Readings: Gen. 2:7-9, 3:1-7; Rom. 5:12-19; Matthew 4:1-11
Fighting Temptation
1. God created man and woman to live peacefully with him, the creator, and nature. The book of Genesis demonstrates God’s relationship with Adam and Eve. This story is about friendship, love, grace, abundance, disobedience, Sin, compassion, and forgiveness. Adam and Eve had everything in the garden: their needs were met without them working hard. They had a perfect friendship with God, who would come to the garden to walk with them in the evening and converse as they enjoyed the beauty of creation. Unfortunately, that relationship did not work out as God intended. The devil entered the garden and changed things around. Eve chose to listen to the devil and disobeyed God. She wanted to be like God. This temptation introduced disobedience, hatred, anger, finger-pointing, and Sin into the garden. Man became his own worst enemy. The harmony between God, man, and nature was destroyed, and man was cursed and driven out of the garden to till the ground and fend for himself.
2. During Lent, we are again allowed to look at our lives in relationship with God, humanity, and nature. On Ash Wednesday, we prayed: “Grant, O Lord, that we may begin with holy fasting this campaign of Christian service, so that, as we take up battle against spiritual evils, we may be armed with weapons of self-restraint.” Our journey into Lent began when God became man in the flesh at the incarnation. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, not to condemn the world but so that through him the world might be saved.” (Jn. 3:16). Without the fall, there would have been no need for redemption. According to St. Paul, “For just as through the disobedience of one person the many were made sinners, so through the obedience of one the many will be made righteous. The law entered so that transgression might increase, but grace overflowed all the more where Sin increased.” (Rom. 5:19-20). Paul reminds us again: “For our sake, God made him to be sin who knew no sin so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Cor. 5:21). “Sin,” therefore, “is an offense against reason, truth, and right conscience; it is a failure in genuine love for God and neighbor caused by a perverse attachment to certain goods. It wounds the nature of man and injures human solidarity. Sin is an offense against God: “against you, you alone have I sinned, and done that which is evil in your sight.” Sin sets itself against God’s love for us and turns our hearts away from it. It is disobedience, a revolt against God through the will to become “like gods,” It is the love of oneself, even the contempt of God. In this proud self-exaltation, Sin is diametrically opposed to the obedience of Jesus, which achieves our salvation.” (CCC 1849-1850).
3. In today’s Gospel, we read of the temptation of Jesus in the desert. With this, Jesus teaches us how to act when we are tempted. Since the devil used his knowledge of the Bible to tempt Jesus, Jesus also used the Scripture to conquer the devil. He countered the devil and commanded him to get out of His sight. The best way to fight temptation is to fortify ourselves with the word of God. “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching the truth, rebuking error, correcting faults, and giving instruction for right living.” (2 Tim. 3:16). How comfortable are you with your Bible?
4. The devil manipulated Eve and got the better of her: “Did God really tell you not to eat from any of the trees in the garden?” He cast doubts on God’s directives and offered her his logical explanation: “You certainly will not die! No, God knows well that the moment you eat of it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like gods who know what is good and what is bad.” (Gen. 3:4). On hearing that the woman turned away from God: she wanted to be like God. She thought of the benefits of the fruit: “The tree was good for food, pleasing to the eyes, and desirable for gaining wisdom. So, she took some of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.” (Gen. 3:6). Sin is turning away from the creator towards creatures. That was precisely what the woman did. She was more comfortable in the company of the devil than with God. The devil always gets us at our weakest point. He attacks us when we are sick, hungry, lonely, sad, defenseless, depressed, jobless, moneyless, poor, and desperate. He comes with false, empty promises if only we would do his bidding.
5. Jesus shows us today how to face temptation. We must be prayerful; we must fast and give in charity. We must know the Bible and develop new ways to counter the devil’s antics. Christ went into the desert to fast and pray for strength and a sense of direction. He surrendered his will to the will of God and fortified himself with the word of God. With this, he was able to face the devil. “One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God,” Again, it is written, “You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.” And finally, “Get away, Satan! It is written: The Lord, your God, shall you worship and him alone shall you serve.” (Mt. 4:4,7,10). We fall into temptation when we do not know how to fortify ourselves. Lent gives us that golden opportunity to battle the devil. We must give alms, fast, and pray if we are to face the temptations of our daily lives. We must be humble, forgiving, compassionate, and merciful. May we enter this season with the desire to change for the better? Amen!
Assignment:
1. How do you prepare for Lent? To fight the devil’s temptation, Jesus relied on the word of God. There are 40 days between today and Easter Sunday. Please read the Book of Proverbs, chapters 1 to 31, each day from March 1 to March 31. On Feb. 27 and 28, read Psalm 1 and Psalm 2. Then from April 1 to April 9, read Psalms 4, 5, 15, 25, 51, 91, 103, 115, and 150. There will be Bible classes on Wednesdays of Lent in the Church from 6:30 to 7:30 pm. The classes will be live-streamed.
2. During Lent, we are encouraged to give alms. When we give alms, we see ourselves as God’s stewards entrusted with many blessings. Our gifts are meaningful when we give sacrificially. Please give to the 2023 Appeal for Catholic Ministries: Pay $200.00 today to reach our goal of $9702.00. Thank you. Please support the missions of the Missionary Society of Paul. Pick up a table calendar and give whatever you can each month to provide fresh water, feed the hungry, educate a child in the mission, or train a Seminarian for the missions. What you give up for Lent should benefit others.
3. Do not forget your parish. Our stewardship is very low, as you can see in the bulletin. We need $3,000.00 a week to break even. Now we can hardly raise $1,500.00. Please increase your giving, if possible, and help us keep the Church warm. Let us be available to people around us. Share a smile with those you meet, and never forget to wish them well. May God bless and keep you now and always. Amen!
Rev. Augustine Etemma Inwang, MSP
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