1st Sunday of Lent

Temptation and Sin!

At creation, God formed a beautiful relationship of love with all humanity through Adam and Eve. This gave humans the ability to have fellowship with God. Sin is willfully breaking this beautiful relationship of love. Temptation and sin are daily experiences and realities, which cannot be overemphasized and which no psychology can dismiss.

One of the temptations that ruins even our own human relationships is a kind of apathy. This results from routine failures that slowly break down a relationship of love, rendering it stale. We must always take a realistic look at our human relationships, and more especially, beware of the temptation of indifference.

Notice the woman in the first reading playing with temptation. She could be us. The proposal is pleasing to the eyes, and after some hesitation, she consents. The result is a humanity fallen from grace and innocence and marked by sin and death.

Jesus Christ starts a new history of humanity, one marked by the forgiveness of sin and of life everlasting. It is “the gracious gift of the one man Jesus Christ” that Paul tells us about in today’s Epistle. Fallen humanity can now pray hopefully: “Give me back the joy of your salvation,” which we hear in the responsorial Psalm.

As we begin this sacred time of Lent, the Church presents to us the triple temptations of Jesus Christ for us to meditate upon. They are three typical temptations that constantly threaten Christianity and Christians.

First, our Christian God may never be used for one’s own gain or profit: turning stones into bread.

Second, our Christian faith has nothing to do with the spectacular: throw yourself down.

Third, Christian religion may never be mixed up with political powers, but the Christian message helps to transform political powers with moral principles: kingdoms of the world displayed in their magnificence.

Jesus proved that He will be faithful to His calling and mission and not be swayed by these temptations. He remained true to His identity as “the beloved Son of God.” We, who are His body, the Church of this age prone to these temptations, should keep in mind our Lord’s example. We must be weary of sensual desire, power, and self-glorification as areas of easy temptation. The grace to resist temptation is always available to us in Christ.