First Sunday of Lent
Back to the
Wilderness
Temptation
1Jesus,
full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in
the wilderness, 2where for forty days he was
tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they
were over, he was famished. 3The devil said to him,
"If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of
bread." 4Jesus answered him, "It
is written, 'One does not live by bread alone.'"
5Then the
devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6And the devil said to him, "To
you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over
to me, and I give it to anyone I please. 7If you,
then, will worship me, it will all be yours." 8Jesus answered him, "It is
written, 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.'"
9Then the
devil took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple,
saying to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, 10for it is written, 'He will command
his angels concerning you, to protect you,' 11and 'On
their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against
a stone.'" 12Jesus
answered him, "It is said, 'Do not put the Lord your God to the
test.'" 13When the
devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.
Luke 4:1-13
Thank you …
for all the years of memories and joy.
JAK
(Jack
Alekasandra)
April 5, 2006 or 7 ~ March 1, 2022
Wild sings the bird of the heart
in the forests of our lives.
~
Mary Oliver
Last
Friday (Feb. 25) after grooming.
He
was so tired he went to sleep with his little tongue sticking out!
JAK
~ C.R.Alexander
Why is it that any
time we speak of temptation
we always speak of
temptation as something
that inclines us to
wrong.
We have more temptations
to become good
than we do to become
bad.
~ Fulton J. Sheen
March 6, 2022 First Sunday in Lent - Year C
Previous OPQs may be found at:
Agnus Day, by James Wetzstein
Agnus Day
appears with the permission of www.agnusday.org
Deuteronomy 26:1–11
Psalm 91:1–2, 9–16
Romans 10:8b–13
Luke 4:1–13
THE WORD:
The Gospel for this First Sunday of Lent is Luke’s account of Jesus’ desert experience. The desert here is more accurately understood as a wilderness: a dangerous, uncharted place, inhabited by wild beasts and bandits, and (many believed) haunted by demons.
Jesus’ wilderness “retreat” is a time for discerning and understanding his mission as the Messiah. These forty days are marked by intense prayer and fasting – not out of a sense of penance but to focus totally on God and the Father's will for him. The three temptations all confront Jesus with very human choices:
- “command this stone to become bread”: Will Jesus use his power for his own gratification and acclaim or to accomplish the will of God?
- “All this will be yours, if you worship me”: Will Jesus compromise the values of God to accommodate the values of the world?
- “throw yourself down from here”: Will Jesus pray that God will do Jesus’ will rather than Jesus seeking God’s will? Will Jesus seek to make God into Jesus’ image or seek to become what God calls him to be?
Jesus’ encounter with the
devil depicts the struggle he experienced during this lonely and difficult time
to come to terms with the life that lay before him. Jesus then follows
the Spirit obediently on to Galilee to begin his teaching ministry.
First
Reading Deuteronomy 26:1-11
1When you have come into the land that the LORD your God is
giving you as an inheritance to possess, and you possess it, and settle in it, 2you shall take some of the first of
all the fruit of the ground, which you harvest from the land that the LORD your
God is giving you, and you shall put it in a basket and go to the place that the
LORD your God will choose as a dwelling for his name. 3You shall go to the priest who is in
office at that time, and say to him, "Today I declare to the LORD your God
that I have come into the land that the LORD swore to our ancestors to give
us." 4When the
priest takes the basket from your hand and sets it down before the altar of the
LORD your God, 5you shall
make this response before the LORD your God: "A wandering Aramean was my
ancestor; he went down into Egypt and lived there as an alien, few in number,
and there he became a great nation, mighty and populous. 6When the Egyptians treated us
harshly and afflicted us, by imposing hard labor on us, 7we cried to the LORD, the God of our
ancestors; the LORD heard our voice and saw our affliction, our toil, and our
oppression. 8The LORD
brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with a
terrifying display of power, and with signs and wonders; 9and he brought us into this place
and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. 10So now I bring the first of the
fruit of the ground that you, O LORD, have given me." You shall set it
down before the LORD your God and bow down before the LORD your God. 11Then you, together with the Levites
and the aliens who reside among you, shall celebrate with all the bounty that
the LORD your God has given to you and to your house.
1You who live in the shelter
of the Most High,
who abide in the shadow of the Almighty,
2will say to the LORD, "My refuge and my fortress;
my God, in whom I trust."
9Because you have made the
LORD your refuge,
the Most High your dwelling place,
10no evil shall befall you,
no scourge come near your tent.
11For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways.
12On their hands they will bear you up,
so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.
13You will tread on the lion and the adder,
the young lion and the serpent you will trample under foot.
14Those who love me, I will
deliver;
I will protect those who know my name.
15When they call to me, I will answer them;
I will be with them in trouble,
I will rescue them and honor them.
16With long life I will satisfy them,
and show them my salvation.
Second Reading Romans 10:8b-13
8b"The word is near you,
on your lips and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith that we
proclaim); 9because if you confess with
your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from
the dead, you will be saved. 10For one believes with the
heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved. 11The scripture says, "No one who believes in him will be put
to shame." 12For there is no distinction
between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who
call on him. 13For, "Everyone who calls
on the name of the Lord shall be saved."
1Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was
led by the Spirit in the wilderness, 2where for
forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those
days, and when they were over, he was famished. 3The devil
said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a
loaf of bread." 4Jesus
answered him, "It is written, 'One does not live by bread alone.'"
5Then the
devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6And the devil said to him, "To
you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over
to me, and I give it to anyone I please. 7If you,
then, will worship me, it will all be yours." 8Jesus
answered him, "It is written, 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve only
him.'"
9Then the
devil took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple,
saying to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, 10for it is written, 'He will command
his angels concerning you, to protect you,' 11and 'On
their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against
a stone.'" 12Jesus
answered him, "It is said, 'Do not put the Lord your God to the
test.'" 13When the
devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.