Once again, I start my annual series for the season of Lent. I offer these to my readers, to believers, and others, who are in search of meaning and peace.
Lent, for Christians, is a time to call to mind the paschal mystery—the passion, death and resurrection of Our Savior Jesus Christ. It is the time for atonement, penance, almsgiving, and self-denial. While the Holy Mother Church continuously exhorts us to humble ourselves before the eyes of our creator, mindful of our unworthiness because of our sinful nature in the face of God’s perfection, at no other period of the liturgical year but Lent are we called to reflect on the salvific meaning of our Lord Jesus Christ’s sacrifice on the cross as expression of his universal redeeming love.
In the Gospel for the First Sunday of Lent, Matthew brings us to the wilderness where Christ, after fasting for 40 days, is tempted by the devil. Many nowadays are wont to believe that the devil is a vestige of the past, a relic of the dark ages, that the devil is some abstract notion of what is bad. But the Gospel teaches us that Christ himself confronted the tempter, a real person, not some nebulous concept. Pope Francis consistently warns that Satan is a real person, not merely a mist. In fact, theologians keep on reminding us that the greatest deception of the devil and the reason why so many fall, is to dupe people into believing that he does not exist.
In the Gospel on this first Sunday of Lent, from Matthew, the tempter tries to distract Christ from the task assigned to Him by the Father by distorting the task that claim to be its true fulfillment. The first is to turn stones into bread (4:3); the second to jump off the Temple pinnacle (4:6); and third, to worship Satan (4:9). These illustrate three kinds of control: material, spiritual and civil. They are based on the depraved and distorted notion that material goods will bring satisfaction and contentment; that spiritual powers derived from the devil will bring salvation; and finally that great political power will bring glory and honor.
At the heart of all three temptations is the idea that God is inconsequential and unnecessary because all these three resources are far more urgent matters that fill our lives, thus making God superfluous. These temptations are treated as archetypes of the temptations we experience daily: the temptation to amass through our own efforts material possessions, spiritual power and political power and social influence for their own sake, without the beneficence of God from whom everything and everyone emanates.
The first temptation is about material goods. Much of what ails our present day is the single-minded focus on acquiring material wealth and carnal pleasures. Because of the over emphasis on materialism respect for oneself and others, compassion, honesty, dignity and honor give way to greed, dishonesty, conceit and pride, self-centeredness and indifference toward the suffering of others. Much of human misery and failings such as corruption, divorce and abortion can ultimately be traced to man’s inordinate and excessive love for material wealth and physical gratification.
In the second temptation, the tempter, as he told Jesus, tempts us into believing that we can test and challenge God into yielding to our own will, threatening him that we will resort to our own flawed devices should he fail us. Oftentimes, we seek solutions elsewhere rather that trusting in God’s providence.
The third temptation is the arrogance of power. Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely, as the adage goes. We know how people react to power and authority. A powerful individual, devoid of moral compass, will most certainly abuse his authority. Power is a corrosive potion to those who are not guided by the spirit of benevolence, humility and the sincere desire to serve.
In his Ash Wednesday homily a few days ago, Pope Francis observed how we are confronted today with numerous temptations. According to the Pope:
“Each of us knows the difficulties we have to face. And it is sad to note that, when faced with the ever-varying circumstances of our daily lives, there are voices raised that take advantage of pain and uncertainty; the only thing they aim to do is sow distrust. If the fruit of faith is charity—as Mother Teresa often used to say—then the fruit of distrust is apathy and resignation. Distrust, apathy and resignation: these are demons that deaden and paralyze the soul of a believing people.”
Francis emphasized that Lent is the best time to unmask and face these temptations, “to allow our hearts to beat once more in tune with the vibrant heart of Jesus”. He says Lent offers three words to us that will rekindle our hearts as believers: “pause, see and return.”
The Pope then elaborates what these words tell us to do. See excerpts below:
“Pause a little, leave behind the unrest and commotion that fill the soul with bitter feelings which never get us anywhere. Pause from this compulsion to a fast-paced life that scatters, divides and ultimately destroys time with family, with friends, with children, with grandparents, and time as a gift… time with God . . .
Pause for a little while, refrain from the emptiness of everything that is instantaneous, momentary and fleeting, that deprives us of our roots, our ties, of the value of continuity and the awareness of our ongoing journey.
Pause in order to look and contemplate!
See the gestures that prevent the extinguishing of charity, that keep the flame of faith and hope alive. Look at faces alive with God’s tenderness and goodness working in our midst.
See the face of our families who continue striving, day by day, with great effort, in order to move forward in life, and who, despite many concerns and much hardship, are committed to making their homes a school of love.
See the faces of our children and young people filled with yearning for the future and hope, filled with ‘tomorrows’ and opportunities that demand dedication and protection. Living shoots of love and life that always open up a path in the midst of our selfish and meagre calculations . . .
See and contemplate the face of Crucified Love, who today from the cross continues to bring us hope, his hand held out to those who feel crucified, who experience in their lives the burden of failure, disappointment and heartbreak.
See and contemplate the real face of Christ crucified out of love for everyone, without exception. For everyone? Yes, for everyone. To see his face is an invitation filled with hope for this Lenten time, in order to defeat the demons of distrust, apathy and resignation. The face that invites us to cry out: ‘The Kingdom of God is possible!’
Pause, see and return. Return to the house of your Father. Return without fear to those outstretched, eager arms of your Father, who is rich in mercy (cf. Eph 2:4), who awaits you.
Return without fear, for this is the favourable time to come home, to the home of my Father and your Father (cf. Jn 20:17). It is the time for allowing one’s heart to be touched…
Return without fear, to join in the celebration of those who are forgiven.
Return without fear, to experience the healing and reconciling tenderness of God.”
Facebook page: Professor Tony La Viña (deantonylavs) Twitter: tonylavs