The Victory over Temptation

Reflection for 1st Sunday of Lent Year C
(Deut 26:4-10;Rom 10:8-13; Lk 4:1-13)
Moses explained to the people how they would make an offering of first fruits to the Lord. He described how God led them from slavery in Egypt, and planted them in the land flowing with milk and honey. “And behold, now I bring you the first fruits of the ground, which you, oh Lord, had given me.” But St Paul explains in the second readings that now our salvation from slavery is given through faith in Christ Jesus. So God's mighty arm with which He delivered the Israelites from slavery is now given in the ‘double edged sword’ of the word of God. Hence, we carry the word on our lips and in our hearts, and confess that Jesus is Lord... “Everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved” (Rm 10:13).

The battle for our freedom could be seen in the battle of Jesus with Satan. Sin leads to slavery! “Whoever commits sin is a slave of sin” (Jn 8:34). Jesus’ victory over Satan announces our freedom and triumph in time of temptation. However, we must be ready to face temptation at all times. Jesus was tempted to change stone into bread and eat, to worship Satan in exchange for earthly power and glamour, and to tempt God by jumping from a cliff. These, and every temptation,  are all rooted in selfishness and the emancipation of the human will even over and above God’s will.

So human hunger or desire cannot redefine God's purpose for things. A stone is never meant for food! The temptation here is to put God's will aside and replace it with human hunger by changing the stone to bread. Secondly, God alone is unconditionally worshipped. This is  where we have to be careful about the modern day quest for miracles. The desire for authority and wealth often lead to different forms of idolatry. Thirdly, God's word is to be fulfilled, not in human terms but in God's. Presumption is like trying to unseat God, and attempting to institute oneself as master of the future. There is a growing temptation to know things beyond us. Thus many seek interpretations of dreams, some consult visionaries and sorcery. Do not put the Lord your God to the test.

“If the Son sets you free, you are free indeed” (Jn 8:36). That is why St Paul says that if you believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. Thus the death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ is our Passover from slavery to freedom. Therefore, we offer the Eucharist—The First Fruit—Jesus Christ, who is the first fruit from the dead (1Cor 15:20), the first born of all creation (Col 1:15). In Him temptation has lost its grip.

Fr Jude Chinwe Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R
National Shrine of Our Mother of Perpetual Help,
Ugwogo-Nike, Enugu.
Sunday March 10th, 2019.