THE WORD
FIRST READING: Dt 26,4-10
The priest shall then take the basket from your hands and set it in front of the altar of the LORD, your God. Then you shall declare in the presence of the LORD, your God, “My father was a refugee Aramean who went down to Egypt with a small household and lived there as a resident alien. But there he became a nation great, strong and numerous. When the Egyptians maltreated and oppressed us, imposing harsh servitude upon us, we cried to the LORD, the God of our ancestors, and the LORD heard our cry and saw our affl iction, our toil and our oppression. Then the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a strong hand and outstretched arm, with terrifying power, with signs and wonders, and brought us to this place, and gave us this land, a land fl owing with milk and honey. Now, therefore, I have brought the first fruits of the products of the soil which you, LORD, have given me.” You shall set them before the LORD, your God, and you shall bow down before the LORD, your God.
SECOND READING: Rom 10,8-13
But what does it 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 justifi ed, 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.”
GOSPEL: Lk 4,1-13
Filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus returned from the Jordan and was led bythe 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 by 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 their 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.
IN OTHER WORDS
Have you noticed the tactics the devil used in tempting Jesus? Every time he spoke he used the magic word YOU. In the desert he said: “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread”. Yes, the devil cares for you; you are the center of his attention; you are hungry, you must eat, after longs days of fasting. Then on top of the mountain, facing all the kingdoms of the world he said: “I shall give you all these…” The devil promises you possessions - wealth, power, glory and all that you desire. Finally, on the tip of the Temple, he challenged you of what you are capable of: “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down!” The devil knows that once you are focused on yourself alone, when you “bend and see only your own navel”, then you will no longer see God and much less, the others.
Notice that every time Jesus, replied, he always referred to “what was written”, meaning to the
Word of God. His point of reference was not his “I”. He did not bend down to see only himself, rather he looked up to point to God. Man does not live by bread alone but by the Words coming from God. You shall worship and serve God alone and you shall not put your God to the test. The writings that Jesus cited bring us back to the time of Exodus when the people wandered in the desert for “forty years”. There, the children of Israel, despite the wonders and the love that God had shown them, turned their backs to him when the devil tempted them. Because of hunger they murmured against Moses. Because of thirst they lost faith in God. Then they fell into the temptation of worshiping the golden calf, creating their god that they could manipulate. If Jesus was led to the desert and stayed there for “forty days”, it was to relive the experience of Israel and face the temptations of the devil.
Where Israel fell Jesus came out victorious! Henceforth Jesus is ready to constitute a new Israel, a people liberated from the kingdom of the devil, built upon the Kingdom of God. Now it is our turn to cross the desert. We begin the time of Lent and we are invited to turn our hearts to God in the spirit of repentance of our sinful past. The desert is not only the place of temptation but the place where we get nearer to God. We have “forty days” to reset our priorities. Who is my reference? “Myself” first, next “others” then “God”? Or “God” first, next “others” then “myself”?
- Fr. Xene Sanchez, SVD | Congo, Africa
The Word in other words 2016
An annual project of Logos Publications, The WORD in Other Words Bible Diary contains daily scripture readings and reflections written by priest, brothers, and sisters of the three congregations founded by St. Arnold Janssen (the SVD, SSpS, and SSpSAP). It hopes to serve as a daily companion to readers who continually seek the correlation of the Word of God and human experience.
