FIRST SUNDAY OF LENT - YEAR C - Gospel (Luke 4:1-13) - THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE

“It also says, you shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.” (Lk 4:12)

FIRST READING - Deuteronomy 26:4-10

A reading from the Book of Deuteronomy

Moses spoke to the people, saying:

“The priest shall receive the basket from you

and shall set it in front of the altar of the LORD, your God.

Then you shall declare before the Lord, your God,

‘My father was a wandering Aramean

who went down to Egypt with a small household

and lived there as an alien.

But there he became a nation

great, strong, and numerous.

When the Egyptians maltreated and oppressed us,

imposing hard labor upon us,

we cried to the LORD, the God of our fathers,

and he heard our cry

and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression.

He brought us out of Egypt

with his strong hand and outstretched arm,

with terrifying power, with signs and wonders;

and bringing us into this country,

he gave us this land flowing with milk and honey.

Therefore, I have now brought you the firstfruits

of the products of the soil

which you, O LORD, have given me.’

And having set them before the LORD, your God,

you shall bow down in his presence.”

SECOND READING from the Letter of St. Paul to the Romans - Romans 10-13

Brothers and sisters:

What does Scripture say?

 The word is near you,

 in your mouth and in your heart

—that is, the word of faith that we preach—,

for, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord

and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead,

you will be saved.

For one believes with the heart and so is justified,

and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved.

For the Scripture says,

            No one who believes in him will be put to shame.

For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek;

the same Lord is Lord of all,

enriching all who call upon him.

For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

GOSPEL OF THE DAY - Luke 4:1-13

From the Gospel according to Luke

Filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus returned from the Jordan

and was led by the Spirit into the desert for forty days,

to be tempted by the devil.

He ate nothing during those days,

and when they were over he was hungry.

The devil said to him,

“If you are the Son of God,

command this stone to become bread.”

Jesus answered him,

“It is written, One does not live on bread alone.”

Then he took him up and showed him

all the kingdoms of the world in a single instant.

The devil said to him,

“I shall give to you all this power and glory;

for it has been handed over to me,

and I may give it to whomever I wish.

All this will be yours, if you worship me.”

Jesus said to him in reply,

“It is written

You shall worship the Lord, your God,

and him alone shall you serve.”

Then he led him to Jerusalem,

made him stand on the parapet of the temple, and said to him,

“If you are the Son of God,

throw yourself down from here, for it is written:

He will command his angels concerning you, to guard you,

and:

With their hands they will support you,

lest you dash your foot against a stone.”

Jesus said to him in reply,

“It also says,

You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.”

When the devil had finished every temptation,

he departed from him for a time.

FIRST SUNDAY OF LENT - YEAR C - Gospel (Luke 4:1-13)

THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE

Dear People of God,

Today's Word of God talks about “Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert for forty days, to be tempted by the devil." Through this, He gives us a lesson of self-emptying. Jesus is God, yet the Devil still tempted Him, so humans cannot escape the temptation—no one can. God gave the Devil freedom. As God’s Word is written: “God the Father let you know that the Devil is free to tempt humans. But if you do the will of God the Father, you will be protected by God the Father. But if you do not do the will of God the Father, the Devil will be free to steal your soul."

Jesus fasted for forty days, and when the Devil saw that He was physically weak, the Devil immediately came to tempt Jesus by saying, "If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread." Jesus has all authority over all things; He is omnipotent, and there is nothing He cannot do!

Yet Jesus truly humbled Himself before the pride of the Devil’s challenges. He did not engage in much dialogue other than using the Word of God in the Bible to respond. It was through humility that the Devil had to lose. Through this, God wanted to educate humanity that, to overcome the temptations of the Devil and their dark forces, humanity must always humble ourselves. We must become small and simple, but must also be steadfast in the fear of trusting in God.

Moreover, Jesus gave humanity another lesson on what to do when closely following Christ. The most important thing to follow Jesus Christ, we must give up all glory, wealth, and all things belonging to the world, and freely follow Him in a spirit of surrender and trust, we must put into practice living a life of sacrifice, self-denial in fasting, closely uniting with God in a spirit of prayer, then the devil will be defeated.

Jesus is the Lord of Lords, the King of Kings. He came to Earth to become a human being, to become like humans, except for sin. He had to go through many sufferings to learn the lesson of obedience and give up everything to do the will of God the Father. Therefore, God wants humanity to learn only good lessons from Jesus and follow His example of obedience by giving up everything belonging to the world and living chaste and pure lives.

Then the Devil will have to retreat to hell, or they will repent and receive God’s mercy. God revealed that the Devil will attack humans in all aspects, in all things such as power, glory, and benefits in this life. People need money, love, fame, gain, and pleasure, in which the Devil can give us all with the sole purpose of stealing our souls.

Today's Word of God also teaches us that we must worship and glorify God alone, and not worship any other god. For it is only God who guarantees happiness for humanity in heaven. It is God who gives true peace to humans in this life and the next. As in the first reading today in the book of Deuteronomy records: "The Lord brought us out of Egypt with his strong hand and outstretched arm, with terrifying power, with signs and wonders; and bringing us into this country, He gave us this land flowing with milk and honey."

Today, God also lets humanity understand one more thing: do not fall for the Devil’s tricks when they provoke us. The Devil always tempts us and plays on our psychological minds, making us show that we are more capable than others. It is the lack of humility, the lack of self-abasement, the unwillingness to empty ourselves that will allow the Devil to win, just as the Devil won over our ancestors because of their pride and disobedience.

God gives each of us different gifts, each with different abilities, and intelligence. But we must know that these are graces from God, not something that we can achieve on our own.

Therefore, we must always be vigilant and humble, considering ourselves as nothing, worthless in the eyes of others, in order to win over the world, the Devil, and the flesh.

God warns humanity that when we are filled with graces but lack humility, smallness, and simplicity, the Devil will dominate us, and we will fall into their trap of cunning schemes—with traps that we cannot escape.

God has revealed to us of the fallen angels. They are most of the brightest and most intelligent angels in Heaven were thrown out of God's loving arms by their arrogance, desiring to be equal to God, becoming the extremely ferocious Devil, roaming day and night looking for prey to tear and steal the beautiful souls of God the Father.

Through today's Gospel, God wants to warn everyone, including cardinals, bishops, priests, and religious to live a life of humility and self-abasement. Always be vigilant at all times and in all places. To avoid all occasions of sin, and stay away from the Devil’s traps, which are all kinds of passions: eating, drinking, lust, fame, status, and power, especially must give up the passion for lust and money. The Shepherds must live as God teaches in order to defeat the Devil, to work for God, and to care for the flock that God has given them.

Today, legions of the Devil are rampant in this world, robbing many souls of God the Father, including the souls of the clergies.

God the Father calls on them to be vigilant because, when standing before the judgment seat, all people are the same. All must answer to God the Father of our lives and the graces God has given to each person while here on Earth. Those who are not vigilant will truly be unfortunate, both in this life and in the next. God also emphasizes to us that the power of hell will not prevail when people live and practice the teachings of God.

Thanks be to God. Amen.