Reflection for March 6, 2022

First Sunday of Lent (C)

Deuteronomy 26:4-10 | Psalm 91:1-2, 10-11, 12-13, 14-15 | Romans 10:8-13 | Luke 4:1-13

​As we start our journey through Lent, this Sunday's Gospel calls us to adopt the same confidence that Jesus had in the face of temptation: God's word alone will suffice. We can trust God to provide for our material needs. God's promise of protection can be trusted. We can trust God to be faithful to his promises. Finally, God alone is God. We worship God because God alone has dominion over us and our world. 

​Josefa, an elderly lady was well-known for her faith and for her boldness in talking about it. She would stand on her front porch and shout "Every knee will bow before Jesus!" Next door to her lived Ricardo, an atheist, who would get so angry at her proclamations he would shout, "There ain't no God!" Hard times set in on Josefa and she prayed for God to send her some provisions. She stood on her porch and shouted "Every knee will bow before Jesus!" I need food, I am having a hard time. Please Lord, send me groceries!" The next morning she went out on her porch and noted a large bag of groceries and shouted, "Every knee will bow before Jesus!" Ricardo jumped from behind a bush and said, "Aha! I told you there was no God. I bought those groceries myself, God didn't." Josefa started jumping up and down and clapping her hands and said, "Every knee will bow before Jesus! He not only sent me groceries, but He made the devil pay for them. Every knee will bow before Jesus!"

In the Book of Deuteronomy, Moses speaks to the Israelites at the end of their forty years wandering in the desert to prepare them for their new life in the Promised Land. He gave them instructions for the celebration of the Festival of Weeks (Hebrew: חג השבועות, Ḥag ha-Shavuot). This early summer ritual involved bringing a basket with the first fruits of the wheat harvest to the temple while professing their faith. This reminds them to rely on God as much as they did when they were in the desert. We can trust God to be faithful to his promises. God continued to provide food, water, and protection to them all the way into the Promised Land.

Fr. Rico Garcia, seminary rector was asked to give the opening prayer for the Nike Basketball 3ON3 Tournament in Manila. Before he prayed, he was asked not to mention the name of Jesus because it might offend the non-Christians who were in attendance. Fr. Rico replied that when he prayed to God, he was praying to Jesus and in Jesus’ name because Jesus Christ is indeed God incarnate. He also pointed out that he was about to ask God for great weather and safety of all players throughout the competition “Who’s gonna answer that prayer if I don’t pray in Jesus’ name? He’s the only One with the power to do what I ask.” Fr. Rico was exactly right. If we don’t pray in Jesus’ name, why bother praying at all? The whole point of prayer is to admit our total dependence on God. And we come to God in Jesus’ name because salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved. 

To confess Jesus as Lord was frequently hazardous in the first century. For a Jew, it could mean disruption of familial ties or social relationships, including great economic sacrifice. In the face of penalties imposed by the secular world, the Apostle Paul, in his letter to the Romans, assured that no one who believes in Jesus will be put to shame. For many of us “in Jesus’ name, Amen” means that the prayer is almost over and it’s time to eat dinner. Or we think of it as a kind of spiritual “Open Sesame” or “Abracadabra,” as if by saying words we are doing the Christian equivalent of rubbing Aladdin’s lamp. Praying in Jesus’ name is like signing his name to your prayers. In a sense you are saying to God, “Jesus told me to pray this prayer.” And what do you think the Father will do with a prayer truly signed by his Son. He’ll grant it, of course, because he always honors what the Son wants. Sometimes, we are tempted to think that if Jesus really cared so much for our comfort, then we would not be dealing with pain sicknesses or hardships. This is not true. Again, it's the enemy's clever lie. Jesus wants to give you the true comfort of resting secure in the promises of God, so he will allow you to experience pain, discomfort and problems. The whole person must believe in and bear witness to the salvation brought by the death and resurrection of Jesus. Faith in Jesus and calling on his name in prayer lead to salvation. 

A Buddhist, a Hindu and a Christian quarrels over whose god is the one true God. They eventually decided to have a competition by showing that their god can save them from a grave danger. So they all went to the edge of a cliff. The buddhist said "I will jump off this cliff as I call on the name of Buddha and I will not be harmed." So the Buddhist jumps off the cliff and calls to Buddha. "Buddha Buddha Buddha Buddha" he yells. When he was near the ground his fall started to slow down until eventually he levitated. The Hindu, unimpressed by the Buddhist said that Brahma can grant him the power of flight. So he jumped off. As he falls he calls upon the name of Brahma. "Hare Krishna Hare Rama." As he nears the ground his calls became desperate. "Hare Krishna! Hare Rama!" He hits the ground with a loud whack and is killed on impact. The Buddhist, while still levitating, nods to the Christian to tell him it's his turn. Surely the Lord will save me from any harm he says to himself. So he jumps off the cliff and calls upon the name of Jesus. "Lord Jesus, Lord Jesus, Lord Jesus save me save me" he said as he was falling. Midway to the ground he calls for the blessed mary and the saints for help. "Saint Paul, Saint Peter, Mama Mary please save me please save me." As he was getting dangerously close to the ground he said; "Oh Lord Jesus, Lord Je...BUDDHA BUDDHA BUDDHA BUDDHA BUDDHAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!" 

Our Gospel highlights for us one of the central themes of the Season of Lent. We are dependent upon God for all that we have and all that we are. Anything that leads us to reject this dependency or to distrust its sufficiency, is a temptation from the devil. In the desert, Jesus was tempted by the devil. His temptation carries with it the same structure as the temptation of Israel in the desert. He was tempted with the lust of the flesh, the pride of life, and the lust of the eyes. Jesus' responses to the temptations of the devil teach us how we can respond to temptation. Three times, Satan tempted Jesus. Three times, Jesus fought back with a quotation from the Scriptures. Trusting God during difficult times can be incredibly hard but Jesus promises us that whoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved. Do you trust God even when life knocks you off your feet? With confidence, let's sing with the psalmist, "Be with me O Lord when I am in trouble". <enrique,ofs>