READINGS FOR THE FIRST SUNDAY OF LENT, YEAR C, SUNDAY 9TH MARCH, 2025
First Reading: Deuteronomy 26:4-10
Psalm: 90
Second Reading: Romans 10:8-13
Gospel: Luke 4:1-13
REFLECTION BY FR CORNELIUS NWAOGWUGWU, CM.
TEMPTATION: A WILDERNESS EXPERIENCE
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
Welcome to the First Sunday of Lent, Year C. The temptation of Jesus Christ is the theme of the First Sunday of every Lent. Today’s readings link the temptation of Jesus Christ to his journey in the wilderness. The Gospel of Luke describes the wilderness experience of Jesus Christ so well. It says: “Filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit through the wilderness, being tempted there by the devil for forty days. During that time he ate nothing and at the end he was hungry.” (Luke 4:1).
A wilderness is considered as a powerful symbol in different contexts. Within the contexts of culture, religion, psychology and philosophy, wilderness represents a place of trial, purification, internal struggle and transformation. From a cultural perspective, wilderness signifies a departure, a movement from the familiar or known journey into the unknown. Within the confines of culture, we confront our deepest fears, temptations, challenges and limitations. The wilderness in the religious perspective is described as a setting for divine encounters and spiritual growth. The biblical accounts of Moses and Jesus testifies to this description of wilderness. From the philosophical perspective, wilderness embodies the existential search for meaning. As a metaphor wilderness exemplifies life’s existential challenges. Wilderness tests our ethical convictions and inner strength. In this context, the wilderness tests our resilience and authenticity. The wilderness from a psychological context, serves as a strong match for inner change in our struggles. In this understanding, the wilderness offers us a profound insight towards enlightenment that shapes our self-awareness. In this context, the wilderness reveals a transformative journey of resisting temptation. In other words, wilderness fortifies us spiritually, morally and emotionally.
A wilderness in the context of temptation can be used symbolically. In this context, it symbolizes a place of profound spiritual and moral testing. It represents a realm of isolation where we confront our deepest desires and fears. In line with this teaching, Jesus’ forty days in the wilderness signify an intense period of temptation by Satan. It exemplifies the struggle between divine mission and human frailty.
In our Gospel Reading today, Jesus Christ was tempted. His temptation reveals that nobody is above temptation. The Gospel describes how Jesus was tempted after his Baptism. Jesus defeated the tempter by his forty days of prayer and penance in the wilderness. The Gospel of Luke summarises the temptation nicely. It says: “Having exhausted all these ways of tempting him, the devil left him.” Jesus conquered the devil by prayer, penance and by the word of God. (Luke 4:1-13).
As the followers of our Lord Jesus Christ, we are the prime target for the devil. No one will escape temptation. The truth of the matter is that we cannot overcome temptation all by ourselves. We are prone to temptation. We battle with our internal struggles, immediate desires, long-term goals, conflict between the id or impulses and the superego or moral standards. Loneliness amplifies these struggles within us. The lack of external support forces individuals to rely on their inner resources. When our actions contradict our Christian values, it creates mental and spiritual discomfort. We need resilience, self-control and the grace of God in managing temptation, as they help to align our behaviour with Christian values and search for meaning. Hence, we always need the grace of God. We need God’s help to overcome temptation. Alone we cannot overcome it.
We are called to overcome our evil tendencies by talking to God in prayer and by reading the Holy Bible. St. Paul in his letter to the Romans says: “The word, that is the faith we proclaim, is very near to you, it is on your lips and in your heart…, those who believe in him will have no cause for shame…, for everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” The Lord is our refuge, stronghold and in Him we trust. (Romans 10: 8-13).
Jesus invites us to join him on his journey in the wilderness and to share in the joy of his resurrection. Let us participate actively in the Stations of the Cross on Fridays and in reciting the Family Rosary. We can do some acts of kindness and mercy.
We are in the Season of Lent. Lent prepares us for the celebration of Jesus’ death and resurrection. Lent reminds us to reflect on our priorities, to repent and where necessary change our values and ideals. We can do this through fasting, prayer, almsgiving and self-control. In the Book of Deuteronomy, the people of Israel repented and called on the Lord the God. They testified that, “The Lord heard our voice and saw our misery, our toil and our oppression; and the Lord brought us out of Egypt with mighty hand and outstretched arm, with great terror, and with signs and wonders.” (Deuteronomy 26: 4-10).
In keeping with the spirit of the Lenten Season, Psalm 24 gives us an expression of the sense of human insufficiency and our radical dependence upon God’s mercy and forgiveness. The psalmist urges us to shape our lives with truth, compassion, love, kindness, goodness, uprightness, humility, and justice. (Psalm 24). During this period of Lent, these values offer us an opportunity to reflect on the mysteries of our faith that enables us to humbly ask for God’s forgiveness of our sins.
Let us seek the assistance of the Holy Spirit. It is not easy to overcome temptation completely. But God’s grace is enough for us to guide and lead us in the way of victory as we journey through the wilderness of life. So that at Easter, we can proclaim with an undivided heart that Jesus Christ is the Lord and Saviour of our lives now and for ever. Amen.
Fr. Cornelius Nwaogwugwu, CM.