First Sunday of Lent

Catechism Links [1]
CCC 394, 538-540, 2119: The temptation of Jesus
CCC 2846-2949: “Lead us not into temptation”
CCC 1505: Christ frees from evil
CCC 142-143, 309: Faith as submission to God, response to God, answer to evil
CCC 59-63: God forms his priestly people through Abraham and the Exodus

“Temptation of Christ”
by Michael Pacher (St Wolfgang Altarpiece) 1479-81

 
Readings for the First Sunday of Lent [2]
 
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [3]
 
Readings and Commentary: [4]
 
Reading I: Deuteronomy 26:4-10
 
Moses spoke to the people, saying:
“The priest shall receive the basket from you
and shall set it in front of the altar of the LORD, your God.
Then you shall declare before the Lord, your God,
‘My father was a wandering Aramean
who went down to Egypt with a small household
and lived there as an alien.
But there he became a nation
great, strong, and numerous.
When the Egyptians maltreated and oppressed us,
imposing hard labor upon us,
we cried to the LORD, the God of our fathers,
and he heard our cry
and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression.
He brought us out of Egypt
with his strong hand and outstretched arm,
with terrifying power, with signs and wonders;
and bringing us into this country,
he gave us this land flowing with milk and honey.
Therefore, I have now brought you the firstfruits
of the products of the soil
which you, O LORD, have given me.’
And having set them before the Lord, your God,
you shall bow down in his presence.”
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Commentary on Dt 26:4-10
 
Moses gives the people a ritual formula to pronounce when making their offering to the temple (previously required in Exodus 22:28ff.; Exodus 23:19). While the date is not stated explicitly, it is probably to occur at the spring festival of Azymes. The rite recalls the nomadic nature of the people. (Aramean: either in reference to the origin of the patriarchs from Aram Naharaim (cf. Genesis 24:10; 25:20; 28:5; 31:20, 24), or merely in the sense of "nomad," in the same way as "Arab" was later used; cf. Jeremiah 3:2. [5] )  The rite then follows the Hebrew 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 referenced is from the first fruits of their harvest.
 
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 91:1-2, 10-11, 12-13, 14-15.
 
R. (cf. 15b) Be with me, Lord, when I am in trouble.
 
You who dwell in the shelter of the Most High,
who abide in the shadow of the Almighty,
say to the LORD, “My refuge and fortress,
my God in whom I trust.”
R. Be with me, Lord, when I am in trouble.
 
No evil shall befall you,
nor shall affliction come near your tent,
For to his angels he has given command about you,
that they guard you in all your ways.
R. Be with me, Lord, when I am in trouble.
 
Upon their hands they shall bear you up,
lest you dash your foot against a stone.
You shall tread upon the asp and the viper;
you shall trample down the lion and the dragon.
R. Be with me, Lord, when I am in trouble.
 
Because he clings to me, I will deliver him;
I will set him on high because he acknowledges my name.
He shall call upon me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in distress;
I will deliver him and glorify him.
R. Be with me, Lord, when I am in trouble.
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Commentary on Ps 91:1-2, 10-11, 12-13, 14-15
 
Psalm 91 is especially important in that it contains the quote 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.” (Luke 4:10-11) The psalm is a song praising God for his saving works.
 
CCC: Ps 91:10-13 336
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Reading II: Romans 10:8-13
 
Brothers and sisters:
What does Scripture say?
The word is near you,
in your mouth and in your heart
—that is, the word of faith that we preach—,
for, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord
and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead,
you will be saved.
For one believes with the heart and so is justified,
and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved.
For the Scripture says,
No one who believes in him will be put to shame.
For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek;
the same Lord is Lord of all,
enriching all who call upon him.
For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
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Commentary on Rm 10:8-13
 
The author of the Letter to the Romans (probably from the Pauline community) provides a confession of faith in Jesus and the view of the universal invitation to Christ. Anyone who calls on Christ in sincerity and believes in his divinity has access to his mercy and salvation.
 
Taken in the context, this reading is part of a larger apologetic discourse about Christ being the one who brings salvation, as opposed to the view held by some Jews that salvation came from the Law of Moses. In those circumstances and at that time in history, this reading takes on a different meaning: professing Christ openly could result in persecution and even death.
 
CCC: Rom 10:9 343, 186, 449; Rom 10:12-13 2739; Rom 10:13 2666
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Gospel: Luke 4:1-13
 
Filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus returned from the Jordan
and was led by the Spirit into the desert for forty days,
to be tempted by the devil.
He ate nothing during those days,
and when they were over he was hungry.
The devil said to him,
“If you are the Son of God,
command this stone to become bread.”
Jesus answered him,
“It is written, One does not live on bread alone.”
Then he took him up and showed him
all the kingdoms of the world in a single instant.
The devil said to him,
“I shall give to you all this power and glory;
for it has been handed over to me,
and I may give it to whomever I wish.
All this will be yours, if you worship me.”
Jesus said to him in reply,
“It is written:
You shall worship the Lord, your God,
and him alone shall you serve.”
Then he led him to Jerusalem,
made him stand on the parapet of the temple, and said to him,
“If you are the Son of God,
throw yourself down from here, for it is written:
He will command his angels concerning you, to guard you,
and:
With their hands they will support you,
lest you dash your foot against a stone.”
Jesus said to him in reply,
“It also says,
You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.”
When the devil had finished every temptation, he departed from him for a time.
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Commentary on Lk 4:1-13
 
The story of Jesus being led into the desert to be tempted by the devil is consistent with the other synoptic Gospels of Matthew 4:1-11 and Mark 1:12-13. 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 face were also faced by Jesus who was totally human, like us in all things but sin. The Lord overcame the temptation 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.
 
CCC: Lk 4:1 695; Lk 4:5-6 2855; Lk 4:8 2096; Lk 4:9 2119; Lk 4:13 538
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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 who is led into the desert following his baptism in the Jordan River by John the Baptist.  He 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 imagine him, weak from hunger, challenged by one who seemed so fair 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 rationalizations using Scripture.
 
The Lord came to help us distinguish between God’s will and Satan’s traps.  He gave us commandments that help us identify whose voice we are hearing.  His Great Commandment: “Love one another as I have loved you,” which he tells us is superseded only by loving God the Father, becomes our litmus test.
 
Let’s look at an example.  If we are wronged, unjustly treated by another person, we hear in our heads: “Even the Bible says ‘eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot’ (Exodus 21:23). I should get even with that other person by doing to them what they did to me.”  We hear in that voice justice.  We might even rationalize our actions saying: “How will that person understand what they did was wrong if they go unpunished?”
 
When we step back and look at the same situation through the eyes of Christ, we instantly hear the words of the evil one whispering: “I shall give to you all this power and glory,” as he did to Jesus in the desert. 
 
We are asked to respond as the Lord would have responded, as he did respond time and again when insulted, humiliated, and maligned.  The Lord gave love for hate, compassion for pain, and forgiveness even in death.  That is the model we have chosen to follow.
 
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 times 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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[1] Catechism links are taken from the Homiletic Directory, published by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, 29 June 2014.
[2] The picture is “Temptation of Christ” by Michael Pacher (St Wolfgang Altarpiece) 1479-81.
[3] S.S. Commemoratio
[4] The readings are taken from the New American Bible, with the exception of the psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
[5] NAB footnote on Deuteronomy 26:5.