Sunday Reflections
1st Sunday of Lent year B
He has the permission to tempt you
1. ✠ A reading from the holy Gospel according to
Mark 1:12-15
The Spirit drove Jesus out into the wilderness and he remained there for forty days, and was tempted by Satan. He was with the wild beasts, and the angels looked after him.
After John had been arrested, Jesus went into Galilee. There he proclaimed the Good News from God. ‘The time has come’ he said ‘and the kingdom of God is close at hand. Repent, and believe the Good News.’
2. Today is the first Sunday of Lent. Traditionally the gospel of this Sunday is on the temptation of Jesus by the devil. The church does this intentionally to reminder the followers of Christ that their discipleship especially during the Lenten season will not be free from temptation. It is also meant to remind the Christian that just as Christ was victorious against the devils, so will all who faithfully follow christ. Finally, it is meant to remind the christian that there is devil who is still alive and active and has the power and permission to tempt anyone independently of his status. Today’s first reading speaks of the covenant between God and Noah after the deluge that wiped out the sinful world. The covenant was an assurance of a new beginning, a confirmation that God is always faithful to those who follow him with sincere heart. Noah lived among sinners where a righteous person is mocked as being stupid and progressively led to become like others. In spite of this, he and his family persevered till the end. By saving them, God assures all who will resist temptations that he will never abandon them. This reading is meant to encourage us to persevere in doing good even when surrounded by temptations.
3. Today’s gospel is still on the need to remain faithful in spite temptations. We are told that Jesus was driven by the Spirit into the desert and there he was tempted by the devil. We are all gifted with the Spirit of God. He is our guide in our journey through life. He keeps inspiring and motivating us to remain faithful to God. The Lenten period is a time to pay more attention to the inner voice of the Spirit whispering in our heart. Jesus had to move to the desert because he was attentive to the Spirit. Many people ignore the Spirit as their life journey partner and they end up traveling alone. God abandons them to their stubbornness of heart. Psalm 81:11-14 shows that those who listen to the voice of the Spirit will have God fighting on their side to subdue their enemies, including the devil. If we want God to support us in this Lenten battle, we must listen to his voice and not harden our heart (Ps95:7).
4. The second point of today’s gospel is that dialogue with the devil is a big risk. Mark’s gospel did not give the details of the temptation but Luke and Matthew have the details. We saw the devil making three proposals to Jesus thereby drawing him into a dialogue. Jesus only answered back with the Word of God. That is the only permissible dialogue. Any other one will end in fiasco as was the case of Eve in Genesis 3. The devil is always smart. One can still recall how he was able bargain with Jesus to obtain asylum in the pigs in Lk8:26-33. Every dialogue with the devil ends in regret. To resist him during this period, one must be acquainted with the Word of God. Read and meditate the Word every day of this lent.
5. The Gospel ended with a call to conversion, turning away from sin and turning towards God. No one can claim to be doing lent if he or she has not turned away from a vice that has been journeying along with him or her. A sincere self evaluation will always lead to discovery of fault. Nobody is exempt from this self examination. We must have the courage to judge our habits and attitudes in the light of the gospel and sincerely surrender the bad ones to God.
6. Surely the devil has got the permission to tempt you but God has promised to support you and lead you to victory. However, you cannot be victorious if you do not pay attention to still silent voice that whispers in your heart at every moment of temptation. You cannot be victorious if you keep dialoguing with the devil without fortifying yourself with the Word of God. Your failure will be assured if you do not sincerely turn away from your weaknesses and turn to God. Through baptism you have been called and chosen for the kingdom. Work harder to justify your call.
