1st Sunday of Lent Cycle C February 21, 2010
Deuteronomy 26:4-10 Romans 10:8-13
Luke 4:1-
13
“Through our observance of Lent, help us to understand the meaning of
your Son’s death and resurrection, and teach us to reflect it in our lives.” I
can say with all certainty that in my short 3 ½ years of priesthood I’ve
never preached on the opening prayer of a Mass. Yet when I read this one
a few days ago, these words stood out like a David Ortiz home
run.
Let’s see, understand the meaning of Jesus’ death and resurrection. And
then place that meaning into the actions of our
lives.
Understand the meaning of the Cross…and once we gain sufficient
understanding of the language and truth of that symbol, then bring in an
empty tomb. Once we build up a sufficient understanding of what an
empty tomb means, then reflect them each day.
Is it me, or does that seem to be an awful lot? To take a cross and an
empty tomb, place them in our hearts, our souls, our minds, our strength,
our will, our everything, and then go out into the world and say, “Here I
am world. I’m at your service, with my cross and empty tomb.” It seems to
me it would take a lifetime to arrive at that spiritual point. And even for the
few who may be fortunate enough to arrive at that highly spiritual place in
life, they must still get the sense that somehow, someway, they have
fallen short of God’s will. God is very demanding. He asks us to carry a
cross and an empty tomb at the same time, and then live what we carry.
That’s very demanding!
Sort of the way the devil is very demanding with Jesus, except our loving
and gracious God has the reverse intention with
us.
In truth, the devil doesn’t want Jesus to carry a cross. You would think the
devil wants Jesus to suffer greatly, and mocked and spit at. And scourged
and beaten and receive a crown of thorns. You would think all these
treatments of Jesus are right up the devil’s alley. But they’re really not.
And the devil certainly doesn’t want Jesus to be buried in a tomb. One
would think that’s right up the devil’s alley for Jesus. But it isn’t. I suspect
the devil knows in his lying heart what’s going to happen at the tomb
shortly after burial. Like three days later. And the devil certainly doesn’t
want Jesus to appear to the Apostles and hundreds of others, and speak
to them this opening prayer; “Understand the meaning of my death and
resurrection, and reflect it in your lives.”
The devil doesn’t want the Apostles or any other disciple to arrive at the
land flowing with milk and honey. The land of the New Jerusalem. No, he
wants us to arrive at the eternal city
dump.
And the devil certainly doesn’t want any human being made in the image
and likeness of God to arrive at the truth that “the word is near you; in
your mouth and in your heart,” as St. Paul writes. Or, that the WORD
MADE FLESH is near you, in your mouth (Eucharist) and in your heart
(Belief).
So why does the devil tempt Jesus? And why does the devil continue to
tempt us? Why can’t the evil one just leave us
alone?
The devil tempts Jesus by way of hunger (“command these stones to
become bread”), power (“I shall give to you all this power and glory”), and
testing (“If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here”), so
that he may gain an upper hand. In Jesus’ life? Yes. But more so in our
lives. Because, if the devil succeeded at keeping Jesus from a cross and
an empty tomb, then – to borrow a verse from St. Paul’s reading last week
– we are the most pitiable people of all. In fact, all people would be pitiable
because all hope, meaning, and purpose in this life would have been not
only squandered, but
defeated.
Rather, Jesus’ obedience and love for his heavenly Father cannot be
shaken. It cannot be overcome or overpowered by temptation. (I always
react with a cynical laugh every time I read the 2nd temptation, where the
devil offers back to Jesus what God already owns. Listen to Psalm
50;
“For I own all the beasts of the forest,
beasts in their thousands on my hills.
I know all the birds in the sky,
all that moves in the field belongs to me.
Were I hungry I would not tell you,
for I own the world and all it
holds.”
Which all means the devil is the master of lies. Nothing has been handed
over to him. The glory and power he tempts Jesus with is all self-
promotion. God wouldn’t give the devil the time of day, never mind glory
and lasting power. And God certainly wouldn’t give the devil “us.” So
every time Jesus refuses the devil, it greatly increases the possibility that
each of us in our own free will can carry a cross and an empty tomb. And
then reflect it in our lives.
And why does the devil continue to tempt us? Let’s put it this way; if we
didn’t have a cross and an empty tomb to carry with us each day; and if
we are not on a journey toward the land flowing with milk and honey; and
if the Word was not near us, in our mouths and in out hearts; and if the
Spirit of the Lord was not upon us to give us strength and courage to do
His will, then the devil wouldn’t bother with us. Because he would have
us. He would own us. But he doesn’t have us, and he certainly doesn’t
own us.
So on this 1st Sunday of Lent as we begin to dig our heels deeper into
this season of 40 days and 40 nights with Jesus in the desert, may we
embrace in our lives the success of Jesus’ denials. May we embrace
Jesus’ obedience and love for his heavenly Father.