On this first Sunday of Lent, we are taken back to the prelude to the ministry of Jesus. The Gospel tradition begins with the figure of John the Baptist, the baptism of Jesus, then Jesus being tested.
Luke and Matthew present a dramatic confrontation between Jesus and the devil. But we might note that Luke tells us in our Gospel reading today that it is the Spirit who sets up this encounter; Jesus is not ambushed in the wilderness, but rather the devil is acting, in
a sense, as God’s agent, to find out how Jesus understands what it means to be the Son
of God. He has been revealed as such at his baptism, but will he use this knowledge as a
kind of short-cut to being the Messiah people are expecting, or will he be the Son that God has in mind?
The three tests present Jesus with a choice: he can use his divine power for his own advantage or to attract a popular following. In either case, his mission is doomed. Or, he can be the Son and Messiah whom God intends, and the proof of that is not human success, but the cross. We will reflect on the final and crucial test at the end of Lent, in Holy Week. Our Gospel reading hints at this, when it ends with the ominous warning that “the devil left him, to return at the appointed time” – that is, at the Last Supper, when the story of Jesus’ Passion begins.
Previous Sunday Messages
REFLECT
For many people, Lent is an endurance test: we decide on a penance, usually giving up something, then follows six weeks of struggle to keep to that decision, much as we may make our new year resolutions, and very often with similar success – or lack thereof. But there is more to the idea of penance. First of all, it is to make us more conscious of God in our lives: it is meant to remind us of the Lord so that, if we deny ourselves something, we are meant to reflect on why we have given it up, to remind ourselves of Jesus’ sacrifice of himself for us, and to encourage us to deepen our relationship with God, so that at the end of Lent we are closer to God than at the beginning.
Lenten penance, self-denial, is not primarily an exercise in willpower or the opportunity to lose weight. We may well decide that it is a good opportunity to adopt a healthier lifestyle, but perhaps we might always begin by thinking about ourselves as disciples of Jesus and
reflecting on whether we might adjust our behaviour and attitudes so that we live out our Christian vocation more fully.
The three traditional aspects of Lent are prayer, fasting and almsgiving. First is prayer, communion with the Lord; fasting, self-denial, comes next; and then almsgiving, the giving of the money we have saved to those in need, is one result of our Lenten penance.
learn
- The Gospel text speaks about Jesus being tested rather than tempted.
- Jesus is being tested as to what he understands by his being the Son of God, as
revealed at his baptism, which immediately precedes this scene. - The final test in Luke’s account takes place in Jerusalem.
- This sequence reflects Luke’s geographical understanding of Jesus’ journey to the holy city and to the cross
do
Decide on your Lenten penance; but remember every time you perform it to think of Jesus and his love for you.