by Fr. Tommy Lane
Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness and tested by the devil for forty days. During this time, Jesus proved his love for his Father was stronger than everything else. Our love for Jesus leads us to want to draw closer to Jesus during Lent and overcome anything in our lives from the devil that keeps us apart from Jesus. Jesus in the desert is our model during Lent. If Jesus had given in to any temptation of the devil, he would have wrecked his Father’s plans. When we give in to temptation, we wreck God’s plans for us. Sin separates us from what God intends for us. Sin separates us from God. It has been like that since the first sin, the sin of Adam in the Garden of Paradise. As a result of that sin, Adam and Eve were thrown out of the garden. Sin separates us from Jesus. But our love for Jesus impels us to want to overcome sin during Lent so that we will not be separated from Jesus. Our love for Jesus impels us to take Lent seriously so that at the end of Lent we will be closer to Jesus. Do you love Jesus enough to fix whatever in your life is separating you from Jesus? Lent is the time to do it. Do we love Jesus enough to take Lent seriously so that at the end of Lent we can say we gave up this sin or overcame that sin to be closer Jesus? Do we love Jesus enough so that when we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus at the end of Lent, we can celebrate Jesus’ new life in us because we overcame sin during Lent? Do we love Jesus more than anything keeping us from Jesus? Lent is the time to draw closer to Jesus.
When we are ill, we go to the doctor and the doctor writes a prescription. If we take the medicine, we hope to get better. For centuries the Church has recommended medicine during Lent to help us get better, to bring us closer to Jesus, and help us overcome sin. That medicine is the three things we heard in the Gospel on Ash Wednesday (Matt 6:1-6, 16-18): prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. These are a remedy to help cure our soul. This remedy is the wisdom of centuries of experience—the experience of centuries of holy people who drew closer to God during Lent with the remedy of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Not only is this remedy the wisdom of centuries of experience of holy people, but it is also the teaching of Jesus. As we heard in the Gospel on Ash Wednesday, it is Jesus who taught us about prayer, who taught us the value of fasting, who taught us the value of almsgiving. Why would someone question what Jesus taught us and say there is a better way during Lent? Jesus in the desert is our model during Lent. Our love for Jesus leads us to want to draw closer to Jesus during Lent and overcome anything in our lives from the devil that keeps us apart from Jesus. We can do this through prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.
We could say that the three Scripture quotations in today’s Gospel (Luke 4:1-13) that Jesus used to rebuke the devil when tempted in the desert are about prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.
You shall worship the Lord, your God, and him alone shall you serve (Luke 4:8, see Deut 6:13)
was Jesus teaching us to put God first in prayer and worship.
Man does not live by bread alone (Luke 4:4, see Deut 8:3)
was Jesus reminding that fasting shows God is more important to us than any earthly thing we desire.
You shall not put the Lord, your God to the test (Luke 4:12, see Deut 6:16)
was Jesus reminding us not to test God by expecting God to intervene to look after those in need but instead to help them ourselves.
To pray, we need quiet time. We cannot pray if the TV is turned on, or there are other distractions around us. We often read in the Gospels that Jesus went up into the mountains to pray (Matt 14:23; Mark 6:46; Luke 6:12; 9:28). It was quiet up there. If Jesus needed quiet for prayer, how much more do we need quiet for prayer? Can we find quiet time every day to spend with Jesus and Our Lady? We read that Elijah hid in a cave, and a windstorm went by, but God was not in the windstorm. There was an earthquake, but God was not in the earthquake. There was a fire, but God was not in the fire. Finally, a gentle breeze went by, and Elijah knew God was in the gentle breeze (1 Kings 19:11-13). To find God, we need a place of gentle breeze in our life every day. A Church or Adoration Chapel is an obvious place but can we also as a family pray together for a significant length of time at least once day? The Rosary is a wonderful prayer for use together as a family.
Jesus was asked why his disciples did not fast while the Pharisees and the disciples of John the Baptist fasted. Jesus replied that the while the bridegroom was with them it was not the time to fast but when the bridegroom would be taken away, then it would be time for them to fast (Matt 9:14-15; Mark 2:18-20; Luke 5:33-35). Now is that time. We can fast from TV for a time and that would give us more time to pray so then we would be fasting and praying together. We could also fast from the internet for a time so spend more time with family. Above all, Lent is about giving up sin. All the fasting of Lent is to give us greater strength to fast from sin. Fasting is for Jesus.
Almsgiving is an expression of our love of God and love of others. When we love God, we love others in their need and give to them from our surplus because they are also children of God. That is why we begin the Lord’s Prayer saying, “Our Father…” because we are all children of one Father in heaven. Once, when talking to the Pharisees when they were concerned about externals, Jesus said that if they gave alms then they would be clean (Luke 11:41). On another occasion, Jesus said that giving alms earns you a purse that never grows old and earns you treasure in heaven (Luke 12:33). Jesus taught the parable about the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31). The rich man did not even give the scraps to the poor man. But when they died, the poor man was in heaven and the rich man in agony.
We could say that the three Scripture quotations in today’s Gospel that Jesus used to rebuke the devil when tempted in the desert are about prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.
You shall worship the Lord your God, and him alone shall you serve (Luke 4:8, see Deut 6:13)
was Jesus teaching us to put God first in prayer and worship.
Man does not live by bread alone (Luke 4:4, see Deut 8:3)
was Jesus reminding that fasting shows God is more important to us than any earthly thing we desire.
You shall not put the Lord your God to the test (Luke 4:12, see Deut 6:16)
was Jesus reminding us not to test God by expecting God to intervene to look after those in need but instead to help them ourselves.
When we are ill, we go to the doctor and the doctor writes a prescription. If we take the medicine, we hope to get better. For centuries the Church has recommended medicine during Lent to help us get better. That medicine is prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.
Copyright © Fr. Tommy Lane 2013
This homily was delivered in a parish in Maryland.
More homilies for the First Sunday of Lent Year C
Overcoming Satan during Lent like Jesus in the desert 2007
Lent: consecration to Jesus 2022
Related Homilies: Refocusing on Jesus during Lent 2024
Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving during Lent
Dying and Rising with Jesus during Lent
Overcoming Temptation and Sin during Lent because We Love Jesus 2008
From Ashes to New Life with Jesus 2020
Reliving the Temptations of Jesus
stories for Lent
Old Testament Readings during Lent