1st Sunday of Lent—Fr. Leo Schneider
On this first Sunday of Lent we begin our spiritual house cleaning. We straighten up our spiritual practices of virtue, prayer and alms giving. Moses in our first reading calls his people to be grateful. To offer to the Lord the first fruits of their labors. They were to give it to the priest, but we can give some of our harvest of labor to those who need it as alms giving. This practice reminds us that all things come from God and we in gratitude can share our blessings with those who need it.
In the Gospel, Jesus deals with the same temptations we deal with and teaches us how to respond to temptation. First, the devil temps Jesus to feed himself in his hunger. Jesus responded, “One, does not live on bread alone.” We can get caught up in earthy pleasures and not live from the soul. Jesus chose to live for the bread of heaven and thus did not violate God’s will. Jesus models to us that our life in God comes before all else and that there is no earthly possession that can compare.
The second temptation, is also an urge to put one’s own glory before God’s, Jesus replies that all worship is God’s. The third temptation was to put God to the test. The devil wanted him to jump and have God’s pinions save him. Jesus, in his faith and love, would never be able to make the Father his servant. We too can be tempted in prayer to insist that God give us what we want. But the good news is that God knows what we need.
Temptations can be subtle and can slowly erode our sense of justice, love and truth. Lent is our time to make sure we are on track in our spiritual lives, putting the Lord and our seeking of him in the Spirit before all else. When Easter comes, may the Lord find our hearts neat and ready to welcome him into an even deeper part of our hearts!