Spirit Aflame: 2026

Reading 1: It is not enough to say I believe or even to believe. Our new relationship with God through baptism must impact and transform our lives. We see what happened to the initial believers in Christ as Lord and Savior. They devoted themselves to a new way of life. They wanted to know more about Jesus and his teachings. “They devoted themselves to the teachings of the apostles.” They entered into a relationship with God and with one another through prayer, both private and communal. This was essential in deepening their relationship with God.

They devoted themselves to the breaking of the bread. The Eucharist was essential to their new way of life, both as a sign of their gratitude to God for their new life and as a sign of their union with God through sharing in the Lord’s Body and Blood. They shared life in common, supporting and encouraging one another in their new community as brothers and sisters of the Lord.

Their personal and communal lives were not only internally directed but externally as well. They shared with others what God had done in their lives and signs and wonders confirmed their testimony. Their faith was evident and effective. They were a people of great joy and love which others witnessed and sought. Is the same true about us?

Gospel: Jesus’ first appearance to the Apostles on Easter was a transforming moment of grace. He could have reprimanded them for abandoning him in the time of his greatest need. Instead, Jesus shows them his love and mercy by extending them peace.

Then he commissioned them. “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” He empowered, as he was anointed, by imparting to them the gift of the Holy Spirit. He extended to them the power to forgive sins in his name. The focus was not to relish in his resurrected presence but to be apostles, sent to bring the gift of new life to others, beginning with the forgiveness of sins.

The second part of today’s reading was the importance of believing without seeing, believing in the power of Jesus without always seeing the results. Thomas was not present when Jesus appeared to the others on the day of his resurrection. When told what Jesus said and did, Thomas would not believe, because he needed personal evidence.

When Jesus appears to Thomas and challenges his unbelief, Thomas is the first to publicly profess that Jesus is Lord and God.

Sometimes, we have a hard time accepting the plan of God. Like Thomas, we have our own conditions before we have that conversion experience of total submission to God’s plan. We still are living out of our human framework, rather than yielding to the plan of God. Jesus could have easily dismissed Thomas for his unbelief. But he doesn’t. Jesus reminds Thomas and us of the greater faith than seeing him with human eyes. “Blessed are they who have not seen and still believe.” We have not seen the risen Lord with our human eyes but have seen him with the eyes of faith. As Paul says: “We walk by faith and not by sight.”

Reading 2: Peter is writing to Christians years after the event of Easter and Pentecost. Even though they had never seen Jesus, they believed in him and were baptized in his name. Their new life in Christ was real. In the midst of their trials and sufferings, their faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior sustained and strengthened them.

Peter said in his great mercy God gave us a new birth to a new life because of the death and resurrection of Jesus. In that gift we were given the promise of sharing with God forever in glory, if we remain faithful to God.

Thought of the Day April 8, 2026 How blessed are we!

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Reflection on the Scriptures Second Sunday of Easter Gospel A Believe

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Second Sunday of Easter Gospel: Year A

On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, "Peace be with you."

How often are we paralyzed by fear and lack of trust in the word of God?

Notice that Jesus= resurrected body is different yet the same: different, it is not limited by a closed door; the same, it is the person of Jesus.

When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. (Jesus) said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you."

What is it that Jesus was sent to do by the Father that the disciples and we are equally sent to do?

And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained."

In John=s theology we can=t separate the death and resurrection of Jesus from the gift of the Holy Spirit. Together the two events make up the Paschal Mystery of God=s plan. In Luke the two events are separated by fifty days.

Just as Jesus received the anointing of the Spirit after his baptism, empowering him to do the work of the Father, so the disciples and we are given the gift of the Spirit for the same purpose. How have we responded?

This mandate to forgive sins is one of the scriptural foundations for the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Do we take advantage of this gift of reconciliation from Jesus?

Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples said to him, "We have seen the Lord."

Following what Jesus told them to do, the first person the disciples witnessed to was to Thomas.

But he said to them, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nailmarks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe."

Have we found ourselves at times in the same place as Thomas was, struggling with doubts, in spite of what others tell us about Jesus and what he has done?

Have we at times put conditions to Jesus to fulfill before we acted in faith?

Now a week later his disciples were again inside and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, although the doors were locked, and stood in their midst and said, "Peace be with you." Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe." Thomas answered and said to him, "My Lord and my God!"

Jesus does not chastise or condemn Thomas for his unbelief. He reaches out in compassion and love.

Of all the confessions of faith in Jesus found in John=s Gospel this is the highest.

Jesus said to him, "Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed."

To believe without seeing is a greater sign of faith than seeing and then believing.

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of (his) disciples that are not written in this book. But these are written that you may (come to) believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through this belief you may have life in his name.

The closing verses are addressed to us today. How has our faith in Jesus impacted our lives?

Other reflections?

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Reflection on the Scriptures Fifth Sunday of Lent Gospel A Glory of God

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Fifth Sunday of Lent Gospel A

So the sisters of Lazarus sent word to Jesus, saying, "Master, the one you love is ill." When Jesus heard this he said, "This illness is not to end in death, but is for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.

Lazarus will in fact die. But his will not be his ultimate fate because Jesus will raise him to new life, affording an opportunity for others to glorify God by means of the miracle.

" Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard that he was ill, he remained for two days in the place where he was. Then after this he said to his disciples, "Let us go back to Judea."

The delay of Jesus proves fatal for Lazarus at the moment. This period of waiting is not a mistake or miscalculation, but part of Jesus’ plan to generate faith in the disciples. Raising the dead to new life will have a more profound effect on them than raising the sick to health.

When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days.

Jews during NT times customarily wrapped the dead with a shroud, tied strip of cloth around their extremities and anointed their bodies with fragrant oils and spices..

Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, only about two miles away. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him; but Mary sat at home. Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. (But) even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you." Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise." Martha said to him, "I know he will rise, in the resurrection on the last day."

The resurrection of the dead on the last day was currently held by all in Judaism except the Sadducees.

Jesus told her, "I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" She said to him, "Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world."

• Martha professes her faith in Jesus.

He became perturbed and deeply troubled, and said, "Where have you laid him?" They said to him, "Sir, come and see." And Jesus wept.

• The humanity of Jesus is very clear in this event, even knowing what he was about to do.

So the Jews said, "See how he loved him." But some of them said, "Could not the one who opened the eyes of the blind man have done something so that this man would not have died?" So Jesus, perturbed again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay across it. Jesus said, "Take away the stone." Martha, the dead man's sister, said to him, "Lord, by now there will be a stench; he has been dead for four days." Jesus said to her, "Did I not tell you that if you believe you will see the glory of God?"

• Though Martha professed faith earlier, now when Jesus called her to exercise that faith, she faltered. The reality of death was too real.

So they took away the stone. And Jesus raised his eyes and said, "Father, I thank you for hearing me. I know that you always hear me; but because of the crowd here I have said this, that they may believe that you sent me." And when he had said this, he cried out in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!" The dead man came out, tied hand and foot with burial bands, and his face was wrapped in a cloth. So Jesus said to them, "Untie him and let him go."

• Jesus’ love for Lazarus was real and visible. Do we recognize that same love for us? How have I experienced in the past this unconditional love?

Now many of the Jews who had come to Mary and seen what he had done began to believe in him

• When and where has my faith in Jesus as “the Resurrection of the Life” been tested in the past?

• When I face the death of a loved one, does my faith in the above promises of Jesus sustain and comfort me?

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Reflections on the Scriptures Fourth Sunday of Lent Gospel A Spiritual insight

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Fourth Sunday of Lent Gospel A

As Jesus passed by he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “Neither he nor his parents sinned; it is so that the works of God might be made visible through him. We have to do the works of the one who sent me while it is day. Night is coming when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

· The disciples reflect the general thinking about the connection between sickness/affliction and sin. Being born blind was considered by some to be a punishment for some sin, either personal or generational.

· Jesus says that nature has taken its course and God will use this for his glory.

When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva, and smeared the clay on his eyes, and said to him, “Go wash in the Pool of Siloam” —which means Sent—.So he went and washed, and came back able to see.

· Could this be an insight into the sacrament of Baptism and what it does?

His neighbors and those who had seen him earlier as a beggar said, “Isn’t this the one who used to sit and beg?” Some said, “It is, “ but others said, “No, he just looks like him.” He said, “I am.” So they said to him, “How were your eyes opened?” He replied, “The man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and told me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ So I went there and washed and was able to see.” And they said to him, “Where is he?” He said, “I don’t know.”

· He readily witnesses the truth of what Jesus did for him. Have we been ministered to by Jesus recently? Did we share the truth with others?

They brought the one who was once blind to the Pharisees. Now Jesus had made clay and opened his eyes on a sabbath.

· The issue is not so much that Jesus healed this man but that it was the Sabbath on which he did this.

The Pharisees claim this is forbidden by the Law and that Jesus was breaking the Law. So then the Pharisees also asked him how he was able to see. He said to them, “He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and now I can see.” So some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, because he does not keep the sabbath.” But others said, “How can a sinful man do such signs?” And there was a division among them.

· Blindness to the truth can prevent people from seeing the hand of God. The Pharisees were not looking for the truth, only to defend their position, no matter the cost. Have we ever found ourselves in a similar position?

So they said to the blind man again, “What do you have to say about him, since he opened your eyes?” He said, “He is a prophet.”

· As the man comes to a clearer understanding of who Jesus is, the Pharisees become more hardened against him.

Now the Jews did not believe that he had been blind and gained his sight until they summoned the parents of the one who had gained his sight. They asked them, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How does he now see?” His parents answered and said, “We know that this is our son and that he was born blind. We do not know how he sees now, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him, he is of age; he can speak for himself.” His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone acknowledged him as the Christ, he would be expelled from the synagogue. For this reason his parents said, “He is of age; question him.”

· Out of fear the parents did not want to get involved. Have we at times acted out of fear rather than stand up for what we know is true?

So a second time they called the man who had been blind and said to him, “Give God the praise! We know that this man is a sinner.” He replied, “If he is a sinner, I do not know. One thing I do know is that I was blind and now I see.” So they said to him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” He answered them, “I told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples, too?” They ridiculed him and said, “You are that man’s disciple; we are disciples of Moses! We know that God spoke to Moses, but we do not know where this one is from.” The man answered and said to them, “This is what is so amazing, that you do not know where he is from, yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners,. but if one is devout and does his will, he listens to him. It is unheard of that anyone ever opened the eyes of a person born blind. If this man were not from God, he would not be able to do anything.” They answered and said to him, “You were born totally in sin, and are you trying to teach us?” Then they threw him out.

· The Pharisees try to discredit Jesus by implying that he is a sinner. At another time they called him a devil. Rather than acknowledge Jesus is doing the work of God, they prefer to accuse him of being evil. To acknowledge him would then put them at a crisis. The man hit the nail on the head: they have refused to be his disciples that is why they are trying to destroy him

· The man sees the truth about Jesus and about the Pharisees.

When Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, he found him and said, (Do you believe in the Son of Man?” He answered and said, “Who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?”Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, the one speaking with you is he.” He said, “I do believe, Lord,” and he worshiped him.

· The man comes to the final stage of his journey: faith and acceptance of Jesus as One who came from God; one who is the Messiah. This was what the Pharisees refused to accept.

Then Jesus said, “I came into this world for judgment, so that those who do not see might see, and those who do see might become blind.” Some of the Pharisees who were with him heard this and said to him, “Surely we are not also blind, are we?” Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you are saying, ‘We see,’ so your sin remains.

· Can you feel Jesus saying if the shoe fits, wear it.

· Jesus contrasts the journey of the man from physical blindness to physical sight, from spiritual blindness to spiritual insight. On the other hand those who should have spiritual insight further rush into spiritual blindness.

· Whereas they accuse the man of being born because of his sin, Jesus says the real sin is theirs because they refuse to believe in the truth of who he is and what he has been preaching.

· What do you take from this story and apply to your life?

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Homily Third Sunday of Lent Year A Thirst

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Homily Third Sunday of Lent Year A

Reading 1: On the First Sunday of Lent we read that God put Adam and Eve to the test to see if they would accept the fact they were creatures called to put their trust in and obey the will of God. If so, they would live eternally with him. They failed the test but succumbed to the temptation of the Devil, believing in his lies. On the Second Sunday of Lent we heard that Abraham believed in God, trusting in his promises and followed.

Today, we heard of the test God put the Israelites through after showing them his wondrous power, by delivering them from the bondage in Egypt. Instead of trusting in the providential care of God, they grumbled and complained. They couldn’t believe God could provide them food and water in the desert. They said: “Is the Lord in our midst or not?” God in his mercy provided them the water they craved. How do we test the Lord, rather than obey his will? The Israelites continued to test the Lord throughout their desert sojourn.

Gospel: The word of God taps into the theme of water. This was not a chance encounter between Jesus and the woman. It was a divine appointment. Jesus sees that within this Samaritan woman was a thirst for the truth, for the more. She longs for the Savior to deliver her from her bondage of drudgery and emptiness.

Jesus plants the seed by offering her life-giving water. But before she is ready to receive this gift, she needs to recognize her sate of sin and verbalize her longing. Jesus reveals to her that he is the one she is longing for. The grace of conversion had its effect. Recognizing the mercy and forgiveness of God in the words of Jesus, she went to share with the very people who shunned her for her life style the good news of freedom.

Many came to Jesus at first one the word of the woman, but then came to believe because of their personal encounter with Jesus.

Jesus desires to encounter us through his life-giving word, so that we can be set free from whatever holds us in bondage and receive the life-giving water, the gift of the Holy Spirit. He gives us further his Body and Blood, so that we can share with him the new life now and forever.

Reading 2: Paul reminds us that Jesus died for us, when we were sinners. Through his death and resurrection, which we personally experienced in the waters of Baptism. This was our initial encounter. We believe that we have been justified by faith. God further loved us by pouring out his Spirit upon us, so that we can grow in our relationship with God, as we share his divine life. God demonstrates his love for us, not only by creating us in his own image and likeness, but by his Son giving his life for our life, by sustaining us in his life through the gift of the Holy Spirit, whose temple we are.

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Reflections on the Scriptures Third Sunday of Lent Year A Do you thirst?

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Third Sunday of Lent Year A

Jesus came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of land that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob's well was there. Jesus, tired from his journey, sat down there at the well. It was about noon. A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give me a drink." His disciples had gone into the town to buy food. The Samaritan woman said to him, "How can you, a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?"—For Jews use nothing in common with Samaritans.—

· The reason why she comes at noon is probably to avoid the other women of the town who would taunt her for her life style of having five different men.

· Jesus was thirsty physically and thirsty for her spiritual refreshment.

· Her response is typical for the time. Jews and Samaritans did not speak to one another, let alone a Jewish man and a Samaritan woman. Jews believed that the Samaritans were half breeds, having intermarried with the pagans. The Samaritans did not recognize anything other than the first five books of the Scriptures.

Jesus answered and said to her, "If you knew the gift of God and who is saying to you, 'Give me a drink, 'you would have asked him and he would have given you living water."

· Two things: the gift God wants to give you—namely new life through the Holy Spirit; the person is the Messiah who is talking to you.

The woman said to him, "Sir, you do not even have a bucket and the cistern is deep; where then can you get this living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us this cistern and drank from it himself with his children and his flocks?"

· The woman is still combative and on her guard. She doesn’t trust him.

Jesus answered and said to her, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again; but whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst; the water I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."

· Jesus is not defensive but gentle and persisting. He knows that there is a deeper thirst within her than just for regular water.

The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water, so that I may not be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water."

· Jesus has connected with that longing within her.

Jesus said to her, "Go call your husband and come back." The woman answered and said to him, "I do not have a husband." Jesus answered her, "You are right in saying, 'I do not have a husband. 'For you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true."

· Jesus sees she is ready to hear the message of truth, ready to be evangelized. But first, must prepare her heart further. With Word of Knowledge, a gift of the Holy Spirit, Jesus reveals to her something he would never have known about this woman. He does so to open her heart further.

· She has been living with five different men and the one she is with is no different.

The woman said to him, "Sir, I can see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain; but you people say that the place to worship is in Jerusalem."

· The woman, without stating it, is remorseful. She is ready to turn away from her past sinfulness and be open to the new life being offered her.

· Because of the Word of Knowledge, she accepts the fact that Jesus was a prophet, speaking God’s word to her.

· She doesn’t understand why Jews and Samaritans worship differently the same God.

Jesus said to her, "Believe me, woman, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You people worship what you do not understand; we worship what we understand, because salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth; and indeed the Father seeks such people to worship him. God is Spirit, and those who worship him must worship in Spirit and truth."

· Even the worship of the Jews will be surpassed by the true worship of God that Jesus will inaugurate with his death and resurrection.

· To worship God in Spirit and truth is to offer the true and everlasting worship to the Father which is Jesus’ gift of himself in the Spirit.

The woman said to him, "I know that the Messiah is coming, the one called the Christ; when he comes, he will tell us everything."

· It was almost as if she had one last question to assure herself of what she is hearing. She is looking for salvation through the Messiah’s coming.

Jesus said to her, "I am he, the one speaking with you."

· Jesus has never publicly acknowledge to others before. He accepted Peter’s profession that he was the Messiah, yet he never said it himself. This is all she needed to hear. She is convicted.

At that moment his disciples returned, and were amazed that he was talking with a woman, but still no one said, "What are you looking for?" or "Why are you talking with her?" The woman left her water jar and went into the town and said to the people, "Come see a man who told me everything I have done. Could he possibly be the Christ?" They went out of the town and came to him.

· Having been evangelized to the truth, the woman returns to town, without her water bucket for that is her past. She is a new person who has been set free and given a new chance.

· She witnesses to the people of the town and invites them to see for themselves if this is not the Messiah.

Meanwhile, the disciples urged him, "Rabbi, eat." But he said to them, "I have food to eat of which you do not know." So the disciples said to one another, "Could someone have brought him something to eat?" Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of the one who sent me and to finish his work. Do you not say, 'In four months the harvest will be here'? I tell you, look up and see the fields ripe for the harvest. The reaper is already receiving payment and gathering crops for eternal life, so that the sower and reaper can rejoice together. For here the saying is verified that 'One sows and another reaps.' I sent you to reap what you have not worked for; others have done the work, and you are sharing the fruits of their work."

· The will of the Father was the salvation of souls. This is the real hunger and thirst of Jesus, to bring people back to the truth of the Father’s love in obedience. This will be in time the life of the disciples as well after the resurrection.

Many of the Samaritans of that town began to believe in him because of the word of the woman who testified, "He told me everything I have done." When the Samaritans came to him, they invited him to stay with them; and he stayed there two days. Many more began to believe in him because of his word, and they said to the woman, "We no longer believe because of your word; for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the savior of the world."

· The faith of the people in Jesus began with the witness of the woman. But, having had contact with Jesus, hearing his message, they believed on his word now, rather than the testimony of the woman.

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Reflection on the Scriptures Second Sunday of Lent Gospel A Confirmation

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Second Sunday of Lent Gospel A

Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves.

· Why these three? Over the course of time they became Jesus’ inner circle. They will be invited by Jesus to go aside with him in the Garden to pray. They were the first to be chosen as disciples. Why Andrew was not included, we don’t know.

And he was transfigured before them; his face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light.

· Put yourself in the place of the three. What do you think you would have thought or felt at this sight? What would be your initial response?

And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, conversing with him.

· Moses represented the Law and Elijah the prophets. Jesus had said that he would fulfill the Law and the Prophets.

· What do you think they were saying to Jesus? Probably, talking about his upcoming suffering and death.

Then Peter said to Jesus in reply, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”

· How we would want the joy of the present moment to last forever! Peter wanted to stay there and go down the mountain.

While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud cast a shadow over them, then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.”

· The Shekina glory of God is sometimes depicted as a bright cloud. They probably had remembrances of the time God appeared to the people at Mt Sinai in the desert.

· When did God say this about Jesus? At his baptism.

· How well do we listen to the Lord? What were they to listen to? Jesus had predicted his passion, death and resurrection and they did not want to hear of it. The Father confirms this message through the transfiguration and through his voice.

When the disciples heard this, they fell prostrate and were very much afraid.

· Would you react any differently, if you thought God had revealed something to you?

But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and do not be afraid.”

· How often this is the message Jesus has to give the disciples during or after some experience. Recall the time they saw Jesus walking on water and they thought it was a ghost. Recall his post resurrection appearances.

And when the disciples raised their eyes, they saw no one else but Jesus alone.

As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, “Do not tell the vision to anyone until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”

· The vision revealed the divinity of Jesus, which the apostles did not fully understand and would not until the resurrection. If they would not, even after this experience, how would others? Would you have?

· What lesson do you take from this passage and apply to your life?

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Homily First Sunday of Lent Year A The will of God

By spiritaflame 10:29 AM

Homily: First Sunday of Lent A

Story: A man bought paint to refurbish the outside of his house. But he ignored the instructions on the can and thinned it liberally with water. After he finished painting the exterior, he stood back to admire the job, chuckling to see how beautiful it looked for so little money. But that night there was a great rainstorm. The next morning he went outside and stood before his streaky house. At that moment a voice from heaven thundered in his ear: “Repaint and thin no more.”

How often we shortcut the instructions of God, to do it our way and end up with a worse condition? Are we choosing to listen to the voice o f God or of human expediency. To confuse the issue further the evil one knows our vulnerability and comes against us with half truths that satisfies the human appetite.

In the first reading, God called Adam to recognize the gift he had received, to recognize the relationship between him and God and to remain in that relationship through obedience. The evil one said that Adam and Eve could determine their own live, to have total power over life. He said that they could be like God, equal to him. There were three points to his temptation. One was the temptation of the appetites (apple); second, the temptation of self-determination, independently of God (to be like God); third, the temptation for power (you shall not die).

Paul in the second reading says that through one man’s disobedience all became sinners. What was the sin of Adam and Eve which they expressed through disobedience? It was the sin of not accepting oneself as limited and depended; the sin of wanting to be other than creatures dependent upon God, the Creator; the sin of turning away from God and to turn to self. What was the temptation? To believe in and trust the father of lies rather that the author of truth. It was true that they would know good and evil; it was a lie that they would be like God. The result of their sin was they saw themselves as nothing without God. As a result, they hid themselves because they were no longer in right relationship with God. To isolate themselves from God was not to become equal to God but to become less than they were meant to be.

In contrast, Paul states, referring to Jesus: “through one man’s obedience, all shall become just.” The Son of God became man to show us how to live in our humanity in right relationship to God.. After his baptism, he experiences similar temptations to Adam and Eve. The first temptation was self-gratification rather than dependency upon the Father to care for his needs. Jesus’ response: “Not on bread alone, but on the Word of God.”

The second temptation was to question God’s ways, to have God prove his love by a miracle. Jesus’ response was that his relationship with the Father was strong and need not be tested. In his humanity Jesus did not have to assert himself or test the Father’s love. He knew and trusted in that love.

The third temptation was that of power, ambition, greed, authority, dominance and control. To be set up as a god. Jesus’ response: There is only one God and you, Satan, are not. You have not power. Be gone. Jesus refused to give him power, or credence or the time of day. Jesus’ knew he was the beloved Son of the Father and he was loved as such. No questions asked.

How was Jesus able to do this? Though God, in his humanity he emptied himself of his divinity so as to embrace our full humanity in everything but sin. In his humanity he allowed the Holy Spirit to lead him as he kept his eyes, heart and will on the Father. He refused to assert his own power but totally remained dependent upon the Father, waiting and trusting on the Father. Jesus refused to isolate himself from the Father in his humanity. He totally entrusted himself to the Father in obedience.

As we commit ourselves to Jesus, as we repent of our desire to be independent, as we accept Jesus as the Lord of our life, we will also experience the freedom of our humanity. We will become more the son or daughter, beloved by the Father, that we are meant to be. Following the lead of Jesus, in the times of our own temptations, remember who we are, whose we are and keep our eyes on the Father, following the lead of the Sprit.

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