1st Sunday of Lent, Year C, 17.02.2013

Deuteronomy 26:4-10/ Romans 10:8-13/ Luke 4:1-13


Last Wednesday, we began the season of Lent with Ash Wednesday.

Although Ash Wednesday is not a day of obligation, yet there were a good number of people who came for Mass.

Maybe after all that festive feasting, it was good to come for Mass and do some penance and fasting.

Or could it be that there was something fascinating about the ashes? After all we receive it only once a year.

Yes, only once a year on Ash Wednesday, there is the imposition of ashes.

Ash Wednesday marks the start of the season of Lent, in which the catechumens of the RCIA begin a more intense preparation for their baptism at the Easter Vigil.

As for us Catholics who are already baptized, we begin a period of penance and repentance.

The practice of the imposition of ashes has its origins in the Old Testament where people put ashes on their heads and wear sackcloth as a sign of repentance and doing penance.

So on Ash Wednesday, when the priest puts the ashes on foreheads of those who come forward to receive it, he will use either of these two forms of words.

He will say: Turn away from sin and be faithful to the gospel.

Or he may say: Remember you are dust, and to dust you shall return.

The second form may sound solemn and sober and maybe a bit morbid, yet it reminds us of a reality.

It reminds us that, in the book of Genesis, God created us in His image, and yet it was from the dust of the earth that He created us.

And hence when everything comes to pass, we too will return to dust.

That is the reality and finality of our passing lives here on earth.

In many ways, today’s readings remind us of that reality and finality.

In the gospel, we heard that Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, was being led by the same Spirit to the wilderness, to the desert.

There, for 40 days, He fasted and prayed, and at the same time He was being tempted by the devil.

After 40 days, He was hungry, and that was when the enemy attacked Him with temptations.

In His hunger, the enemy tempted Jesus to use His power as the Son of God to turn the stones into bread.

Then He was tempted with the power and glory of the kingdoms of earth.

And then finally, He was tempted to put God to the test to see if God will protect Him from harm.

As we look at the temptations that Jesus faced, we may come to one glaring realization.

These temptations are actually about the basic needs of our lives; not just basic needs but also the longings of our hearts.

Because in the depths of our hearts, we hunger for food to keep us alive, we long for safety and shelter, and when we have taken care of our hunger and shelter, we would begin to desire for luxury and pleasure.

So as we can see, what Jesus was tempted with is actually what we ourselves are also tempted with.

It is often said that there is a hole in our hearts that longs to be filled, but it cannot be filled with food, no matter how much we eat.

It cannot be filled with clothes no matter how much we wear.

It cannot be filled with riches, no matter how much we have.

Only God who created our hearts can fill that longing in the depths of our hearts.

Yet we are tempted to long for something else. And in our foolishness, we long for something that is earthly, something that is passing, something that will eventually turn to dust.

A story goes that a psychologist spoke to an audience about stress management.

Then she raised a glass of water, and everyone expected her to ask that "half empty or half full" question. 

Instead she asked : "How heavy is this glass of water?" The answers that came from the audience ranged from 8 oz. to 20 oz.

She replied, "The absolute weight of this glass of water doesn't matter. It depends on how long I hold it. If I hold it for a minute, it's not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I'll have an ache in my arm. 
If I hold it for a day, my arm will feel numb and paralyzed. 
In each case, the weight of the glass doesn't change, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes." 

Well, the stress and worries of life are like that glass of water.

Think about them for a while and nothing much happens.

Think about them a bit longer and they begin to hurt.

And if we think about them all day long, then we will feel paralyzed and incapable of doing anything.

What happens to us when we keep thinking of our stress and worries is similar to what happens to us when we keep longing and going after the things of this world.

We will also become paralyzed and incapable of doing anything.

We will be tempted to think that when we have satisfied our hunger, we won’t be hungry anymore.

Or that if we get this amount of money, then we won’t be in need anymore.

Or if we achieve this status or this position or have this authority, then we will be secure and in control.

But in today’s gospel, Jesus tells the devil that it won’t be; and Jesus is also telling us that it won’t be.

For Jesus, it is in God the Father that He trusts, for the things of this earth will pass and turn to dust.

As for us everything will also pass, and we will also turn to dust.

Yet in Jesus we must trust. As we heard in the 2nd reading: Everyone who calls on the name of Jesus will be saved.

So in our temptations let us call on the name of Jesus. 

In our needs let us turn to Jesus.

And in the end, let us remember that we are dust, and we shall return to dust.

And when everything comes to pass, may we still have the faith to say that “In Jesus we trust.”