Seeking God´s grace in moments of temptation
1st Sunday of Lent Homily – March 1, 2020
By Rev. Fr. Erl Dylan Tabaco, SSC

Since time immemorial human beings had already struggled with temptations. There are so many stories in the bible which talk about how some famous biblical characters like Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Moses, David, Jonah and Peter, wrestled with their own temptations; on how they give in and at the same time how they amend their lives after they fall. Temptations are part of the human condition and there is nothing that we can do to eradicate them. We all encounter numerous temptations each day. Whether you are priests, religious, married man/woman or single, no one can escape from this reality. No one is immune to it. When we are confronted with this reality we found out that some of our temptations are very difficult to resist and oftentimes we fall. On the other hand, we also feel delighted every time we overcome those temptations because we cooperated with the grace of God which is actively working in us. The underlying truth about all our temptations is that we have a God who is with us. God never abandons us in times of trouble and it is him who provides us the strength and perseverance to overcome all our tendencies to give in to those temptations. Our faith enables us to move on with courage and hope that God´s providence will always be at our side.

Our readings for today highlight the importance of our faith in God which was expressly demonstrated to us by Jesus when he was tempted by the devil in the desert. Jesus remained focus on who he is and what he is supposed to do. His identity as the Son of God is strongly linked to his mission which made him firm amidst the enticing words of the devil. He trusted God´s Word as his shining armor to debunk the tactics of the devil. Like anyone of us, Jesus is fully human who also wrestled with his temptations. The only difference between him and us is that Jesus never succumbs to his temptations. Everything that we go through in life was already experienced by our Lord and with this, we are assured that we have him who can empathize with us.

For my reflection, I would like to highlight the theme of “How our faith helps us resist the “lures of the devil” that continuously bothered us?” The devil may come to us in sheep´s clothing, but inwardly is a ravenous wolf ready to devour us. If we don´t have a discerning heart, the devil may enter into our hearts and maneuver our lives until such time we become his prey. We will always fall if our faith in God is not as solid as a rock. We need to be very vigilant about how the devil presents his tactics and promising words which are very attractive and offers us an instant answer to our need. The question here is not so much on how those temptations come to us but it is more on how we deal with these little demons that keep on bothering us. I would like to highlight three important points in dealing with all our temptations based on our readings today.

First, our faith in God helps us to accept that temptation is inevitable. Instead of being anxious and restless why not focus on the providence of God that in him there is no temptation that cannot be overcome. This was captured in the first temptation of Jesus when the devil asked him to command the stone to become bread. No matter how hungry he was Jesus never gave in to his appetite because what is more important for him is the Word of God. This shows us that if we are grounded with God´s word we can always tame our appetite. All of us are struggling in taming our appetite because we want instant answers to all our longings. Appetite is not only attributed to food but it includes all our inordinate desires like attachment to material things and craving for something more possessions. We became engrossed in it. When we are faced in this situation we just have to remind ourselves that God´s providence doesn´t operate the way the world sees it. God doesn´t offer instant magic like turning the stones into bread. Instead, God is helping us to be patient and to be trustful in his ways. When we put God first in our life we will be able to tame whatever appetites or desires of the flesh that we are wrestling with. His grace is enough for all of us to face all our ordeals, but we need to convince ourselves of God´s assurance that we are not alone. In the restlessness of our hearts, there we long to hear his gentle voice that guides us in our discernment in choosing good over evil. But our first reading today in the book of Genesis narrates to us how sin entered into the picture which affects all human race. God in his benevolence provided Adam and Eve a garden with various trees that were delighted to look at and good for food together with clear instruction not to eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and bad. Their attempt to be like "god" which was the tactic used by the serpent to seduced them had entered into their consciousness and became a common denominator of countless generations up to this time who are struggling with the reality of the mystery of evil and sin. Our heart is now divided and it is always a battleground between the will of God and the will of the flesh. We need to consciously examine our life´s choices and to be prudent with our choices by not allowing self-gratification to influence our thoughts and our feelings. God´s goodness cannot be overcome by human frailty and brokenness. He always provides us the way to come back and amend our broken relationship. God always knows the right time and what is best for us. Thus, there is nothing to worry about when temptations come on our way and we feel restless, we just have to look on God and remember that we don’t live on bread alone but by the Word of God that satisfies our hunger.

Second, our faith in God strengthens our desire to reject the offer of the devil and follow what God wants from us. When Jesus was tempted by the devil for the second time, he was offered all the kingdoms of the world in exchange for his allegiance to him. But here Jesus made a strong statement that “You shall worship the Lord, your God, and him alone shall you serve. This temptation for prestige and power is very common to us. We want to be the center of everything and to possess that power to manipulate other people. Jesus´ response to this temptation enlightens us that power that comes from God is always use to serve others. When we seek the good of others in everything that we do we are configured to the mind and heart of Christ whom St. Paul emphasized in his letter to the Romans that, “For just as through the disobedience of one person the many were made sinners, so through the obedience of one the many will be made righteous. Jesus ‘words and deeds give us the criteria on how to live a life of obedience to the will of God. We are invited to imitate how he used his God-given authority to bring goodness to others. This is what his mission is all about. As he proclaimed that the kingdom is at hand, his words are accompanied by concrete acts of mercy and compassion especially as he seeks the lost, the least and the last. We should forget our own selfish interests so we can serve others in love and humility. Every time we overcome our temptation to self-entitlement as we clothe ourselves with vanity, fame, and power, we are witnessing the saving act of Jesus. When we want the power to serve others then that is very liberating, inspiring and life-giving. We have the capacity to resists all our temptation because God through Jesus Christ has entered into our lives and strengthened us. This is a real power that comes from God, not the false one where the world commonly defines power as to subjugate others.

Lastly, our faith in God enables us to live out the examples of Jesus. In him, we are not alone. Through Jesus Christ, God remains closed to us and he is involved in every story that we have. God is present in our entire journey and Jesus manifested the benevolence of God by constantly giving us many opportunities to grow and become a fully integrated person. We are all work in progress and our cooperation with the grace of God is a big factor in shaping our lives as a co-worker of Jesus in the vineyard where everyone is destined to grow and bear fruits. This is only possible when we remain humble that there is nothing that we can do without God in our lives. This is exactly what Jesus responded to the third temptation of the devil when he was asked to throw himself down and let the angels catch him. This a temptation that is prevalent in our society today. We have been very proud to ourselves and to some extent, we have forgotten the source of the things that we achieved in life, our God. Only a humble heart that can give space to God so he can inspire us to be like his Son, Jesus Christ who never counts himself as equal with God. Instead, he took the form of a servant and lived among us so he can teach us how we are supposed to live our lives. When our heart always seeks the will of God we would never be captive of the snares of the devil. These three temptations are all present to us and we continuously struggle with it. But like Jesus, we all the capacity to resist them and be firmed in following the Lord.

As we celebrate the 1st Sunday of Lent we are all reminded to accept all our temptations and learn to entrust them by seeking God´s grace to strengthen us. Once we have overcome all these temptations in life, then we become true to ourselves. Our identity as children of God will be consistent and integrated with our mission. Every day in our lives let us get in touched with our temptations. Do not be afraid to have a close encounter with those temptations. Perhaps it is good to ask ourselves these following questions and be guided on how to deal with our temptations. What are your temptations? Are you having a hard time dealing with them? What have you done so far to fight back all those temptations? Do you give in? Do you fight back? Do you rely on your will power? Do you rely on God´s grace? Let us always seek God´s grace and believe in his abiding love so that the song of the psalmist “Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned,” be our song too not just for today, but in all circumstances of our lives. Amen!

We’d like to hear your thoughts about this article. Please let us know what you think. Thank you.