Sermon Central
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Lent To Lean Series
Contributed by Dr. John Singarayar Svd on Feb 22, 2023 (message contributor)
Summary: The First Sunday of the Lent
Lent to Lean
Scripture:
Reflection
Dear sisters and brothers,
Lent is a season of temptations.
Lent is a season of trials.
Lent is a season of tests.
Lent is a season of attractions.
Lent is a season of diets.
In today’s gospel reading, we read the three temptations of Jesus.
The first temptation is to change the stone into bread.
The second temptation is to test God as his Son.
The third temptation is the Kingdom of the world.
Having said these three temptations literally, I would like to say these three temptations in simple words and my own words.
They are:
1. The first temptation is all about Hunger.
2. The second temptation is all about Faith.
3. The third temptation is all about Power.
Let us now look at these three temptations one by one.
1. The first temptation is all about Hunger.
Every human being is created to feel hungry and thirsty.
There is no exception for anyone.
We are created with it.
We need to accept it humbly.
Secondly, we cannot eat for tomorrow.
There is no storage facility like some animals.
So, our hunger is for a specific time.
It cannot be postponed.
It is a reality for everyone.
In this situation, let us see what the gospel writer Saint Matthew wants to convey to us today.
There are so many people around us who feel hungry.
You can google it for the latest situation in the world to know how many people go to bed hungry or empty stomach.
We may not understand this context, until and unless we go through a similar experience.
Therefore, the Church gives us time to feel one with these hungry people in the world by fasting.
Fasting is not for diet.
Fasting is not to reduce our weight.
Fasting is not to start with a bang from Easter.
Fasting is to know and feel the pain of being hungry so that we can be of some help or we can reach out in our limited space and time in and around us.
It is a call.
It is the Word of God that we need to lean on:
“For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink” (Matthew 25:35).
That is the reason, Jesus says:
“One does not live on bread alone,
but on every word that comes forth
from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4).
2. The second temptation is all about Faith.
We are created in the image and likeness of God.
There is a divine and human nature in us.
We will have life experiences based on what we feed more.
Do I feed more of divine nature into me?
Do I feed more of human nature alone?
Divine nature is going beyond I, Me, Myself, and Mine.
Human nature clings to or chains to I, Me, Myself, and Mine.
We, as humans, have expectations.
We, as divine, depend on God’s providence or God’s purpose or God’s protection or God’s accompaniment.
Our human expectations may fail us but God will never fail us.
We may not know good and bad.
God knows good and bad.
We need to be naked to the truth of our lives so that God can save us.
We can be naked to the truth by praying unceasingly and persistently.
Prayer is our shield for our protection.
Prayer is our shield for our trust.
Prayer is our shield for our faith.
That is the reason, Jesus said:
“You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test” (Matthew 4:7).
We do not test our expectations, we totally submit and surrender ourselves in prayer for God’s grace and the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ.
3. The third temptation is all about Power.
We all long for supremacy.
We all long for authority.
We all long for power.
We all long for control.
We all long for influence.
This is the world we live in.
We are not exceptional in it.
As a believer in Jesus Christ, we cannot be like the world is.
As a disciple of Jesus Christ, we need to be different.
Jesus Christ has shown the way.
He shared the sufferings of humanity through the Incarnation.
He was a leader of lost sheep.
He reached out to the marginalised.
He lifted the downtrodden.
He was the truth, the way, and the life.
He was the light to darkened world.
He sacrificed his life on the Cross for us.
He raised himself by sharing himself with all.
He was born for all.
He served all.
He suffered for all.
He died for all.
He was for all.
We need to be for all by sharing our talents, our resources, and our riches with all.
