DAILY HOMILIES #temptation

No matter what your past has been, you can begin anew. Today is your last chance. Today is the day you repent, return and renew your covenant with God. Today is when you examine your conscience and introspect how well you have been living your baptismal commitments.

Sin is not just an offence against God; it is an offence against myself. As long as I do not live by God’s instructions, I can never become all that God desires for me. When a doctor tells you to choose between your favourite meal and death, I bet you will start hating that meal. To live above sin, we must hate sin. If our hatred for sin is not strong, we may abstain for a while only to return.

St. Paul tells us today: “Do not yield your members to sin as an instrument, but yield yourselves to God.” There is an extent to which a slave would give trouble that the master will have no choice but to let the slave go. You only become a slave when you stop resisting and give up the struggle.

Do not be deceived into thinking that demons do not exist. It is foolish to deny the power and workings of demons. However, there is no need to fear them when we know that “He that is in us is greater than he that is in the world.” (Cf. 1 John 4:4).

When faced with a temptation, it will do us well to say this phrase repeatedly: “I am light; I cannot hide.” Indeed, as St. Paul says, the safest life is to “live in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.” (Philippians 1:27).

Do not assume your righteousness exempts you from testing. As St. Paul says: “We rejoice in our sufferings (testing, temptations etc.), knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us.” (Romans 5:3-5) Going through a tough time? Remain steadfast. Don’t give in to sin. Don’t give up on God.

Trust God and obey His word. Trust your parents (your elders, your teachers, etc.) and keep to their instructions. It might seem hard for you to just be good but I tell you, this is the shortest cut to success in life. This is what Moses teaches us in today’s first reading. Give heed to the statutes and the ordinances… that you may live and take possession of the land… God means well by giving us the commandments.

I like how Matthew concludes today’s Gospel passage: “Then the devil left him, and behold, angels, came and ministered to him.” There is nothing as sweet as overcoming temptation. Each time we defeat the devil, we are visited by Angels and the consolation they bring always far outweighs whatever fun or pleasure the devil had promised us if we sin. Meanwhile, if we agree to the lies of the devil, we soon realize within a short time, like Adam and Eve did that we were deceived.

Having realized what they had done, Adam and Eve became ashamed and hid away from God. Their eyes had become open and they suddenly felt unworthy of God’s presence, they died to innocence. They could no longer approach God freely as before. God can never lie; He wasn’t joking when He said they would die if they ate of the forbidden tree.

Doing God’s work without a sense of humility, that is, without an awareness that you are just an instrument in God’s toolbox is dangerous (you can easily be replaced). Never take the complements or testimonies personally, learn to direct glory to God. In the same way, do not take it personally when you encounter those who express their anger against God through you. You are just a servant, the work is not yours.

Do you feel like abandoning your faith because it has become too difficult for you to continue practicing Christian virtues (keeping the commandments of God)? Reflect on St. Paul’s words in today’s second reading. Jesus obeyed even to the point of accepting death but today, the name of Jesus is above every name in heaven and on earth and under the earth and every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess and Jesus Christ is God. Obedience to God might be difficult but the reward is worth more than all the sacrifices.

Just as every sin begins with a temptation, the struggle against sin begins with the ability to know how to deal with temptations. Hence, on this first Sunday of Lent, our Gospel passage narrates how Jesus succeeded in overcoming temptations in the wilderness.