1st Sunday of Lent
Deu
26:4-10; Rom 10:8-13; Lk 4:1-13
During my seminary days,
I used to hear this phrase from one of the professors in St Peter’s College,
Kuching: “To know the present we need to know the past; to know our destiny we
need to know our origin”. This particular professor loved to say that phrase every
time he entered the class. But I never tired of listening to this phrase, not
only because it makes sense but it is indeed very true. To discover why things
have turned out the way they have, we must study their history, their origin.
The passage of today’s
first reading from the Genesis serves for that purpose. The passage tells the blissful
story of our first parents—the story of Original
Blessing. Adam and Eve knew happiness together and no shame as they lived
in harmony with nature and the animal kingdom. But then, the passage also tells
the tragic story of our first parents—the story of the Original Sin. In eating the forbidden fruit, Adam & Eve
disobeyed the word of God. And so their eyes testified for the new knowledge
and lost innocent—ashamed of themselves and afraid of God. The name of this human tragedy is SIN.
This story leads to understand
why we are toiling here on earth, why there are sufferings, why there are
hardships in life, why we need salvation, why we need Jesus in our lives. The
church has chosen this particular passage for today’s liturgy as we begin the
season of Lent to make us aware our own sinfulness so as to set up a right
spirit for Lent. Many people would still very much incline to think that Lent
is a gloomy season. It’s a season of fasting and abstinence. It’s a season of
scarifying and be contended to the “low key”. This way of thinking is not
wrong. But it’s only half of the whole TRUTH.
Lent season is also a
time for a NEW LIFE in Christ. It is a time for us to join Jesus in the desert.
To reflect more about our lives—whether we have been living a witnessing life
for Christ, whether we have been faithful to his commandment. Lent, therefore,
is our personal retreat with Jesus. It is a time set aside by the church so as for
us to prepare to celebrate the glorious day of Easter more meaningfully.
The story of Jesus’
temptations in today’s gospel point set for the example we must follow when we
come to a dilemma of choosing between good and evil. Each of us experience
temptation in life. And we know that temptation is sweet. Many at times, we
just couldn’t resist so much so that often we felt discourage, hopeless and
frustrated. The words of God today should be a great consolation to us to the fact
that Jesus knew what it felt like to be tempted and so he can sympathise with
us in our weakness.
As we gathered here for
the Eucharist, let’s put our trust to the word of St Paul, we heard in the
second reading; ‘if it is certain that death reigned over everyone as the
consequence of one man’s fall, it is even more certain that one man, Jesus
Christ, will cause everyone to reign in life..”. Let’s be affirmed that Lent is
not so much a season for giving up or weeding out something as an opportunity
to find out someone, Jesus Christ the New Adam.