all these many years of God’s grace?

· Can we presume on God’s patience with us?  Do I have any guarantee how much time is still allotted to me in life? Why do I delay in responding to God’s invitation of love?

· How can this Lent be a new beginning of spiritual fruitfulness in our life?

 Psalms 32:2 “Blessed is the man to whom the Lord has not imputed sin, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.”

We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, as St Paul reminds us. Only when we refrain from sin, can we be called blessed. Only when we are truthful and humble, can we be called blessed. Even in this we are totally dependent upon the unmerited grace of God. Our Lenten journey is to turn away from sin and put on the mind of Jesus. He chose to be obedient to the will of the Father, even if it meant death by crucifixion. Thus, he was raised up and exalted. When we follow his path, seeking the will of the Father, rather than our own self-satisfaction, then we will be raised and be called blessed, not only now but eternally.

 Psalms 31:1 “Blessed are they whose iniquities have been forgiven and whose sins have been covered.”

 

What a mystery of divine revelation! Not only does God forgive our sins, he no longer remembers them. Isaiah says that he casts our sins into the depth of the seas or puts them out of his sight. It is hard for us to fathom that reality. It is hard for us to forgive ourselves, let alone to forget our sins. If God would hold our forgiven sins against us, there will be no hope for us. When we fail to follow the lead of God in letting go of our forgiven sins, we keep ourselves in a self-imposed bondage. Instead of celebrating our blessedness from God, we choose to walk under a dark cloud. Praise God for his blessings. Be the true child of God by forgiving yourself and putting your sins behind you.

 

 

Psalm 31: overview. David recognizes and testifies that forgiveness and mercy are unmerited graces that come solely from an all merciful and full-of-compassionate God. When we acknowledge our sinfulness and entrust ourselves to the loving mercy of God in faith, then freed from our sins, we can love as God loves us, again by the grace of God. This understanding is a foreshadowing of the fuller revelation by Jesus in the New Testament. Our repentant sins are forgiven and we are reconciled back to God by the death and resurrection of Jesus. We love because God first loved us.

 Psalms 6:9-10 “Scatter before me, all you who work iniquity, for the Lord has heard the voice of my weeping. The Lord has heard my supplication. The Lord has accepted my prayer.”

 

While we seek to respond to the grace of repentance, the Devil, our enemy, seeks to sow seeds of doubt. In faith, we know that God seeks our conversion and our turning away from sin. The Devil continues to taunt us with temptation to remain in sin. The psalmist praises God for his faithfulness to his promises in response. The Devil waits another time. We need to recall the words of St. John: “He who is within us is greater than he who outside.” The Lord is on our side. The Devil is our enemy. Stand firm with the Lord, who will fight the battle.

 Psalms 6:8 My eye has been troubled by rage. I have grown old among all my enemies.

Here, David may be referring to the rebellion of his own son, who sought the throne of David by force. How this must have pained the kingly father. Have we experienced a friendship gone sour? Have we been hurt by the actions of a friend? David did not want revenge or the death of Absalom. In fact, when the son was killed, David wept bitterly. Do we forgive our friend? Do we desire the best for him? Jesus was betrayed by two friends, both of whom he reached out to without bitterness or wishing the worse for them. Can we do the same?

 Second Sunday of Lent Gospel C

Jesus took Peter, John, and James and went up the mountain to pray. 

· Jesus, in his humanity, saw the need to go aside and pray even when people were demanding more of his ministry. How much time do we set aside each day for prayer?

       • Jesus has just revealed to the twelve that the Son of Man will have to suffer and die and rise from the dead. They didn’t want to hear this.

       • To give the three an affirmation of what he said and who he was, he allows them to share in this theophany from the Father.

While he was praying his face changed in appearance and his clothing became dazzling white. And behold, two men were conversing with him, Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of his exodus that he was going to accomplish in Jerusalem. 

              In prayer Jesus is strengthened for his impending death on the cross for our salvation. When                have we been strengthened in prayer during a difficult moment of our life?

              The presence of Moses and Elijah is to remind the Apostles that Jesus is the fulfillment of the         Law and the Prophets.

Peter and his companions had been overcome by sleep, but becoming fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him. As they were about to part from him, Peter said to Jesus,  “Master, it is good that we are here; let us make three tents, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” But he did not know what he was saying.

     Peter was caught up in the glory of the moment but made no connection with the death of             Jesus. How often we want to experience the glory and joy but not see them connected to the              journey of the cross in our life? We fail to remember what Paul tells us: there is no Easter              without Good Friday.

 

While he was still speaking, a cloud came and cast a shadow over them, and they became frightened when they entered the cloud. Then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my chosen Son; listen to him.” 

           The word of the Father is to direct Peter and the others back to the word of Jesus concerning              the cross. The Father who identified Jesus at his baptism as the beloved Son does so once              more, not for Jesus’ sake, but for his Apostles.

           How well do we listen to Jesus in the scriptures, in prayer, in the inspirations of the moment?

           Can we discern the voice of the Lord from other voices?

After the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. They fell silent and did not at that time tell anyone what they had seen. 

          Have you ever had an experience so profound that you could not share it with others, because             you had not fully processed it yet?

          Reflect on the experience of the Transfiguration. What does it say to you at this point in your life?

 Psalms 6:7 I have labored in my groaning. Every night, with my tears, I will wash my bed and drench my blanket.

 

If the author of this psalm is David, he acknowledges his sin of adultery with Bathsheba and the conceiving of a child outside of wedlock. As the child lay dying, the King begged for his life with tears and mourning. How have we sinned? Do we weep and mourn for our infidelity to God? Do we weep and mourn for the sins of others? Jesus said: “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be consoled.” Matthew5:5 Lent is a time of mourning for sins, even though forgiven, so that we can experience the consolation of Easter. When we mourn for sins, we are acknowledging the gratuitous mercy of our God.

 Psalm 6:6 “For there is no one in death who would be mindful of you. And who will confess to you in Hell?”

It was the Old Testament understanding that, once people died, they no longer praised God. The New Testament understanding is that, if we die in Christ, we will be in the presence of God, where praising him will be our joy. Those eternally separated from God will not praise God for their focus is themselves. We should praise God daily both by our words and deeds in anticipation of eternally glorifying God for his mercy and love. It is our privilege and our duty to praise God for all the good things he has done and given to us. How often do we praise God during the day? Eternal praise to you, O God!

 Homily First Sunday of Lent Year C

 

Reading 1: Why were the people required to bring a tithe of their crops as a gift of sacrifice to God each year? God did not need their crops for everything is his. It was a sacrifice of thanksgiving, acknowledging their dependency on God.  For when he brought and offered his sacrifice, he was to recall all that God had generously done for his ancestors and for him over the years.

 

Tracing his ancestry to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the Israelite would recall how God delivered his people from slavery in Egypt and let them to a land flowing with milk and honey.

 

Why have we come today and each Sunday? We come to worship the Lord and to give our tithe. God doesn’t need our tithe or our worship. But we need God; we need to be in relationship with God. We come to remember and make present the mystery of our salvation from sin’s eternal effects. Through Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross we have been set free and restored in our friendship with God, lost through the sin of Adam and Eve. We come each Sunday to give thanks to God for the gift of salvation and a share in his Divine life. We come to give thanks to God for his many blessings of this past week.  We come to hear the Word of God for us this week, not only to say “Thanks be to God”, but to put it into practice. We come to be renewed and strengthened in the Divine Life God gave us in Baptism through eating of his Body and Blood. As we say in the Preface of the Eucharistic Prayer: It is right and just that we do all this on this day.

 

Gospel: The Word of God became man in order to restore us to our lost relationship with God.  He was to do this by offering the perfect sacrifice, himself through his suffering and death by crucifixion. He embraced this mission through a public sign of baptism, symbolically plunging himself in the will of the Father. The Father affirmed his willingness to be the sacrificial lamb and affirmed him publicly by saying “You are my beloved son in whom I am well pleased.” And the Spirit anointed Jesus for the mission ahead.

 

His mission was two-fold. Reconciling humanity and defeating the Devil, breaking his stronghold over humanity. Led by the Spirit, Jesus prepared himself for this mission by a period of prayer and fasting. Soon he will “be baptized in the fire of temptation.” Afterwards, he confronts the Father of lies, the deceiver who led Adam and Eve away from God. The Devil was curious to know who this person was, who was called the Beloved Son of God. He was successful in tempting Adam and Eve, now he tempts this person.

 

Each of the temptations copies the tactics he used with Adam and Eve. They were the son and daughter of God, sharing his divine life, the same divine life that the Devil lost with his prideful rebellion against God.  As he attacked their identity, so seeks to attack Jesus’ identity as the Son of God. He does not know that Jesus is true God and true Man. Through suggestion, delight and consent, he tempted Adam and Eve. He uses the same with Jesus. If you are the Son of God, satisfy your need to eat after your long fast. If you are the Son of God show your power for others to see. If you are the Son of God, worship me and I will give you the riches of the world. In other words, do what I tell you to do.

 

Jesus, in his humanity led by the Spirit, kept his eyes on the Father who called him the Beloved Son. His obedience was to the Father who loved him, not to the Father of lies, who wants to destroy him. Jesus used the Word of God, which Paul calls, the sword of the Spirit, to confront each temptation. Jesus could have easily turned the stones into bread and to throw himself down from the pinnacle of the Temple, but he chose to trust and depend on the Father. But when Satan tried to claim himself as God, Jesus had enough of him and told him to be gone.

 

In all this Jesus is our model. We have the gift of the Holy Spirit; we are temples of the Holy Spirit. When we are tempted, remember who you are and whose you are. Keep your eyes on the Father who loves you and be nourished by the Word of God.  Remember he who is in us is greater than he who is outside.

 

Reading 2: Paul gives us another way to respond to God’s gift of salvation. Having heard the word of faith, the Good News of our salvation, we need to embrace the grace God gives us. Though Jesus has saved all, not all will be saved, because of their lack of response to the grace of God. What is the initial response? “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 

 

In other words, you will receive the grace of salvation. But this initial response must continue till death. I you acknowledge Jesus as Lord of your life and you live with him, following his ways and commands, then your embrace of salvation will be complete in Christ. As Jesus embrace the mission of the Father by doing the will of the Father even to the death on the cross, so we are called to do the will of the Father.

 

 Psalms 6:5 “Turn to me, Lord, and rescue my soul. Save me because of your mercy.”

 In Malachi 3-7 we read: “Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord.” But the truth is that God is always turned towards us, even when we have turned away because of sin. When we return to him, we will find him awaiting us, like the father of the Prodigal son. In his mercy God forgives and forgets our sins. He restores us to our rightful dignity as his own. He can only save us if we return to him. What is the sin I am holding on too?  Is it worth holding to? Is it not better to turn back to the Lord for the forgiveness of sin? Lord, Have mercy.

 First Sunday of Lent Gospel 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. 

· The role of the Spirit in Jesus’ life is very important in Luke’s Gospel. In his humanity, Jesus needed the Spirit just as we, in our humanity, need the Spirit.

· Here it is the work of the Spirit to keep Jesus’ eyes on the Father and to trust fully in the Father. So too, the Spirit is present to us in times of temptations. How conscious are we of this presence and how quickly do we turn to the Spirit in temptations for strength and guidance?

He ate nothing during those days, and when they were over he was hungry. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” Jesus answered him, “It is written, One does not live on bread alone.” 

· The first temptation is to have Jesus question his dependency on God as his Father to provide for his needs. The temptation of Adam and Eve was also centered around food, not because they were hungry, but their need to be depended upon God. They could be equal to God.

· Where are we tempted to satisfy ourselves and not to believe that God can satisfy us fully?

Then he took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a single instant. The devil said to him, “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.” Jesus said to him in reply, “It is written: You shall worship the Lord, your God, and him alone shall you serve.” 

· The temptation of Adam and Eve was don’t they want to be like God, knowing good and evil? Don’t they want to have the same power and authority as God?

· For Jesus, the second temptation was touching on the human ambition for power and possessions. The price would be to substitute the true God for a pseudo-god.

· What are our vulnerabilities and areas of weaknesses which the evil one seeks to trip us up in? What are the false gods we reach out to rather than the true God?

Then he led him to Jerusalem, made him stand on the parapet of the temple, and said to him, “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.” Jesus said to him in reply, “It also says: ’You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.’” 

· The temptation is to test God, not trusting in him as God, not respecting him as God. It is the temptation to have God prove himself to us. It denies the relationship of dependency upon God.

· In each of the temptations, Jesus depended upon the Word of God to counter the devil. The temptation is a lie; the Word of God is the truth.

· What do we learn from this passage that we can implement in our lives during this season of Lent?

· Do we need to study and reflect on the Word of God more?  Do we need to surrender our life to Jesus more? Do we need to call on the strength of the Spirit in the time of temptations?

When the devil had finished every temptation, he departed from him for a time.

· There were many other subtle temptations for Jesus during his public ministry. The next biggest comes in the Garden of Olives and on the Cross.

· In our life, the devil is always looking for ways to separate us from God. Like Jesus we must keep our eyes on the Father and trust in his providential care.

 Psalm 6:2-3 “O Lord, do not rebuke me in your fury, nor chastise me in your anger. Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am weak. Heal me, Lord, for my bones have become disturbed,”

 

God chastises us not in anger but in love. Hebrews 12:6-7 “For whomever the Lord loves, he chastises. And every son whom he accepts, he scourges. Persevere in discipline. God presents you to himself as sons. But what son is there, whom his father does not correct?” In the Old Testament God chastised the Chosen People when they strayed far from him. He does the same with us. His chastisement has a corrective purpose, to bring us back to him. His chastisement is done in mercy now, so that he doesn’t have to chastise us in justice, which is eternal alienation from him. Lord, have mercy, for I have sinned.

 Psalms 6:2-3 “O Lord, do not rebuke me in your fury, nor chastise me in your anger. Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am weak. Heal me, Lord, for my bones have become disturbed,”

The Psalmist is aware of his sins. He knows that his sins separate him from God and that he deserves the wrath of God. He pleads for mercy, not judgment, for healing, not chastisement. As we begin this new Lenten journey, we need to confront our own sins through repentance and conversion of heart, so that we too can experience God’s mercy and not the justice we deserve. For God does not desire the death of the sinner, but that he returns to the Lord with sincere repentance. God desires us to live with him now and eternally. But sin blocks that. Lent is another grace time in our spiritual journey.

 

During the season of Lent, we will be reflecting on the seven Penitential Psalms. Each week we will reflect on one of the following psalms: 6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 130, 143. As Lent is a time to uproot sin in our lives, these psalms reflect the cry and lamentation over personal and corporate sins and their consequences in our lives. I invite you to join me in this Lenten journey to the Pascal Mystery. I urge you to pray and reflect on these psalms as a way of entering into the prayer of the Psalmist, which is the prayer of the Church, making it our own prayer. May we have a graced-filled Lent. Lord, have mercy for I have sinned.

 "Be with him and listen. Listen to the One who invites you. Be quiet. Like a child dwells in the house with her mother and father. Just dwell. Play around. Be there. A half hour a day. Is it possible? Is it possible for half an hour? Just be there. Sit there and do nothing. Waste time with Jesus. That is what love does." Henri Nouwen

As you prepare for Lent, will conscious, quality time with the Lord be part of your regime? You may say that you are too busy, you have too much on your plate. Then, maybe you need to eliminate some things to give God his due in your life. You and I were so important to God, that he became Man and offer his life for our life, so that we might have real life. After all that, is it asking too much for us to show gratitude by spending this time with the Lord? "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's" How applicable is this saying of Jesus!