Readings: Gen. 2:7-9, 3:1-7; Rom. 5:12-19; Matthew
4:1-11
Combating our Temptation
On this first Sunday of Lent we reflect on God’s
intention for mankind; that man should live in peace and harmony with him, the
creator, humanity and nature. The book of Genesis, though more theological than
historical, presents us with the story of God’s relationship with Adam and Eve.
This is a story of friendship and love; of grace and abundance. In the garden
of Eden, Adam and Eve had everything: their needs were met at the snap of the
finger. The had a perfect friendship with God who was just a stone’s throw
away. They would take a walk with God in the garden in the cool of the evening,
and be engaged in a heart to heart conversation, as they enjoyed the beauty of
creation. But things did not work out as God intended for too long. The devil
made its ominous entrance and man discovered that he was no longer prepared to
be subservient to God; he wanted to be like God. With this temptation, sin
found its way into the garden and caution was thrown to the wind. Man became
his own worst enemy - trying to be what he was not. Temptation on its own is not
a sin. To be attracted to something or someone is neither good nor bad. But how
we react to temptation gives a sinful dimension to it.
Lent is our way of dealing with sin. The Collect at
Mass on Ash Wednesday set the parameter for the season: “Grant, O Lord, that we
may begin with holy fasting this campaign of Christian service, so that, as we
take up battle against spiritual evils, we may be armed with weapons of
self-restraint.” Our journey into Lent began at the incarnation when God became
man in the flesh. For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, not to
condemn the world but so that through him the world might be saved. (Jn. 3:16).
Or like St. Paul put it, “For just as through the disobedience of one person
the many were made sinners, so through the obedience of one the many will be
made righteous. The law entered in so that transgression might increase but
where sin increased, grace overflowed all the more.” (Rom. 5:19-20). To the
Church in Corinth he wrote: “For our sake, God made him to be sin who knew no
sin so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Cor. 5:21).
“Sin” therefore, “is an offense against reason, truth, and right conscience; it
is failure in genuine love for God and neighbor caused by a perverse attachment
to certain goods. It wounds the nature of man and injures human solidarity… Sin
is an offense against God: “against you, you alone have I sinned, and done that
which is evil in your sight.” Sin sets itself against God’s love for us and
turns our hearts away from it. It is disobedience, a revolt against God through
the will to become “like gods,” It is love of oneself even to contempt of God.
In this proud self-exaltation, sin is diametrically opposed to the obedience of
Jesus which achieves our salvation” (CCC 1849-1850).
Today we are presented with Jesus’ temptation in the
desert. With this temptation, Jesus teaches us how to act when we are tempted.
We fall into temptation due to the manipulations of the tempter. To tempt
Jesus, the devil used his knowledge of the Bible. Jesus also used the Scripture
to beat the devil hands down. He countered the devil point by point and
commanded him to get out of His sight. The devil ran away with his tail in
between his legs. The best way to fight temptation is to fortify ourselves with
the word of God.
The devil manipulated Eve in the same way: “Did
God really tell you not to eat from any of the trees in the garden?” He cast
doubts on God’s directives and offered her counter logical explanation: “You
certainly will not die! No, God knows well that the moment you eat of it your
eyes will be opened and you will be like gods who know what is good and what is
bad.” (Gen. 3:4). The devil made the woman an offer she could not refuse. Her
mind turned away from God: she wanted to be like God. She imagined the benefits
of the fruit: “The woman saw that the tree was good for food, pleasing to the
eyes, and desirable for gaining wisdom. So, she took some of its fruit and ate;
and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.” (Gen.
3:6). The devil always gets us at our weakest point. He comes in when we are
sick, hungry, lonely, sad, defenseless, depressed, jobless, moneyless, poor and
desperate. He comes with false and empty promises to take care of us, if only
we would do his bidding. Sadly, many people fall into his traps!
Jesus shows us today how to face temptation. We must
be prayerful, we must fast and give in charity. We must know the bible and
develop new ways to counter the antics of the devil. Christ went into the
desert to fast and pray for strength and for a sense of direction. He
surrendered his will to the will of God and fortified himself with the word of
God. With this he was able to face the devil. One does not live by bread alone,
but by every world that comes forth from the mouth of God; and again, it is
written, “You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test”. And finally, “Get
away, Satan! It is written: The Lord, your God, shall you worship and him alone
shall you serve.” (Mt. 4:4,7,10). We fall into temptation when we do not know
how to fortify ourselves. Lent gives us that golden opportunity to do battle
with the devil. We must give alms, fast and pray if we are to face the
temptations of our daily lives. We must learn to be humble, forgiving,
compassionate and merciful and the devil will stay far away from us. May God
help us to enter into this season of grace with commitment and the desire to
change for the better. Amen!
Assignment:
1.
How do you prepare Lent? To combat the temptation
of the devil, Jesus relied on the word of God. There are 40 days from today to
Easter Triduum. I propose that we read the Gospel of Luke and the Letter of St.
Paul to the Romans. Luke’s Gospel has 24 chapters while the Letter to the
Romans has 16 chapters. Read Luke’s Gospel from March 1 to March 24 and the
Letter to the Romans from March 25 and round it up on April 9. What a wonderful
way to enter into Easter Season.
2. During Lent we must
give alms. When we give alms, we see ourselves as God’s stewards, entrusted
with many blessings. We must therefore, share what we have with others. Our
gifts are meaningful when it hurts. Then we are giving sacrificially. Please
support the missions of the Missionary Society of Paul. Pick up a table
calendar and give whatever you can each month to provide fresh water, feed the
hungry, educate a child in the mission or train a Seminarian for the missions.
What you give up for Lent should benefit others.
3. During this Lent, let
us be available to people around us. Let us share a smile and may our parting
words be ‘May God bless you.” Amen.
Rev. Augustine Etemma Inwang, MSP
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