Homily, March 6, 2022

First Sunday of Lent - Year C 

Deut 26:4-10; Ps 91:1-2, 10-15; Rom 10:8-13 and Luke 4:1-13

The Gospel passage for this first Sunday of Lent (cf. Lk 4:1-13) recounts the experience of the temptation of Jesus in the desert. Following his baptism, Jesus is led into the desert for forty days of fasting and prayer. Two other heroes of our faith underwent similar experiences. Before receiving the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai, Moses went without food and water for forty days. The prophet Elijah also fasted for forty days before travelling to Mount Horeb where God came to him as a “light silent sound” (1 Kgs 19:12). Moses, Elijah, and Jesus all fast in preparation for an event- for Moses and Elijah it is a particular encounter with God, while for Jesus it is encounter with temptation. During Lent we fast for both reasons, to prepare for an encounter with God on our holiest feast of the year- the feast of the resurrection at Easter- and also to strengthen us against temptation.

Whenever we are caught doing what we know is wrong, we often look for someone or something outside ourselves to blame. “The devil made me do it’ we often say! The reality is: we either choose to give in to or resist temptation. Temptations come is all forms and sizes. Temptation itself isn’t wrongdoing; wrongdoing is the choice to do what we know we ought not, what we know will hurt us, what we know diminishes who we are. For example, when we tear down another in order to look good, we tarnish our identity. When we lie or cheat, we rob ourselves of integrity. When we refuse to respond to the need of another, we are unfaithful to the self-giving mission of Christ we have taken up. 

In today’s gospel two competing powers act on Jesus - the Spirit and the devil. The Spirit leads Jesus into the desert to be tempted. The devil tempts Jesus to act as the “Son of God” in a way that misuses his divine power. In his confrontation with the devil Jesus chooses to be fully human and not capitalize on his being divine. He resists temptation.

The three temptations remind us of the importance of making God a priority in our lives. Jesus is tempted first with food and then with power, each tempting him to put himself and his own needs first. He resists these temptations by taking the focus off himself and putting it on others - his sisters and brothers, who do not have live on bread alone, and on God, who alone we shall serve. Similarly, we can resist temptations by taking the focus off ourselves and putting it on others, which we do when we do the things Jesus called us to do on Ash Wednesday: fasting, praying, and giving alms. Jesus withstands the devil’s final temptation with the ultimate refusal to give in to his own needs. In the language that foreshadows what Jesus will hear while hanging on the cross, the devil challenges him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here” (Luke 4:9). After all, you’ll be fine. In the end, Jesus turns his back on saving himself in order to save us all. 

Question of the week. Specifically, what will you do this Lent to take the focus off yourself and put it on God and on others?