First Sunday of Lent
Readings for the First Sunday of Lent[1]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible at Universalis
Commentary:
Reading 1 Dt 26:4-10
Moses gives the people a ritual formula to pronounce when making their offering to the temple. The rite recalls the nomadic nature of the people, and then follows the enslavement in Egypt and the release from bondage to be brought into the land of Israel. Essentially recalling the Lord’s mercy and salvation, the offering is from the first fruits of their harvest.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 91:1-2, 10-11, 12-13, 14-15
R. Be with me, Lord, when I am in trouble.
Psalm 91 is especially important as the reference Satan uses on the Lord in the desert when he tempts him to throw himself down from a high place so the angels of the Lord God might rescue him. “For to his angels he has given command about you, that they guard you in all your ways.
Upon their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone” we hear these same words in Luke’s Gospel story of the temptation in the desert below. .Taken in total, it is a song praising God for his saving works.
Reading II Rm 10:8-13
The author of the Letter to the Romans (probably from the Pauline Community) gives foundation to the concept held by many of the evangelical Christian communities that once saved (through the profession of faith – generally the alter call) always saved and that salvation comes from merely pronouncing the words.
Taken in context (the reading from the Jerusalem Bible gives some hint), this reading is part of a larger apologetic about Christ being the one who brings salvation and not the Law of Moses. In that context and in that time, this reading takes on a different meaning – professing Christ openly could result in persecution and even death.
Gospel Lk 4:1-13
The story of Jesus being lead into the desert to be tempted by the devil is consistent with the other synoptic Gospels of Matthew and Mark. Jesus is “filled with the Holy Spirit” as he is emerging from the baptismal waters. Forty days is symbolic of the forty years the Israelites wandered in the desert during the Exodus.
The story serves to help us understand that the temptations we faced were also faced by Jesus who was totally human, like us in all things but sin. The Lord overcame the temptations of food when he was hungry and power when he was powerless. We note that the devil used scripture to support these temptations, twisting what was good to evil purpose.
Reflection:
On a day when we celebrate the goodness of God in giving us His Only Son, it is appropriate that we understand that all God created that was good can also be used by the evil one to lead us down the wrong path. Today we hear the story of Jesus, lead into the desert following his baptism in the Jordan River by John the Baptist. Jesus wanders for forty days and when he is weak from lack of food, the evil one comes to him and offers him what his human self must want the most. Further, the devil uses the Lord’s own identity to tempt him. Had Jesus wished, he could have grasped at the devil’s rationalization (using scripture no less) and satisfied his hunger.
More tempting to the Lord must have been the second temptation. Jesus had a mission to lead all the people of the world to God. The devil offered him all of that in one instant. All Jesus had to do was give homage to Satan. We can almost image him, weak from hunger challenged by one who seemed so fare but felt so foul. He offered Jesus everything his heart desired. But the Lord was stronger. He drove the devil away with his words, “for a time.”
With all the cunning and power of Satan, is it any wonder that we are sometimes tricked into actions that we know are not in keeping with God’s commandment to us? This time of lent is our chance to look back at our lives and see there the fingerprints; the fingerprints of God who supports us in time of distress and the fingerprints of Satan who takes advantage of our weakness and even provides rationalization for us using scripture.
Today let us ask God to show us those times when we were buoyed up by his presence and ask him to forgive us for those time we were weak. Let us pray that he might strengthen us so that we might, in the future be more aware of the difference.
Pax
Readings for the First Sunday of Lent[1]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible at Universalis
Commentary:
Reading 1 Dt 26:4-10
Moses gives the people a ritual formula to pronounce when making their offering to the temple. The rite recalls the nomadic nature of the people, and then follows the enslavement in Egypt and the release from bondage to be brought into the land of Israel. Essentially recalling the Lord’s mercy and salvation, the offering is from the first fruits of their harvest.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 91:1-2, 10-11, 12-13, 14-15
R. Be with me, Lord, when I am in trouble.
Psalm 91 is especially important as the reference Satan uses on the Lord in the desert when he tempts him to throw himself down from a high place so the angels of the Lord God might rescue him. “For to his angels he has given command about you, that they guard you in all your ways.
Upon their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone” we hear these same words in Luke’s Gospel story of the temptation in the desert below. .Taken in total, it is a song praising God for his saving works.
Reading II Rm 10:8-13
The author of the Letter to the Romans (probably from the Pauline Community) gives foundation to the concept held by many of the evangelical Christian communities that once saved (through the profession of faith – generally the alter call) always saved and that salvation comes from merely pronouncing the words.
Taken in context (the reading from the Jerusalem Bible gives some hint), this reading is part of a larger apologetic about Christ being the one who brings salvation and not the Law of Moses. In that context and in that time, this reading takes on a different meaning – professing Christ openly could result in persecution and even death.
Gospel Lk 4:1-13
The story of Jesus being lead into the desert to be tempted by the devil is consistent with the other synoptic Gospels of Matthew and Mark. Jesus is “filled with the Holy Spirit” as he is emerging from the baptismal waters. Forty days is symbolic of the forty years the Israelites wandered in the desert during the Exodus.
The story serves to help us understand that the temptations we faced were also faced by Jesus who was totally human, like us in all things but sin. The Lord overcame the temptations of food when he was hungry and power when he was powerless. We note that the devil used scripture to support these temptations, twisting what was good to evil purpose.
Reflection:
On a day when we celebrate the goodness of God in giving us His Only Son, it is appropriate that we understand that all God created that was good can also be used by the evil one to lead us down the wrong path. Today we hear the story of Jesus, lead into the desert following his baptism in the Jordan River by John the Baptist. Jesus wanders for forty days and when he is weak from lack of food, the evil one comes to him and offers him what his human self must want the most. Further, the devil uses the Lord’s own identity to tempt him. Had Jesus wished, he could have grasped at the devil’s rationalization (using scripture no less) and satisfied his hunger.
More tempting to the Lord must have been the second temptation. Jesus had a mission to lead all the people of the world to God. The devil offered him all of that in one instant. All Jesus had to do was give homage to Satan. We can almost image him, weak from hunger challenged by one who seemed so fare but felt so foul. He offered Jesus everything his heart desired. But the Lord was stronger. He drove the devil away with his words, “for a time.”
With all the cunning and power of Satan, is it any wonder that we are sometimes tricked into actions that we know are not in keeping with God’s commandment to us? This time of lent is our chance to look back at our lives and see there the fingerprints; the fingerprints of God who supports us in time of distress and the fingerprints of Satan who takes advantage of our weakness and even provides rationalization for us using scripture.
Today let us ask God to show us those times when we were buoyed up by his presence and ask him to forgive us for those time we were weak. Let us pray that he might strengthen us so that we might, in the future be more aware of the difference.
Pax
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