Homily First Sunday of Lent Year C Remain in relationship with God
Homily
First Sunday of Lent Year C
Reading
1: What we have here is the rationale for God’s command to the people to offer
their first fruits as a tithe of thanksgiving. As they offer their gifts they
are to recall in general the great deeds and blessings of God, not only in
their personal life, but in the lives of their ancestors. For what God did for
their ancestors redounded to them.
In
union with Jesus we offer the perfect sacrifice of thanksgiving to the Lord for
being our Lord and for blessing us in so many ways. We remember how God has
shown his love and mercy; blessed us with salvation; united us to himself as
his sons and daughters; forgiven our many sins. We acknowledge that he is our
God and we are dependent on him.
When
we make our weekly offerings-our tithe—how reflective are we of God’s many blessings,
not only to us, but to our ancestors. Because of their blessings we have been impacted
today. Can we repay God to the level he has blessed us? Does he need our
tithes? Is it not for our sake that God calls us to recognize his many
blessings and to consciously respond in gratitude rather than out of obligation
or mindlessly?
Reading
2: “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Is salvation
that simple? Did not Jesus say: “It is not enough to say ‘Lord, Lord,’ but to
do the will of the Father.” The first step to salvation is to sincerely believe
that Jesus is Lord of our lives as a result of his death and resurrection. He gave his life so that we may live. He
ransomed and redeemed us with the price of his blood.
The
second step is to put this faith proclamation into action by doing the will of
the Father. It is not that we merit or earn salvation. Salvation is a gift of
God’s mercy and love. Faith in the heart, profession on the lips and doing the
will of God—all are our response to the gift. The more we respond, the more we
open ourselves to the fullness of the salvation, which is life in and with God
eternally.
Gospel:
Jesus has just had a mountain-top experience. He made a public commitment of
his life to the Father, accepting the mission of being the Savior of the world
and proclaiming the Good News leading to salvation. And the Father revealed his
personal love and acceptance, acknowledging that Jesus in his humanity was his beloved
Son/Servant with whom he was well pleased. Then Jesus experienced the fresh
anointing of the Holy Spirit, empowering him to fulfill his mission even to the
death of the cross.
In
his humanity Jesus now experiences the temptation of the Evil One, whom he has
come to confront and defeat. What are the temptations? They haven’t changed
since the beginning. Try to separate man from God and so lose his true
identity. Have man question his relationship of dependency upon God. Have man
focus on himself and not God.
The
first temptation: you are naturally hungry after fasting so long. That is a
truth. You have the power to change stones into bread. Don’t depend on the
Father, take care of yourself. That is a life. In response, Jesus speaks the
truth based on the Word of God.
The
second temptation: the power of wealth and prestige is superficial, here today
and gone tomorrow. The truth is that the evil One is not the source of any real
power. He was allowed only to use this power. The lie is he is God. Jesus
speaks again the truth based on the Word of God.
The
third temptation: testing God’s power and love. Jesus knows who he is and who
God is and what his relationship with God is in his humanity. Jesus chose to
remain in this relationship in obedience and love.
While
the Evil One tempts us away from relationship with God, God allows us to go
through tests to draw us closer to him. Our Lent is a yearly journey of
rejecting the temptations and embracing the tests, of refusing to be separated
from God through sin and remaining with God by his grace.
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