First
Sunday of Lent: Year A
“Lead us
not into Temptation”
We need to run away from all sorts of temptations in this manner
Collect
♥ The collect of today uses
a phrase: “… that we may grow in understanding of the riches hidden in Christ…”
♥ This is not the
riches that the devil is showing to Jesus in the Gospel reading: he showed all
the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them
and he said to him,
“all
these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.”
Prayer
after Communion
♥ Here we find a
phrase: “…Renewed now with heavily bread…”
♥ This food, this heavenly bread nourishes our faith,
increases our hope and strengthens our charity.
♥ Jesus said: “I am the bread of life”
(Jn 6:48). And the devil tempted him to turn the stones into bread. And
he said: “One does not live by bread alone but by every Word that comes from
the mouth of God. He also said: “My food is to
do the will of the one who sent me” (Jn 4:34). He again said: “For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink” (Jn 6:55 NJB); “Do
not labour for the food which perishes, but for the food which
endures to eternal life, which the Son of man will give to you; for on him has
God the Father set his seal” (Jn 6:27 RSV).
♥ The prayer
says: “We pray O Lord that we may learn to hunger
for Christ, the true and living bread.” So beautiful.
First
Reading
♥ “… And breathed into his nostrils the breath
of life…” God sustains this life. Finally He sent his only
Son who would give us the bread of eternal life. So this life is not ours. It
is given by the Lord. we need to keep it safe from all the temptations of life.
♥ God planted
a garden in Eden: it is like a father after the marriage of his daughter or
son gives a house with every convenience so that they can live in peace and
happiness.
♥ Nothing was lacking
for them. They had everything they wanted. Every tree was pleasant to the eye and
good for food and they cast their eyes
on the tree of knowledge of good and evil. The more we have the more we
want. This is human nature.
♥ It is like a husband/wife
casting his or eyes on the second man or the second woman; a consecrated person
desiring a second relationship apart from the Lord who alone is enough for him or her.
♥ There is a saying: “Don’t loose the forest for a tree.” Similar
thing happened to our first parents. They lost the forest just for a tree.
♥ Now the devil was more subtle than any other wild creature
that the Lord God had made.
♥ Don’t
negotiate with the devil.
Don’t discuss with Satan. Our first parents did and they failed. We too will
fail.
♥ “… neither
shall you TOUCH it…”
♥ The
proximity of the temptation should be avoided.
♥ I believe those who go for spiritual direction (or have attended some talks or retreat) to Fr. Pulingathil Mathew sdb, IND will remember about a
story that he often narrates - once a group of monkeys decided to go to a
distant forest. The leader told the whole group that on the way they would not
eat anything. They would eat only when they had reached that forest; their
destination. On the way they had to pass through a banana garden. One monkey
saw a bunch of ripe bananas. He plucked one banana from that bunch. Others told
him not to do that. He said: “I just plucked it, I will not eat.” Then after
some distance, he began to peel it. When other moneys protested, he said: “I
will eat only when I reach our destination.” After sometime he could not
control. It was so near to his mouth and so he eat it.
♥ The
monkey could not control from eating the banana because it was too near to him. In the same way we need to avoid the
occasions of sin and temptations.
♥ “… You will be like God.”
♥ God was not enough
for them. They wanted to be like God.
♥ The tree
was to be desired to make one WISE
♥ We need to be careful of our intellectual pride.
♥ And she
ALSO GAVE some to her husband.
♥ Don Bosco says: “No
one goes to heaven or hell alone.” We take with us those with whom we work.
♥ And Jesus said to his disciples, “Temptations to
sin are sure to come; but woe to him by whom they come! It would be better for
him if a millstone were hung round his neck and he were cast into the sea, than
that he should cause one of these little ones to sin” (Lk 17:1-2 RSV).
♥ “Let him know
that whoever brings back a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul
from death and will cover a multitude of sins” (Jam 5:20 RSV).
♥ As we take others away from God, we can also bring
others near to God.
♥ The eyes of BOTH were opened.
♥ Jesus also told them a parable: “Can a blind man
lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? (Lk 6:39 RSV).
♥ Both had sinned and so there was no way out. One
partner could not help the other.
♥ In our community life, in our society often we
don’t find help from others because very few live a spotless life. We find
difficult to correct others because there is a log in our own eyes. When this
happens we just tolerate the evil. If I say something against the other person
he may tell to the public about my mistake, my fault. And so I prefer to keep
silent and allow the evil to continue.
♥ This is what the devil wants. Make
everyone of us guilty of some serious mistake so that we don’t speak out against the evil practices
that are going on in our communities, church, in our schools, colleges, village
communities and so on.
♥ Jesus was like us in everything except sin. That’s
why he was able to tell others directly. He chased out the money changers from
the temple compound. We find difficult because when we point one finger at
others, there are three fingers pointing back at us.
Responsorial Psalm
♥ My offences
truly I know them my sin is always before me.
♥ Do not cast
me away from your presence: Our first parents
were cast away from God’s presence. Jesus in his temptation fought against the
temptation and decided to be in God’s presence rather than to go away from his
presence by giving in to the temptation.
♥ Another
sentence which does not appear today from the psalm is:
“O see, in guild I was born; a sinner was I conceived.”
♥ Therefore, our body
craves to sin.
♥ Psalmist
says:
one day within your court is better than thousand elsewhere. But often we prefer to go away from the presence of God.
♥ Once we go away from
the presence of God, we are deprived of God’s Spirit.
♥ That is why our first
parents began to hide because God’s
spirit was no more with them; they were away from God’s presence.
♥ Before the Pentecost
Peter was afraid. He and his friends hid in a room just as our first parents
did. But when the Holy Spirit came on him and his disciples, he began to
proclaim Jesus openly.
Second Reading
♥ Sin came
into the world through one man: There is social
dimension to sin.
♥ All the gifts and the graces are offered to an individual in
order to build up the church of Christ. In the like manner, when a person sins
in a sense, the sin is personal, but not private. It affects the whole
community.
♥ “If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all
rejoice together” (1Co 12:26 RSV).
♥ “You shall not hate in your heart anyone of your
kin; you shall reprove your neighbor, or you will incur guilt yourself” (Lev 19:17 NRS).
Gospel Reading
♥ Jesus was led up by
the Spirit in the wilderness and Adam and Eve were put in the garden by God.
♥ Adam and Eve were in
a beautiful Garden of Eden and Jesus
is in a desolate wilderness.
♥ Adam and Eve were feasting whole through. But Jesus fasted forty days and forty nights: It is a preparation for his mission. Bernard Tirel Says: “when the body fasts the soul
feasts and when the body feasts the soul fasts.”
♥ Jesus was hungry while Adam and Eve were not hungry. They had everything they wanted and
yet they ate the fruit which they were not supposed to eat. Jesus had every
reason to eat something because he was hungry. And yet he did not eat.
♥ Tempter
came to Jesus and the snake came to
Adam and Eve.
♥ Snake was more subtle than any other creatures God had
created.
♥ Jesus never sinned and
yet he was tempted in the desert.
♥ Desert is a place of
intimacy so too temptation once overcome can lead to a great height of intimacy
with the Lord.
♥ He asked Eve: “Did
God say that you should not eat the ….”
And now he tells Jesus: “If you are the Son of God…”
♥ The devil was not trying to lure Jesus into some particular
sin rather, he was trying to entice Jesus to go away from his mission, mainly through a temptation to become
the political messiah of Jewish expectations, and to use his divine power to
avoid suffering and death.
♥ Let us ask ourselves the same question: do we use the powers
God has given us–physical, financial, mental, or spiritual–for our own
satisfaction, comfort or enrichment, or for the well being, spiritual as well
as physical, of others in the community?
♥ The temptation story depicts Jesus as obedient to his Father’s will, refusing to be seduced into using his
divine power or authority.
♥ Each of the three temptations, according to the Fathers of
the Church, represents an area in which humans regularly fail: the lust of the flesh (stones
to bread), the lust of the eye and the heart (ruling over all kingdoms), and the pride of life (a spectacular leap
from the Temple).
♥ The first temptation was well timed. Jesus had been fasting for forty days and he was hungry. Enemies
don’t attack you when you are strong. They wait for an opportune time. That is
way Jesus says: “Stay awake and pray so that you may not fall into temptation.”
♥ Note that Jesus overcame these
temptations through the knowledge of his identity, his purpose, and God’s plan
for human salvation.
♥ He uses two powerful weapons against the
temptations: the Holy
Spirit and Holy Scripture. Jesus was “full of the Holy Spirit,” and the Spirit helped
him to survive his temptations (Lk 4:1, 4:14, 4:18).
♥ Likewise, he quoted Holy Scripture in
response to all three temptations.
♥ Satan knew the
identity of Jesus; that he was the Son of God.
♥ “Ah! What have
you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who
you are, the Holy One of God” (Lk 4:34 RSV).
♥ He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
(Mt 16:15 RSV).
♥ If Satan tempted Adam
and Eve who were with God, in the presence of God, very dear to God; if he
tempted Jesus who was the son of God, then who are we? Do you think he will
leave us?
♥ No disciple is
greater than his master.
♥ Remember the word that I said to you, “A servant is
not greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will persecute you;
if they kept my word, they will keep yours also” (Jn 15:20 RSV).
♥ “… Command
these stones to become loaves of bread.” But Jesus is “I am
the bread of life.” Jesus gave beautiful answer: One does not live by bread
alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. If Adam and Eve had
obeyed the WORD of God in the Garden they could have lived. They did not obey.
♥ For food
people are ready to do anything.
♥ It is recorded in the history: And Esau said to Jacob, “Let
me eat some of that red pottage, for I am famished!” (Therefore his name was
called Edom.) Jacob said, “First sell me your birthright.” Esau said, “I am
about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?” Jacob said, “Swear to me
first.” So he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave
Esau bread and pottage of lentils, and he ate and drank, and rose and went his
way. Thus Esau despised his birthright. (Gen 25:30-34 RSV).
♥ For the kingdom of God is not food and drink but
righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit; (Rom 14:17 RSV).
♥ In the Greek Culture we find Charvakas and epicureans who spent their
life in eating and drinking.
♥ At the first temptation itself Eve gave in but not Jesus.
There is a powerful video that speaks about this ‘never-give-up’ attitude
towards sin and temptation. The prey escapes from so many snakes and reaches its companions.
You must escape from sin, run away from sin as you escape and run away from a
snake. No discussion with the devil, no negotiations with him or else you will
be defeated like Adam and Eve.
♥ The second temptation points to our subtle attraction to
doing the right
thing by using
the wrong means.
♥ In the second test, Satan offers Jesus
an easy way to establish the Kingdom of God on earth: enter the world of
political power.
♥ And in the final
temptation, Jesus is urged to doubt God. Jesus
responds by quoting another text from Deuteronomy: “Do
not put the Lord your God to the test” (Deut 6:16), which
refers to an incident in which "the Israelites quarreled and tested the
Lord, saying, “is the Lord among us or not?
(Ex 17:7).
♥ We too test God like this: “If my husband is healed of
cancer…; if my boy comes back safely from …., If I get the job that I’ve been
praying for, I’ll know that God cares about me.” Jesus teaches us that the
Spirit-filled life requires unconditional surrender to God’s will.
♥ At all the three times
Jesus replied to the devil using the Word of God by saying: “for it is written…” we too need to rely on the
word of God in the face of every temptation.
♥ We
discover that Jesus was tempted on the three grounds: Food or appetite, power, riches and glory
♥ We too are tempted in
the same areas.
♥ Pope Francis says: we
have the temptation to turn bread into stone and
through it at others. This happens every time we do injustice to our
brothers and sisters.
♥ In the prayer “our Father” we pray: “Lead us not into
temptation.” We need to pray very consciously this prayer every day.
♥ Jesus
Himself said: “Stay awake and pray so that you may not fall into temptation.
The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.”
♥ God
is with us in our temptation as he was with Jesus in the desert and in the
garden before his death.
St. Augustine says
(The divine
office Vol. II, First Sunday of Lent, Second Reading, Page 95)
♥ Our pilgrim life here
on earth cannot be without temptation for it is through temptation that we make
progress and it is only by being
tempted that we come to know ourselves.
We cannot win our crown unless we overcome,
and we cannot overcome unless we enter the contest
and there is no contest unless we have an enemy
and the temptations he brings.
♥ He might have avoided the devil completely but had he not
been tempted, he would have failed to give you the lesson
of conquering when you are tempted.
Do not Lead us into Temptation
(We Are Weak Human Beings)
♥ Psalm 141:4 Do not turn my heart to any evil, to
busy myself with wicked deeds in company with those who work iniquity; do not
let me eat of their delicacies. (Psa 141:4 NRS)
♥ Mathew 6 and Luke 11
we have the prayer “Our Father”: "Lead us not into
temptation but delivers us from evil"
♥ Exodus 32:22 And Aaron said, “Do not let the anger of my Lord
burn hot; you know the people, that they are bent on
evil. (Exo 32:22 NRS)
♥ Genesis 8: In the flood episode God destroyed them because they were evil to the core but God said: “I will not
destroy human beings anymore with flood.”
♥ Isaiah 2:22 “Have no more to do with humankind, which has only
the breath in its nostrils. How much is this worth? (Is 2:22 NJB). The Psalmist prays: " Lord make us know the shortness of our hearts so that we may gain wisdom of heart."
♥ Genesis 3:19 In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till
you return to the ground, for out of it you were
taken; you are dust, and to dust you
shall return.” (Gen 3:19 RSV)
Ps 90
Ps 103
Ps 51
Ps 51
♥ The above Psalms say that we are just clay; that we are frail human beings and so
we need to pray so that we may not fall into temptation.
♥ Mark 14:38 Watch and pray that you may not enter into
temptation; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." (Mk 14:38 RSV).
♥ Ps 51 “O see in guilt I was born; a sinner was I
conceived.”
♥ Matthew 18:7 “Woe to the world for temptations to sin! For it is
necessary that temptations come, but woe to the man by whom the temptation
comes! (Mt 18:7 RSV).
♥ 1 Peter 5:8 Be sober, be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a
roaring lion, seeking some one to devour. (1Pe 5:8 RSV)
♥ Ephesians 6:12 For we are not contending against flesh and blood,
but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of
this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the
heavenly places. (Eph 6:12 RSV). We are fighting against the spirit
of lust, greed, anger, power, position, authority, sadness, hopelessness,
faithlessness.
♥ 2
Corinthians 11:13 For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen,
disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. (2Co 11:13 RSV). Devil
can even take the form of an angel . Be aware of that.
♥ John 17:15 I do not pray that you take them out of the world,
but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world,
even as I am not of the world (Jn 17:15 RSV)
♥ Luke 1:80 And the child grew and became strong in spirit,
and he was in the wilderness till the day of his manifestation to Israel. (Lk 1:80 RSV)
If we have spiritual strength we will be able to fight against the spirit of darkness.
♥ Luke 21:8 And he said, “Take heed that you are not led
astray; for many will come in my name, saying, `I am he!' and, `The time is at
hand!' Do not go after them. (Luk 21:8 RSV)
♥ 1 John 3:7 Little children, let no one deceive you. He who does right is righteous,
as he is righteous. (1Jo 3:7 RSV)
♥ If your son/daughter has gone far away to do some job, to study keep them in your
prayers.
♥ David: God loved him. He was a beloved of God. A body of a woman made him fall.
Solomon wan an intelligent man. He was David’s son (1 King 11). He had many
wives and yet he had relationship with foreign women. God had told not to do
that. He did it.
♥ Luke 22:31 “Simon, Simon, listen! Satan has demanded to sift
all of you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your own faith may not
fail; and you, when once you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”
(Lk 22:31 NRS)
Stay awake and pray
so that you may not be put to the test
♥ Mark 14:37 And he came and found them sleeping, and he said
to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? Could you not watch one hour? (Mk 14:37 RSV)
♥ He is asking from all of us. Could you not watch
one hour?
♥ Mark 1:35 “And in the morning, a great while before day, he
rose and went out to a lonely place, and there he prayed” (Mk 1:35 RSV)
♥ Luke 6:12-13 In these days he went out to the mountain to pray;
and all night he continued in prayer to God. And when it was day, he called his
disciples, and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles; (Lk 6:12 RSV)
♥ Luke 21:37-38 Every day he was teaching in the temple, and at
night he would go out and spend the night on the Mount of Olives, as it was
called. And all the people would get up early in the morning to listen to him
in the temple. (Lk 21:37 NRS)
♥ Luke 5:15-16 But so much the more the report went abroad concerning him; and great
multitudes gathered to hear and to be healed of their infirmities. But he
withdrew to the wilderness and prayed. (Luk 5:15 RSV)
♥ He did not say: the Lord has sent these people. It’s a
holy work; work is worship. But he left them and went to pray. Let prayer be a non-negotiable element of our life.
♥ Luke 4:1-2 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the
Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was
tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they
were over, he was famished. (Lk 4:1 NRS)
♥ Mar 9:27-29 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him
up, and he arose. And when he had entered the house, his disciples asked him
privately, “Why could we not cast it out?” And he said to them, “This kind
cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.” (Mar 9:27-29 RSV)
♥ Luke 3:21 Now when all the people were baptized, and when
Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, and the
Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form, as a dove, and a voice came from
heaven, “Thou art my beloved Son; with thee I am well pleased.” (Lk 3:21 RSV)
♥ Luke 9:28-35 Now about eight days after these sayings he took
with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. And as
he was praying, the appearance of his countenance was altered, and his raiment
became dazzling white. And behold, two men talked with him, Moses and Elijah,
who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which he was to accomplish at
Jerusalem. Now Peter and those who were with him
were heavy with sleep, and when they wakened they saw his glory and the two men
who stood with him. And as the men were parting from him, Peter said
to Jesus, “Master, it is well that we are here; let us make three booths, one
for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah” -- not knowing what he said. As
he said this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were afraid as they
entered the cloud. 35 And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This
is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!” (Luk 9:28-38 RSV)
♥ Luke 22:44 In his anguish he prayed more earnestly, and his
sweat became like great drops of blood falling down on the ground. (Lk 22:44 NRS). When temptations are more, we need to pray all the more.
♥ Sirach 2:1 My son, if you come forward to serve the Lord, prepare yourself for
temptation. (Sir 2:1 RSV)
♥ Luke 21:34-36 “But take heed to yourselves lest your hearts be
weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that
day come upon you suddenly like a snare; for it will come upon all who dwell
upon the face of the whole earth. But watch at all times, praying that you may
have strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand
before the Son of man.” (Lk 21:34 RSV)
♥ Ephesians 4:27 “and give no opportunity to the devil”
(Eph 4:27 RSV).
♥ Mt 13: We hear about the good seed that was sown and when
the workers were sleeping enemy came and sowed the wild seed.
♥ Ephesians 6:10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of
his might.(Eph 6:10 RSV)
♥ “The more you sit with me the purer you will become.”
Says the Lord. As Jesus set for 40 days and 40 nights we too need to set aside an hour a day to be with the Lord. Prayer is not about asking. Asking is only one aspect of prayer
life. It is a relationship with the Lord.
♥ Luke 11:1: The Apostles said: “Lord teach us to pray.” We need to pray everyday. If we don't know how to pray we need to learn to pray so that we may not fall into temptation.
♥ Let our prayer be: "Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil."
♥ Let our prayer be: "Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil."
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