The Sunday Gospel [First Sunday of Lent 2013]
Luke 4:1-13
1Filled with the holy Spirit, Jesus returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the desert 2for forty days, to be tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and when they were over he was hungry. 3The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” 4Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone.’” 5Then he took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a single instant. 6The devil said to him, “I shall give to you all this power and their glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I may give it to whomever I wish. 7All this will be yours, if you worship me.” 8Jesus said to him in reply, “It is written: ‘You shall worship the Lord, your God, and him alone shall you serve.’” 9Then he led him to Jerusalem, made him stand on the parapet of the temple, and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, 10for it is written: ‘He will command his angels concerning you, to guard you,’ 11and: ‘With their hands they will support you, lest you dash your foot against a stone.’” 12Jesus said to him in reply, “It also says, ‘You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.’” 13When the devil had finished every temptation, he departed from him for a time.
Reflection
As we all know, there are many kinds of temptations. In his Gospel, Luke describes his main three. First, the devil asks Jesus to turn stones into bread. This was a great temptation. Jesus went into the desert to prepare himself for future missionary work. In order to do this effectively, he wanted to come closer to God. For this reason, he did not eat for forty days. When the devil suggested that Jesus change a stone into bread, he was telling him that human food was enough to sustain him. Nor was it so important to focus on spiritual things, like payer, fasting, and giving alms. However, Jesus refused to perform a miracle. Instead, he told the devil, “Man does not live by bread alone.” In other words, we have a spirit that we must nourish to make it clean and holy.
Jesus says, “Man does not live by bread alone.” The bread symbolizes wealth and material goods. As we know, many people value money and material things rather than God. Of course, these things are not bad, They only become bad when people rely on them for a sense of security, thinking that they do not need God anymore in their life.
The second temptation is wider in scope. The devil shows Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and tells him that he can give him all of them. However, there is one condition. Jesus must “prostrate himself in homage to him.” Here we see clearly the devil’s evil. He does not say, “kneel down before me,” but “prostrate yourself before me,” that is, lie down before me as if I were your master, and you, my slave.” But this is a lie. The kingdoms of the world are not his to give away. They belong to God.
Jesus also refuses this temptation. He will not worship the devil, but only God. So he says, “Scripture has it, ‘You shall do homage to the Lord your God; him alone shall you adore.’”
The second temptation involves the desire to use power to get what we want. Unfortunately, some people like to dominate others, just as a stronger country tries to dominate a weaker country. But Jesus opposes the use of force, as we see, for example, in the way he died.
In the third temptation, the devil asks Jesus to throw himself from the pinnacle of the Temple. He should not worry because God will protect him from all harm. This is the temptation to control God. It is as if a person says, “I can drive well over the seed limit, God will protect me because I am a good person.” Of course, this is foolish thinking. We must do our best. Then we can only hope that God will bless us.
A basic question remains: why did he devil tempt Jesus? And why does he tempt us? The devil tempted Jesus because he wanted to separate him from God. The same is true for us. The devil wants to separate us from God. And so he sows seeds of doubt in our heart. . When we get sick, for example, we might say: “Why did God allow me to become sick? I could serve him better if I were healthy. Why did God allow an earthquake to kill so many people in Haiti? Why? Why? Why? The devil tempts us to ask many questions.
But let us remember the example of Jesus. How did he overcome the devil? Luke writes, “Jesus [was] full of the Spirit.” He was full of the Spirit because he prayed. He was full of the Spirit because he fasted. He was filled with the Spirit because he lived for God. So too should we.
Reflection Credits: Fr. John Seland, SVD, New Reflections on the Sunday Gospels
Prayer Response
Come, Holy Spirit, purify and purge me of all sinful intentions.
Source: The Reflection is from Bro. Abel Navarro (you can visit his blog at http://myblogabelnavarroabel.blogspot.com/).
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