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| “Temptation of Christ” by Michael Pacher (St Wolfgang Altarpiece) 1479-81 |
Reading I: Deuteronomy 26:4-10
Moses spoke to the people,
saying:
“The priest shall receive the
basket from you
and shall set it in front of
the altar of the LORD, your God.
Then you shall declare before
the Lord, your God,
‘My father was a wandering
Aramean
who went down to Egypt
and lived there as an alien.
But there he became a nation
great, strong, and numerous.
When the Egyptians maltreated
and oppressed us,
imposing hard labor upon us,
we cried to the LORD, the God
of our fathers,
and he heard our cry
and saw our affliction, our
toil, and our oppression.
He brought us out of Egypt
with his strong hand and
outstretched arm,
with terrifying power, with
signs and wonders;
and bringing us into this
country,
he gave us this land flowing
with milk and honey.
Therefore, I have now brought
you the firstfruits
of the products of the soil
which you, O LORD, have given
me.’
And having set them before
the Lord, your God,
you shall bow down in his
presence.”
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Commentary on Dt 26:4-10
Moses gives the people a ritual formula to pronounce when making
their offering to the temple (previously required in Exodus 22:28ff, Exodus 23:19). While the date is not stated explicitly, it
is probably to occur at the spring festival of Azymes. The rite recalls the nomadic nature of the
people (Aramean: either in reference to the origin of the patriarchs from Aram
Naharaim (cf Genesis 24:10;
25:20; 28:5; 31:20, 24), or merely in the sense
of "nomad," in the same way as "Arab" was later used; cf Jeremiah 3:2.[4]), and then
follows the enslavement in Egypt and the release from bondage to be brought
into the land of Israel. Essentially
recalling the Lord’s mercy and salvation, the offering is from the first fruits
of their harvest.
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 91:1-2, 10-11, 12-13, 14-15.
R. (cf. 15b)
Be with me, Lord, when I am in trouble.
You who dwell in the shelter
of the Most High,
who abide in the shadow of
the Almighty,
say to the LORD, “My refuge
and fortress,
my God in whom I trust.”
R. Be with me, Lord, when I am in trouble.
No evil shall befall you,
nor shall affliction come
near your tent,
For to his angels he has
given command about you,
that they guard you in all
your ways.
R. Be with me, Lord, when I am in trouble.
Upon their hands they shall
bear you up,
lest you dash your foot
against a stone.
You shall tread upon the asp
and the viper;
you shall trample down the
lion and the dragon.
R. Be with me, Lord, when I am in trouble.
Because he clings to me, I
will deliver him;
I will set him on high
because he acknowledges my name.
He shall call upon me, and I
will answer him;
I will be with him in
distress;
I will deliver him and
glorify him.
R. Be with me, Lord, when I am in trouble.
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Commentary on Ps 91:1-2, 10-11, 12-13, 14-15
Psalm
91 is especially important as the reference Satan uses on the Lord in the
desert when he tempts him to throw himself down from a high place so the angels
of the Lord God might rescue him. “For to his angels he has given
command about you, that they guard you in all your ways.
Upon their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against
a stone”. We hear these same words in Luke’s Gospel
story of the temptation in the desert below. .It is a song praising God for his
saving works.
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Reading II: Romans 10:8-13
Brothers and sisters:
What does Scripture say?
The word is near you,
in your mouth and in your heart
—that is, the word of faith
that we preach—,
for, if you confess with your
mouth that Jesus is Lord
and believe in your heart
that God raised him from the dead,
you will be saved.
For one believes with the
heart and so is justified,
and one confesses with the
mouth and so is saved.
For the Scripture says,
No one who believes in him
will be put to shame.
For there is no distinction
between Jew and Greek;
the same Lord is Lord of all,
enriching all who call upon
him.
For “everyone who calls on
the name of the Lord will be saved.”
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Commentary on Rm 10:8-13
The author of the Letter to the Romans (probably from the Pauline
Community) states the confession of faith in Jesus and the view of the
universal invitation to Christ. Anyone
who calls on Christ in sincerity and believes in his divinity has access to his
mercy and salvation.
Taken in context this reading is part of a larger apologetic about
Christ being the one who brings salvation and not the Law of Moses. In that context and in that time, this
reading takes on a different meaning – professing Christ openly could result in
persecution and even death.
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Gospel: Luke 4:1-13
Filled with the Holy Spirit,
Jesus returned from the Jordan
and was led by the Spirit
into the desert for forty days,
to be tempted by the devil.
He ate nothing during those
days,
and when they were over he
was hungry.
The devil said to him,
“If you are the Son of God,
command this stone to become
bread.”
Jesus answered him,
“It is written, One does not
live on bread alone.”
Then he took him up and
showed him
all the kingdoms of the world
in a single instant.
The devil said to him,
“I shall give to you all this
power and glory;
for it has been handed over
to me,
and I may give it to whomever
I wish.
All this will be yours, if
you worship me.”
Jesus said to him in reply,
“It is written:
You shall worship the Lord,
your God,
and him alone shall you
serve.”
Then 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, for it is written:
He will command his angels
concerning you, to guard you,
and:
With their hands they will
support you,
lest you dash your foot
against a stone.”
Jesus said to him in reply,
“It also says,
You shall not put the Lord,
your God, to the test.”
When the devil had finished
every temptation, he departed from him for a time.
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Commentary on Lk 4:1-13
The story of Jesus being lead into the desert to be tempted by the
devil is consistent with the other synoptic Gospels of Matthew and Mark. Jesus is “filled with the Holy Spirit” as he is
emerging from the baptismal waters.
Forty days is symbolic of the forty years the Israelites wandered in the
desert during the Exodus.
The story serves to help us understand that the temptations we
faced were also faced by Jesus who was totally human, like us in all things but
sin. The Lord overcame the temptations
of food when he was hungry and power when he was powerless. We note that the devil used scripture to
support these temptations, twisting what was good to evil purpose.
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Reflection:
On a day when we celebrate the goodness of God in giving us His
Only Son, it is appropriate that we understand that, all God created that was
good can also be used by the evil one to lead us down the wrong path. Today we hear the story of Jesus, lead into
the desert following his baptism in the Jordan River
by John the Baptist. Jesus wanders for
forty days and when he is weak from lack of food, the evil one comes to him and
offers him what his human self must want the most. Further, the devil uses the Lord’s own
identity to tempt him. Had Jesus wished,
he could have grasped at the devil’s rationalization (using scripture no less)
and satisfied his hunger.
More tempting to the Lord must have been the second
temptation. Jesus had a mission to lead
all the people of the world to God. The
devil offered him all of that in one instant.
All Jesus had to do was give homage to Satan. We can almost image him, weak from hunger
challenged by one who seemed so fare but felt so foul. He offered Jesus everything his heart
desired. But the Lord was stronger. He drove the devil away with his words, “for
a time.”
With all the cunning and power of Satan, is it any wonder that we
are sometimes tricked into actions that we know are not in keeping with God’s
commandment to us? This time of lent is
our chance to look back at our lives and see there the fingerprints; the
fingerprints of God who supports us in time of distress and the fingerprints of
Satan who takes advantage of our weakness and even provides rationalization for
us using scripture.
Today
let us ask God to show us those times when we were buoyed up by his presence
and ask him to forgive us for those time we were weak. Let us pray that he might strengthen us so
that we might, in the future be more aware of the difference.
Pax
In other Years: Seven
Founders of the Order of Servites, Religious
[2]
The picture is “Temptation of Christ” by Michael Pacher (St Wolfgang
Altarpiece) 1479-81
[3]
The readings are taken from the New American Bible with the exception of the
Psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for
English in Liturgy (ICEL). This
re-publication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
[4]
See NAB footnote on Deuteronomy 26:5
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