Fr. Francois Shamavu sx
Today’s gospel passage tells about the Lord Jesus being led into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. To give an idea of the environment, the wilderness is a rather wild place which is not supportive of life. To be more specific, it is the opposite of Eden, a sort of paradise on earth. In the history of Israel, for the chosen people the wilderness was a trying and challenging place where they encountered many failures. Unlike them, Jesus went there and came out unconquered. He fasted for forty days and forty nights. That is what lent puts before our eyes.
The number ”40“ is referred to several times and seems to have a special meaning in the Old Testament: the rain of the flood lasted forty days and forty nights (Gn 7,4); Moses spent forty days and forty nights in the middle of the cloud on mount Sinai, when God gave him the tablets of the law (Ex 24,18); Elijah walked for forty days and forty nights to reach mount Horeb to meet the Lord (1Ki 19,8); Israel stayed forty years in the wilderness before reaching the promised land.
After fasting forty days and forty nights, Jesus was hungry and thirsty, probably out of physical strength. The tempter chose this moment to approach him and try somehow to make him fall. The devil even quoted the Scriptures to convince and bend him. But Jesus had a prompt reply ready every time. All of us feel at what time and in which situation or context temptations may come to us. Sometimes we become focused on what the present world offers us, we cherish certain things until our hearts become attached to them. The important thing to consider today is not how often we have escaped or changed our mind. The important thing is how often have we fallen down and risen up again thanks to the divine grace. Temptations may help us to grow when we know how to rely on divine grace. But they make us lose our faith when we remain closed in on ourselves, unwilling to open our hearts and share the experiences we are going through with a helper.
We should learn from this gospel passage to put God’s will above all our worries, in order to be exalted by him and not be overcome by the strength of the evil. May God help us to recognize his presence even in the wilderness of our spiritual journey, despite all the challenges we may experience. May we at the beginning of this lenten season have the courage to leave our comfort zone in order to follow Jesus on his way to calvary. Mary mother of our redeemer and brother Jesus, pray for us.
Francois SHAMAVU, sx
Today’s gospel passage tells about the Lord Jesus being led into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. To give an idea of the environment, the wilderness is a rather wild place which is not supportive of life. To be more specific, it is the opposite of Eden, a sort of paradise on earth. In the history of Israel, for the chosen people the wilderness was a trying and challenging place where they encountered many failures. Unlike them, Jesus went there and came out unconquered. He fasted for forty days and forty nights. That is what lent puts before our eyes.
The number ”40“ is referred to several times and seems to have a special meaning in the Old Testament: the rain of the flood lasted forty days and forty nights (Gn 7,4); Moses spent forty days and forty nights in the middle of the cloud on mount Sinai, when God gave him the tablets of the law (Ex 24,18); Elijah walked for forty days and forty nights to reach mount Horeb to meet the Lord (1Ki 19,8); Israel stayed forty years in the wilderness before reaching the promised land.
After fasting forty days and forty nights, Jesus was hungry and thirsty, probably out of physical strength. The tempter chose this moment to approach him and try somehow to make him fall. The devil even quoted the Scriptures to convince and bend him. But Jesus had a prompt reply ready every time. All of us feel at what time and in which situation or context temptations may come to us. Sometimes we become focused on what the present world offers us, we cherish certain things until our hearts become attached to them. The important thing to consider today is not how often we have escaped or changed our mind. The important thing is how often have we fallen down and risen up again thanks to the divine grace. Temptations may help us to grow when we know how to rely on divine grace. But they make us lose our faith when we remain closed in on ourselves, unwilling to open our hearts and share the experiences we are going through with a helper.
We should learn from this gospel passage to put God’s will above all our worries, in order to be exalted by him and not be overcome by the strength of the evil. May God help us to recognize his presence even in the wilderness of our spiritual journey, despite all the challenges we may experience. May we at the beginning of this lenten season have the courage to leave our comfort zone in order to follow Jesus on his way to calvary. Mary mother of our redeemer and brother Jesus, pray for us.
Francois SHAMAVU, sx