Deacon Tom Anthony

First Sunday of Lent
Lectionary: 22

Reading 1 Gn 2:7-9; 3:1-7

The LORD God formed man out of the clay of the ground
and blew into his nostrils the breath of life,
and so man became a living being.

Then the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east,
and placed there the man whom he had formed.
Out of the ground the LORD God made various trees grow
that were delightful to look at and good for food,
with the tree of life in the middle of the garden
and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the animals
that the LORD God had made.
The serpent asked the woman,
"Did God really tell you not to eat
from any of the trees in the garden?"
The woman answered the serpent:
"We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden;
it is only about the fruit of the tree
in the middle of the garden that God said,
'You shall not eat it or even touch it, lest you die.'"
But the serpent said to the woman:
"You certainly will not die!
No, God knows well that the moment you eat of it
your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods
who know what is good and what is evil."
The woman saw that the tree was good for food,
pleasing to the eyes, and desirable for gaining wisdom.
So she took some of its fruit and ate it;
and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her,
and he ate it.
Then the eyes of both of them were opened,
and they realized that they were naked;
so they sewed fig leaves together
and made loincloths for themselves.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 51:3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 17

R. (cf. 3a) Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness;
in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense.
Thoroughly wash me from my guilt
and of my sin cleanse me.
R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
For I acknowledge my offense,
and my sin is before me always:
"Against you only have I sinned,
and done what is evil in your sight."
R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
A clean heart create for me, O God,
and a steadfast spirit renew within me.
Cast me not out from your presence,
and your Holy Spirit take not from me.
R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
Give me back the joy of your salvation,
and a willing spirit sustain in me.
O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth shall proclaim your praise.
R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.

Reading 2 Rom 5:12-19

Brothers and sisters:
Through one man sin entered the world,
and through sin, death,
and thus death came to all men, inasmuch as all sinned—
for up to the time of the law, sin was in the world,
though sin is not accounted when there is no law.
But death reigned from Adam to Moses,
even over those who did not sin
after the pattern of the trespass of Adam,
who is the type of the one who was to come.
But the gift is not like the transgression.
For if by the transgression of the one, the many died,
how much more did the grace of God
and the gracious gift of the one man Jesus Christ
overflow for the many.
And the gift is not like the result of the one who sinned.
For after one sin there was the judgment that brought condemnation;
but the gift, after many transgressions, brought acquittal.
For if, by the transgression of the one,
death came to reign through that one,
how much more will those who receive the abundance of grace
and of the gift of justification
come to reign in life through the one Jesus Christ.
In conclusion, just as through one transgression
condemnation came upon all,
so, through one righteous act,
acquittal and life came to all.
For just as through the disobedience of the one man
the many were made sinners,
so, through the obedience of the one,
the many will be made righteous.

Or Rom 5:12, 17-19

Brothers and sisters:
Through one man sin entered the world,
and through sin, death,
and thus death came to all men, inasmuch as all sinned.

For if, by the transgression of the one,
death came to reign through that one,
how much more will those who receive the abundance of grace
and of the gift of justification
come to reign in life through the one Jesus Christ.
In conclusion, just as through one transgression
condemnation came upon all,
so, through one righteous act,
acquittal and life came to all.
For just as through the disobedience of the one man
the many were made sinners,
so, through the obedience of the one,
the many will be made righteous.

Verse Before the Gospel Mt 4:4b

One does not live on bread alone,
but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.

Gospel Mt 4:1-11

At that time Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert
to be tempted by the devil.
He fasted for forty days and forty nights,
and afterwards he was hungry.
The tempter approached and said to him,
"If you are the Son of God,
command that these stones become loaves of bread."
He said in reply,
"It is written:
One does not live on bread alone,
but on every word that comes forth
from the mouth of God."

Then the devil took him to the holy city,
and made him stand on the parapet of the temple,
and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down.
For it is written:
He will command his angels concerning you
and with their hands they will support you,
lest you dash your foot against a stone."
Jesus answered him,
"Again it is written,
You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test."
Then the devil took him up to a very high mountain,
and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in their magnificence,
and he said to him, "All these I shall give to you,
if you will prostrate yourself and worship me."
At this, Jesus said to him,
"Get away, Satan!
It is written:
The Lord, your God, shall you worship
and him alone shall you serve."

Then the devil left him and, behold,
angels came and ministered to him.

MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS,

Temptation is all around us. This is unavoidable. We are all a part of God’s Creation in all of its beauty and majesty, yet there is another side to it. This other side is all the things that came after the universe came into being and God created us. From that moment when God created man and gave us the gift of free will, we have continuously tried to add to it, thinking that we can make it better. Putting ourselves in the position of God, we find ourselves embracing everything Jesus rejected in the desert: indulging in all the material things we think we need and want, questioning God and His relationship to us, and chasing after all the worldly allures in life rather than that which is truly important. As our lives progress, there is a pattern of behavior where we find ourselves chasing that which society tells us is acceptable instead of what God says is. We need to ask ourselves if these practices have brought us true joy and peace or frustration and anxiety.

Jesus knows we are weak and are open to temptation. He journeyed into the desert to face Satan as an example. He experienced what we experience daily to serve as a model for us to follow. Being the Son of God, He could have easily avoided that forty days in exchange for embracing all that was worldly but this was not the message He wanted to send. Instead, He suffered so that He could become a sharer in what we face daily. He also overcame this suffering not as God but as human. He wanted to suffer with us and continues to do so.

We are communal by our very nature. We enjoy the company of others and find comfort when joined with other people. Companionship is a very important aspect of our lives. Socialization is necessary for a person to live a balanced, healthy life. When we experience something that is good, we tend to want to live that experience with someone else and share it. When we suffer, it is always comforting to suffer with someone else. Jesus sends the message that He is sharing not only in all of our joyful experiences but also in the bad ones, including temptation of earthly desires which can lead to our destruction. He is here with us to encourage us to endure these temptations in order to achieve a higher truth which can only be found with Him. He was alone in the desert but we do not have to be alone in ours.

To be fulfilled physically, mentally, and spiritually we must embrace Jesus Christ. This means that we are encouraged, especially during this Season of Lent, to journey with Jesus into the desert to confront our temptations and fears. It is an exercise that will bring us closer to Jesus in a bond of suffering. Our relationship with Him becomes forged by a confrontation of crisis and adversity. He shares with us and us with Him. We exchange our cross with His. He understands what we are going through and now we must understand that what He did for us will lead to the destruction of our crosses and the exultation of His. 

Jesus Christ came into this world to suffer, to be crucified, and die for our salvation. In the face of this truth our free will, so often abused, is presented with a stark choice: surrender to Jesus everything to receive everything in return or turn away once again to continue experiencing chaos. It is through Jesus Christ that all that is wrong becomes right. For so long we have accepted the wrong. It is through the Suffering Christ that we begin to make things right.

We can all remember times in our lives when we were challenged. At that moment, things may have appeared to be hopeless. After the storm, there was light and joy. We made it through with the help of our faith. We gained strength from the experience. Throughout Lent, we voluntarily enter into a suffering state with Jesus Christ so as to strengthen ourselves. Our love for Christ and each other will increase as we contemplate the Suffering Christ and experience His Passion with Him. We need to enter the desert so we can enter the deep love of Jesus Christ. As long as we unite ourselves with the Suffering Christ we then have the capability to love Him and feel Him even more.

Deacon Tom