With HIM at Our Side

HOMILY: First Sunday of Lent (A)

Matthew 4:1-11

26 February 2023

Fr. Ricky Cañet Montañez, AA 

“I’m only human.” This a phrase that we may have heard of and even used at some point in our life. We use it to justify our weaknesses that cause us to fall prey to temptations. However, it is our humanity that should constantly remind us of where we stand before the Lord — how we draw our strength from Him and find refuge in our Creator.

On the First Sunday of Lent we usually hear one of the Synoptic Gospel accounts of the Temptation of Jesus. This year, we hear St. Matthew’s version.

Many Bible scholars have noted that if we look closely at the three (3) temptations of Jesus in the wilderness, they could actually be classified into just one temptation. What  then is this temptation of Jesus? If we take into consideration the First Reading, the temptation to which Adam and Eve succumbed is set within the context of their being creatures. The devil enticed them to abandon their dependence on God by making them believe that they themselves would become “like gods”. In their desire to be equal with their Creator, they denied their reliance on Him as His creations. They, too, wanted the knowledge of good from evil and be independent of God. 

Contrast this with Jesus’ responses to the devil. “One does not live on bread alone…” (Matthew 4:4; Deuteronomy 8:3) “You shall not put your God to the test…” (Matthew 4:7; Deuteronomy 6:16) “The Lord, your God, shall you alone worship and Him alone shall you serve.” (Matthew 4:10; Deuteronomy 6:13) Each of these answers illustrates how the created being should relate with God, how a creature is necessarily dependent on the Creator alone. Hence, Jesus’ temptation in the form of food, prestige and power were the devil’s ways to make Him forget His reliance on the Father. Jesus was able to resist the devil’s temptation for satisfaction, power and wealth because He was humble. Although He Himself was God, He always deferred to the will of His Father. According to St. Paul in the 2nd Reading, redemption and new life entered the world through the obedience of Jesus whereas sin and death entered the world through the disobedience of Adam.

In fact, these three tests would recur throughout Jesus’ life. In every instant He would overcome it by choosing to serve God alone. According to a commentary I read on this gospel narrative, here are a few of those trying moments in Jesus’ life:

First, we recall that in two occasions, He multiplied bread for the multitude. He did so not for Himself but rather to feed the hungry crowd. (Matthew 14:13-21) Second, He rejected calls from His opponents to prove Himself by performing some wondrous signs. He insisted that the only sign that would be given them was that of His own death and resurrection. (Matthew 16:4) Third, after one of the feeding of the multitude accounts in John’s gospel, the crowd  wanted to make Him king. Instead, he fled, sought the Father’s guidance in prayer and moved on to other villages where He could also minister to others in need. (John 6:1-14)

Jesus would pass all three tests and would continue to do so during His life right up to the moment of His death. “In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus would ask to be spared the horrors of His Passion, but He would eventually put aside His own fears of suffering and death and voluntarily submit to the Father’s will. (Matthew 26:42) On the cross Jesus would make the despairing cry: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”, and soon after, in total surrender He would say as He breathes His last: “Into your hands I commend my spirit.””

We all struggle with the temptation to abandon our loyalty to God for seemingly more attractive and easier paths of life that give us false security.  The temptations of Jesus also come into our lives in varying forms. We are all tempted to desire comfort. This is not the ordinary comfort that God wants us to have through hard work and perseverance, but rather the kind that we achieve through selfishness and indulgence. We are all tempted to desire success, to be somebody. Sometimes, we pursue this no matter the cost. We are all tempted to desire power: to run things, to run people, to be in charge to the point that we neglect the humanity and needs of people involved. Sometimes, we do not make room for God to work in our lives anymore. God’s will becomes secondary to our will. These are basic human desires, desires that we are inclined to want for ourselves no matter what it takes. These are inclinations that we need to be aware of, inclinations that we need to confront.  For us, too, the battle against evil never stops. It is a constant struggle as we try to be faithful followers of Jesus. 

Let our Lenten observance be a grace-filled moment where we can stand utterly naked before God, acknowledging our total dependence on Him who created us. Let us resist the temptation to believe that we can do things on our own without God’s help. Let us always call on God in moments of temptation. With Him at our side, we shall conquer bravely every temptation that comes our way.