LENT I [A] Gen 2:7-9, 3:1-7; Rom 5:12-19; Mt 4:1-11

Just a little over a week ago, I was in the very place where Jesus spent 40 days praying and fasting and was finally tempted. He came out victorious over the temptations. The first reading shows how Adam and Eve failed the temptation to Satan and made belly their god.

The temptations of Jesus in the desert recapitulate the temptation of Adam in Paradise and the temptations of Israel in the desert. The Israelites in the desert when they had no food and water murmured against God and they were bitten by snakes. Satan tempts Jesus in regard to his obedience to the mission given him by the Father. By allowing himself to be tempted, Jesus wanted to teach us how to fight and conquer our temptations.

The love of money is the root of all evil in the modern world. Money can be intoxicating for men. In fact, Jesus named money as one of the main competitors to serving God. Men can be tempted to earn more or borrow more money than what they need. Thus, we are tempted to ignore important things such as: family, quiet time with God and overall quality of life.

In the third temptation, the devil wanted Jesus to enter the world of political power to establish his kingdom of God instead of choosing the path that would lead to suffering, humiliation and death.  It was a temptation to do the right thing using the wrong means.  Jesus was being tempted to win the world by worshipping the devil.  Why not compromise a bit?  Why not strike a deal with the evil powers?  Even, Spirit-filled, sanctified, spiritually vibrant Christians are still subject to the same temptation.  We need companionship, acceptance, love, appreciation and the approval of others.  We are tempted to fulfill these legitimate needs using the wrong means.

 

Jesus serves as a model for us in conquering temptations by strengthening himself through prayer, penance, and the active use of the Word of God. Temptations make us more powerful warriors of God by strengthening our minds and hearts. By constantly struggling against temptations, we become stronger. Each time one is tempted to do evil but does good, one becomes stronger.  Further, we are never tempted beyond our power.  In his first letter, St. John assures us: “Greater is the One Who is in us, than the one who is in the world (1 Jn 4: 4). We may be strengthened by St. Paul’s words in 1 Cor 10:13: “No testing has overtaken you, that is not common to everyone.  God is faithful, and [God] will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing [God] will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.” God will not and cannot tempt anyone to do anything evil. It is Satan tempting. God allows testing. As we can see this in the life of Job. Satan comes to ask God permission to do testing on Job and He allows.

Like Adam and Eve, we are all tempted to put ourselves in God’s place.  Consequently, we resent every limit on our freedom, and we don’t want to be held responsible for the consequences of our choices.  This is one of the tendencies of the modern generation. They do not want to take the responsibility for their actions but tries to put the blame on the previous generations. Growing up I did not have this and that; therefore, I am like this. Or, I was abused while growing up. That kind of excuses do not totally free anyone up from the responsibility of the sinful action one does.

 

Every one of us knows who Mel Gibson is and how he messed up his life after making The Passion of the Christ. It wasn’t coincidence. He did so much good through this movie that it brought on him a lot of attacks by the evil one as revenge for the spiritual good done by the film. Because he wasn’t “careful” enough or didn’t look on what happened to him as his spiritual battlefield, Gibson wasn’t ready for battles that came after he had finished the Passion movie. Because of his well-documented paranoia, he repeatedly roared threats to kill his estranged ex-wife of 28 years and burn down her house. He alludes to having earlier hit her hard enough to break several of her teeth—something he claims she “deserved.” — Mel’s former wife surely knows that not only is Mel a racist, homophobe, misogynist, and anti-Semite, he is a drug and alcohol abuser and potentially violent man. Why did he have all these tragedies after the great triumph of his career The Passion of the Christ which grossed over $604 million worldwide? Because he ignored Peter’s advice, “Stay sober and alert. Your opponent the devil is prowling like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, solid in your Faith. (1 Pt 5:8-9a).

Jesus has taught us in the prayer Our Father “Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.” We need to be constantly on the watch to avoid Satan’s temptations. That is why Jesus taught us to pray like that.

Lent is the time for the desert experience. We can set aside a place and time to be alone daily with God, a time to distance ourselves from the many noises that bombard our lives every day, a time to hear God’s word, a time to rediscover who we are before God, and a time to say yes to God and no to Satan as Jesus did. May this Lent be a different one this year for each of us helping us to know God’s will and trying for our and others salvation.

 

 

 

 

 

  O.T.VII:A: Lev 19:1-2, 17-18; 1 Cor 3:16-23; Mt 5:38-48

Yogi Berra once said: “You have got to be very careful if you do not know where you are going, because you might not get there.”

Way back in 1865, Lewis Carrol published a novel for children named Alice in Wonderland. In that novel we find Alice one day wandering around in a dream world. She stops and asks a cat: “Would you tell me, please which way I should go from here?” The cat replies: “That depends a good deal on where you want to be.” Alice said: “Oh, I don’t much care.” With that, the cat responds: “Then it doesn’t much matter which way you go.”

We can be a lot like Alice, saying “Oh, it does not matter much to a whole lot of things. It doesn’t much matter which church you go to. It doesn’t much matter what you believe, and so forth. Pretty soon nothing much matters at all. Eventually, our lives do not matter, and we will be just like Alice drifting aimlessly into our own little wonderland going nowhere.

 Goals are important, otherwise, our living is aimless. Aiming at a goal is very necessary if we are going to have any sense at all concerning the path we are taking as we journey through life.

Jesus gives us a goal today: You must be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

Well, nobody can be equal to God anyway. How can we, mere mortals be as perfect as God is perfect? What Jesus is saying is that we love completely as God loves completely. Be you mature and grown up as your heavenly Father is fully mature in his love and fully mature in the way He treats others. He loves completely, without boundaries. In Hebrew and Aramaic, the word “perfect” includes many nuances of meaning. These are, being kind, generous, merciful, good, and holy. These are all the things that God is for us – And what we must become, ourselves, in our own hearts and lives!

Through Moses, God told the Chosen People that they needed to become holy because He, the Lord their God, was holy. They could not keep hatred in their hearts. Even if they had to correct someone, they had to do it in a godly way. They were not to harbor grudges toward anyone – or seek vengeance for a wrong done to themselves!

 In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus spells out exactly the ways to grow in perfectness. Instead of fighting back with angry words or physical violence, we must remain calm and find a better way when someone hurts us. In those times, a backhanded slap on the right cheek was an insult. Turning and offering the other cheek was a way to shame the aggressor – It was a way to help them realize how wrong they were! Giving away their tunic and their cloak – and going the extra mile – were ways to avoid litigation and court costs. Jesus is telling them and us that settling differences amicably, was better than contention and lawsuits.

Jesus also said to “give” to those who ask of us – Also, to allow someone to “borrow” what they truly need. This doesn’t mean that we give to a “con man” – or enable a compulsive borrower! Perhaps, one of the most difficult commands of Jesus is that of loving our enemies.

Retaliation is the automatic human response. We can see it reflected in how people and even animals react to one another. The underlying implication is this: we must be able to defend ourselves. If someone comes towards us with violence, we must be ready to push back with non-violence because if we do not, the aggressor might get the upper hand, and we could be revealed as cowardly or weak.

St. Paul gives us another reason why we must become holy, with the perfection it includes. We are temples of God because the Holy Spirit dwells within us. Moreover, this is also true of every person we meet!

Therefore, we must, absolutely, rid ourselves of all those things which are unholy – Because unholy things in our minds and hearts lead to unholy actions in our lives. Yes, this will always be a struggle – But God is always there with His, amazing, Grace! So, let us take heart – Let us pray that during this Lent, we become more like the godly son or daughter that God has created us to be. May we become holy – for the Lord, Our God, is holy! May we become perfect – just as our heavenly Father is perfect!

 OT V [A]: Is 58:7-10; I Cor 2:1-5; Mt 5: 13-16

The readings today tell us that we are the light of the world! The readings of the past two Sundays tell us that Jesus is the light of the world! Thus the Gospel Acclamation today:

“I am the light of the world, says the Lord, anyone who follows me will have the light of life.” (Jn 8:12)

We read in the gospel today:

“You are the light of the world. …. Your light must shine in the sight of men, so that, seeing your good works, they may give praise to your Father in heaven.” (Mt 5: 14. 16)

The first reading follows the theme of the gospel. The first reading tells us to practice justice and charity, that is, to help the poor and the needy, and to free the oppressed and the exploited! By practicing justice and charity our light will shine like the dawn and the noon! Thus we read in the first reading:

    “Thus says the Lord: Share your bread with the hungry, and shelter the homeless poor, clothe the man you see to be naked and turn not from your own kin. Then will your light shine like the dawn ….” (Is 58:7. 8a. 9b-10)    

So, Isaiah told them to be generous. They must each look beyond their own personal needs. They must share their bread with the hungry – They were to find shelter for the oppressed and the homeless.

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus tells us that attitude is everything. The way we behave toward others is the indication of who and what we are inside. We are to be “salt” that gives a divine flavor to everything we do. We are to be “light” wherever we find ourselves. Certainly, we all have multiple obligations toward other people. But what is our attitude? Does it reveal a truly generous heart and spirit? Because, if we truly touch the heart of another, we can lift up their spirit – We can lead them to praise God if they are believers themselves – And they might even become changed in some way! Furthermore, if we bring the right attitude to our help to non-believers – perhaps, they will wonder why we reached out to them. And in their search for the “why”, they might be led to God in some way!

When we become salt and light for others we become missionaries, leading them to Christ, the Light, who says, I am the light of the world. When we become light for them, they will find Christ.

One time I became an effective missionary; it was some 31 years ago, right before I became a priest, while I was a deacon. A friend of mine and I went to Calcutta to do some charity service and see for ourselves what the missionaries of Mother Teresa were doing. And, even after these many years that one experience stands out before me as clear as day light. One morning after I reached there one religious brother took me out to show what they were doing on a regular basis. He took me to the main railway station of Calcutta where three or four trains would be coming in our going off at the same time. It was the terminal station. On one corner of that station we found lying an old woman, unconscious and near death. The brother asked me to help him carry her outside the railway station as he picked up a stretcher made available by the railway. As we moved her on to the stretcher we realized that she had a mortal festering wound at the back of her head which gave out terrible smelling. We brought her outside the railway station looking for a taxi to get her to the nursing care facility ran by the sisters, as this was a woman. The brothers kept the men, and the women were transferred to the sisters to take care.

We tried in vain to get a taxi, because once the taxi driver finds out how bad this woman smelled and looked, he would refuse and take off. Eventually we approached a traffic Cop to assist us and he stopped a cab and told him he had to take her to where we wanted, otherwise he would take action on him. Unwillingly he did but all the way to the place he kept abusing us for doing such work and giving him inconvenience. He said nobody would sit in his car the rest of the day with this awful smell in the car. I was sitting in the front seat, alongside the driver and I could not breath because of the foul smell and so I put my head out through the window. When we reached the place he insisted we wash his car for him because maggots were creeping all over the seats. So we did.

Later I heard that she died three days later, recovered consciousness and responded to the sisters and thanked them for what they were doing for her.  As Mother Teresa once said, nobody could do this kind of work for money but only for Christ.

It was a month long experience for me there but for long time I kept remembering a young Muslim who had been there in the facility receiving medical attention. He had been there for a few months already because his both hands were burned up in a communal fight. The enemies put some type of carbon element in his hands and tied them together and poured water that his both palms were burned and not a tinge of flesh was left. They were burned even to the bones. He could do nothing with his palms and we would dress his hands every other day. Sometimes I would ask him questions about himself or about the incident, and he never retuned a word. Not once, did I hear him speak. He would stare in to my eyes when I clean his wound and bandage them. I knew he was wondering to himself why we were doing this when even his own family did not take him in, in such a condition. Later in my mind I thought to myself how could he not become a Christian after experiencing so much love and care from that facility for free.  He may have had to wait there for months, if not years to get healed completely well.

We responded three times the responsorial Psalm, “The just man is a light in darkness to the upright.” (Ps 111:4).

We are called and reminded today that we be salt and light to others to those living in darkness of their life. We are not called to convert others by force or enticements but by our good example and generous sharing of the gospel message with others. Today, let’s examine, do I have some salt or light to share with others.