First Sunday of Lent – Year B
First Reading (Gen 9: 8-15). God establishes an agreement (covenant) with Noah’s descendants after the flood.
Second Reading (1 Pet 3: 18-22). The waters of the flood of Noah’s time are a type of the waters of baptism by which we are saved.
Gospel (Mk 1: 12-15). Jesus spent 40 days in the desert after his baptism. He is tempted by Satan.
Homily
On this first Sunday of Lent, the Church reminds us of the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness after his baptism. We are going to be tempted too during our forty days of lent. How do we resist temptation is what matters most but are to be aware of the object of temptation.
Insects and flies are lured by the scent of the sweet. Very often as they follow the scent of the sweet, they end up being imprisoned. We might think this could not happen with us human beings. The sad part is that we do allow it to happen to us. Like insects we are lured by the scent of the sweet. Many people think that temptation is caused by wrong things. When we think of temptation, we directly think of wrong things. It is not only wrong things or evil which can lead us astray. Good can also do so just as effectively. In fact, all temptation comes under the guise of good.
We can find some examples in the Gospels:
When Jesus invited a rich young man to become his disciple, the young man refused. It wasn’t evil which caused the young man to refuse. It was something which was good by its nature – wealth. When Jesus visited the house of Martha and Mary, the sisters to Lazarus, Martha was too busy to listen to Jesus. It wasn’t something bad which kept her to listen to Jesus but rather good – kitchen work – cooking – hospitality. In another story, Jesus speaks about the king who organized a banquet and invited people. On the day of the banquet, those who were invited, one said, I just bought a piece of land, I have to go see it. The other one wanted to try out some oxen he had bought. And a third one was newly married. Their reasons to stay away from the banquet were good.
What are we to deduce from all this? We have as much to fear from the good as from the bad. When we see something bad, we are likely to be repelled than attracted by it. But when we see something which is manifestly good, we are likely to be attracted by it. Hence, it poses more danger. The things that cause us to abandon our Lenten resolutions are not always bad. Let me take one example; if you take a resolution to cut on eating ice creams during lent and help the poor with the ice creams saved money, and you find yourself in the section of ice creams in the super market. A voice tells you to buy a smaller box of it rather than a big one you’re used to. Is the object of your temptation good or bad? I guess good as ice cream is not bad after all. More often, the object of our temptation is always good and that what makes it hard for us to resist temptation.
The devil does not appear as a repulsive character. He appears as an attractive and charming character or even as a friend. He will show you that he has your interest at heart just like he appeared to Jesus to give him bread and the kingdoms of the world. In order for us to resist temptation that comes under the guise of good during lent and beyond, we need wisdom and strength. Let us pray for the gifts of wisdom and strength on this first Sunday of Lent.
