FIRST SUNDAY OF LENT

 

First Reading (Deut 26:4-10)

 

If a friend of ours gives us a kid or, better still, a bullock for the marriage feast of our son, how can we show him our gratitude? We would certainly invite him at the feast and reserve for him the best helping of the meat he had given us. Why do we act like this? Well, in the first place to let him know that we have not forgotten that the kid or bullock was his; then because we want to show him that his gift was most welcome, and, finally, since we know that he is rich, we want him to like us, so that later on he may again give us something.

This is how the people of Israel behaved with their God. In spring, as the wheat began to be ready in the fields and the trees were beginning to yield their fruits, they filled a basket with these early fruits and took it to the priest in the temple. On presenting them to the priest of God the farmer would say: I know that these things are a gift from God and do not belong to me, since they grew in the land he gave me.

This is where the passage that we read today begins: the priest took the basket and placed it in front of the altar of the Lord and as he stood standing and in silence, the good Jewish peasant professed his faith. In such a profession he recalled the main events of the history of his people: “My father was a wandering Aramaean…”.

This ceremony and words were used by the Jews to proclaim their acceptance and observance of God's law and promises, and as an acknowledgement that their lives depended totally on his generosity: all they had was granted by him.

What would become of these first fruits? Our reading unfortunately stops at v.10, but the following verses inform us that these fruits offered to the temple were not burnt on the altar but were eaten by the representatives of God. Which ones, the priests? No: the poor. They were given to the poor: the Levites, foreigners, orphans and widows (vv.ll-l2): the feast was considered successful and pleasing to God only when the needs of the poor had been satisfied.

Even now we should never forget that it is not enough to profess our faith byword of mouth, or with rites and songs; all this must also result in happiness for the poor.

 

Second Reading (Rom 10:8-13)

 

This reading too, like the first one, demands a profession of faith. The farmer presenting the first fruits of his field was required to proclaim the great works that the Lord had done for his people standing in front of the altar and in front of the temple priest. Also the Christian, Paul tells us, is called to proclaim to all the greatest sign of God's favor, his greatest ever intervention: the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. The faith in this God who came to help humankind should be proclaimed in two ways: with the heart and with the tongue.

“With the heart” means with the life. The faith in Christ must result in a completely new life. But the apostle insists in saying that faith has to be proclaimed also “by word of mouth". Why? Because the "Creed” said together with our brothers and sisters gives us the chance of joining our voice to theirs. Whoever becomes aware of belonging to a people of believers and expresses this faith through signs, gestures and words, will feel a greater stimulus to follow Christ. But this is not all: he will also feel the need to wipe away all "distinction between Jew and Greek”, to remove all barriers put up by race, tribe, wealth, culture, social and economic condition and the individual's character.

We have in the world still so many walls dividing person from person. Are they still present also within our Christian communities? When we all join the other faithful in assembly to proclaim our faith in the only Lord who has risen from the dead, have we really removed all signs of distinction between "Greek and Jew"? Do we really feel like brothers and sisters, all having the same dignity?

 

Gospel (Lk 4:1-13)

 

The liturgy of the first Sunday in Lent proposes every year to our meditation the temptations of Jesus. The reason of this choice is quite clear: it wants to encourage the Christians to face up to their temptations by learning how to identify them and how to get over them, taking the example from our Master.

On reading the text of today, though, we might get the impression that the expression of Jesus cannot help us much: his temptations are so different from ours, so strange, to the point of appearing almost fanciful. Would any of us like to bow down in front of the devil (evil and nasty as he is)? Who could ever believe his word if he were to propose to change stones in loaves or if he were to invite us to jump from a high building? No, our temptations are a much more serious affair, more difficult to overcome and do not last for only one day, they go on all our life.

This is a difficulty that comes from not understanding properly the “literary genre”, that is, how people at that time communicated a certain truth. The gospel of today is not the faithful account by an eyewitness of the contest between Jesus and the devil (neither Luke nor anybody else was present). The text is a catechetical lesson and wants to teach us that Jesus, right from the beginning of his life, was tested not by three, but by "every type of temptation" (13). To put it simply these are three "parables" that through images tell us that Jesus was tempted as we are tempted, with the difference that sin never overpowered him (Heb 4:15). They symbolize his continuous fight against evil in order to keep the will of the Father.

Some of us may feel somewhat upset by the thought that Jesus had doubts like us, that he found difficulty in fulfilling his mission, that he only gradually discovered the plan of his Father. We are afraid to lower him too much to our level by admitting such things. But God was not put off by our misery, he made it his own and by taking flesh, has defeated sin.

And now let us try to understand the significance of the three images.

The first image is: "Tell this stone to turn into a loaf" (3-4). The evangelist's account of the temptations comes soon after the description of the baptism of Jesus, which we have already commented upon. We explained there how Jesus, the just and holy did not start his mission by reprimanding sinners, telling what they should do, while at the same time keeping well clear of them, like the Pharisees. He joined the sinners in order to be baptized with them: he became one of them since he had chosen to be their traveling companion along the liberation route.

But to share our human condition is not that easy and Jesus thus had the first temptation (not just once, but his whole life): use his divine powers to overcome the daily difficulties of humanity. They are hungry, fall ill, get tired, must study to learn, can be deceived, fall victims to accidents, are oppressed by injustice... Well, he could avoid all this, and the devil invites him to do it by proposing to him not to exaggerate in identifying himself with other human beings, and to work miracles for his own benefit. Had Jesus heeded these proposals, he would no longer have been like one of us, he would not have been a real man, he would have just been pretending or feigning to be one.

Jesus immediately saw the devilish part in this plan: he did use his power to work miracles but never for himself, always to help the others. He worked, toiled, went hungry and thirsty, passed sleepless nights, and refused all privileges. When did this temptation reach its apex? On the cross. There once more somebody invited him to work a miracle to get himself free, challenged him to come down from the cross. Had Jesus done this, had he refused to be ‘defeated’, he would have triumphed in the eyes of people, but he would have been a loser in the eyes of God.

How can we be tempted likewise? Whenever we are invited to withdraw selfishly in ourselves, shutting out everybody else. We give in to this temptation whenever we use our capabilities to satisfy our whims and not to help our brothers and sisters; whenever we try to become rich alone; whenever we harbor in our hearts the conviction that one has to go all by himself and seek comforts and well-being without giving a thought to the others. Jesus did not use his power for himself, he used it for others. He preferred to be poor and defeated with the others rather than be a lonely rich and a lonely winner.

Imagine a group to be in a boat in the middle of the sea and the boat overturns, would it be right for the strong swimmers just to look after themselves and refuse to help the weaker ones?

In our own villages and communities don't we often see that those who have important friends or have a VIP relative can get what they want, find easily the solution to their problems and difficulties, while the poor person is left to fend for himself or herself? If we Christians were to behave likewise, how can we call each other brothers and sisters?

The second temptation is: "I will give you all this power and their splendor, for it has been handed over to me…” (5-8). Isn't the devil pushing his luck too far? How can he say that he has power over all the kingdoms, is he exaggerating? Not at all. Wherever authority is interpreted as dominion over others, where people fight to overcome other people, where somebody takes the power conferred on him or her as the right to deprive others of their own rights and freedom, wherever a person is enslaved or humiliated and forced to bow in front of another person, there is the devil.

Jesus was tempted to apply this devilish system throughout his whole life. Don't people consider "successful" whoever has many servants, can have their own way, and frightens their listeners? Jesus instead proposes the exact opposite: great is the one who serves, the one who kneels down in front of a poor fellow human being to wash one's feet.

What form does this temptation take on for us? Also to us the devil is proposing to tyrannize the poor and undefended. The powerful and the rich are tempted to reprimand, offend and be aggressive with their employees; the husbands are tempted to behave with their wives like demanding masters; even the poor person feels the wish to lord it over the poorer ones. We have instances of one having to submit to humiliating requests in order to get a document or a service this person has a right to, or must bear insults and other offences from even the lowest of the office boys. Aren't there Christians who yearn to be in power in order to domineer over the others? Aren't our communities giving in to this temptation when they start counting their members to see if they are more numerous and stronger than the communities of the other religions, or when they behave like a kingdom apart and start competing with the political and financial authorities?

The third temptation: "throw yourself down, for scripture says..." The devil's proposal is even founded on the Bible! It is the temptation to see if God can keep his promise, if we can trust him or not.

Jesus didn't need any proof to believe the love of his Father, he was sure that his was a life-bearing word.

How can we be tempted in this way now?

We know of Christians who believe that God loves them only when things go well, when they can "see and touch" the signs protection, but once they become ill or meet some accident, they begin doubting and say: "Does God really love me or not? Does he take an interest in me or has he forgotten everything about me?" If for instance we are informed that one of our relatives has terminal cancer, what do we do? We ask God for a miracle. But when the ill person dies all the same, then we complain: “Where is this God? Does he really exist? Is it worth believing in him if he doesn't intervene to help those who serve him? See: if he does not bring the proofs we demand of his love, then our faith risks crumbling.

Jesus always refused to ask for signs or proofs. Even on the cross, when in human eyes he seemed accursed by God, he believed in the love of the Father. We instead doubt so often the word of God. Some leave their faith to follow sects that promise healing that the God of the Christians does not perform. Isn't this mistrusting the gospel? If the Father does not do what we want, should we start thinking that he doesn't love us anymore?

 

Theme of the Sunday

THE TEMPTATIONS OF JESUS AND
OUR TEMPTATIONS

 

Temptation is an experience we all sooner or later have. The gospel today describes by means of images the difficulties Jesus encountered to remain faithful to his Father. These are the same temptations we experience now a day.

The first reading tells us of the profession of faith by Israel. The account of the interventions of God in favor of his people is the proof that he loves everyone and leads them along the way of life. We must never doubt his love even during difficult and dark periods of our life.

The second reading is telling us that this trust in God must be professed with our life and proclaimed by word of mouth.