When Armed with Prayer

Homily: First Sunday of Lent (B)

21 February 2021 

Mark 1:12-15

Fr. Ricky C. Montanez

According to statistical data, roughly a tenth of the country’s population, an estimated 10 million Filipinos, are working abroad for the promise of higher wages.  Although they find better opportunities for themselves and for their families back home, being an overseas worker is never easy. Life has even become more difficult for many of them due to this global health crisis. A good number of them have had pay cuts, lost their jobs altogether or are barely surviving while waiting to be repatriated.  The Covid 19 pandemic has turned our “modern-day heroes” (mga bagong bayani) into “hurting heroes”. 

Among the many challenges that our kababayans (fellow Filipinos) have to deal with include the homesickness and loneliness brought about by being far from one’s family and country of origin.  When overcoming difficulties, the presence and support of loved ones and the familiarity and comfort of one’s environment are huge factors.  Sadly, there are some who fail to cope with the loneliness and this eventually becomes the source of temptation for many of them to enter into complicated extramarital relationships. Hence, it is not surprising to hear a lot of stories involving women finding another man or men finding another woman abroad despite the fact that they are already married in the Philippines. The challenge to remain faithful to one’s spouse is also true to the husband or wife left behind in this country. On this National Migrants’ Sunday, we are reminded of the need to really pray for Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs)and support them because life is not all easy for them as they constantly have to contend with temptations especially with remaining faithful to their promises. 

For us, too, the battle against evil never stops. It is a constant struggle as we try to remain faithful followers of Jesus. As temptation is a universal human experience for our fallen nature, every person finds himself or herself being lured to turn his or her back on God. In the Gospel, we hear the familiar drama of Jesus being tempted by Satan. Although the temptation account in the Gospel of Mark is quite succinct compared to the accounts of Luke and Matthew, it speaks in brief terms of this spiritual conflict — this all too human struggle between right and wrong, between fidelity and disobedience to our relationship with God. In Luke and Matthew, the specifics of Jesus’ temptation were identified as the temptation to power, domination and possessions. But the text suggests that it was not just a passing temptation at a singular, given moment. They were temptations that Jesus had to overcome all through His earthly life. We note the presence both of the “wild beasts” and “the angels who were ministering to Jesus” in the wilderness in today’s Gospel. That is to say that the challenge to be faithful to the Father’s will was a continuing struggle for Jesus. It would occur again and again at various stages in His life, right up to and especially at those last hours in the Garden of Gethsemane and on the Cross.  In His anguish in the Garden, Jesus cries out to the Father… “Abba!  Father! You can do anything. Take this cup of suffering away from me. But let your will be done rather than mine.” (Mark 14:36) How did Jesus overcome such temptation? Prayer! Jesus prays intensely and even urges Peter to pray… “Stay awake, and pray that you won’t be tempted. You want to do what is right, but you are weak.” (Mark 38:14) Note also that in the prayer Jesus Himself has taught us, He encourages us to seek the Father’s protection and assistance as we pray: “Do not lead us into temptation but deliver us from evil.”  (Matthew 6:13)

In varying forms, this temptation of Jesus can come into our lives too. We are all tempted to comfort, not the comfort that we all need to live a decent life, but those comforts borne out of our selfishness and over-indulgence. How often are we willing to properly queue instead of cutting ahead of the line or going through our “connections”? How many of us grow impatient and arrogant at being told to wait for our turn?  We, too are all tempted to success, to be ahead of the rest? At times we want it so badly, no matter what the cost. We hear of unscrupulous business practices where substandard ingredients or products are still sold to make profits despite dangers they pose to customers? Then we are all tempted to power — to be in control, to be in charge. Why do you think we have political dynasties or candidates killing each other over government positions? These are all tendencies, inclinations, and compulsions that we need to be aware of, that we need to overcome.  

The Lenten season is meant to help us control our propensity for selfishness and self- centeredness. It is a time of reflection and reassessment of the quality and direction of our lives. It is a time to re-examine our priorities. Lent is often described in the context of a struggle, where we are invited to recognize that life is very much a spiritual campaign, wrought with battles, and warfare.  We must learn to arm ourselves with the weapons of prayer and self-restraint. And to resist a basic temptation to believe that prayer is useless and that God is not listening. 

God always equips us with the strength to overcome temptation. 1 Corinthians 10:13 says: “No temptation has overtaken you except something common to mankind; and God is faithful, so He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.” God never forsakes His children or those who call on Him in earnest. We shouldn’t doubt that God is always with us. God remains faithful to the covenant of love promised to Noah and all of creation in spite of human neglect and betrayal. Even in the desert, Jesus was not alone.  We are told that He was filled with the Holy Spirit. We trust that the Paraclete is also with us and we are not alone on our journeys. Let us make the most of this Lenten season — a truly sacred time — to nurture our spiritual growth and maturity and remain steadfast in faith despite any of life’s temptations.