Homily: 1st Sunday of Lent

March 9, 2025

My dear brothers and sisters, the gospel reading of today invites us to reflect on the temptations that come to us in our lives. This gospel reading presents us with the Luke’s account of the temptations of Jesus. One thing we need to see clearly in this gospel periscope is the subtle and deceptive tactics of the Evil One. We may be gambling with our spiritual wellbeing by thinking that the battle against the Evil One is a battle we can win tik-toking over a cup of coffee and sweet pieces of muffin. We must know that Satan has the time, the energy, the wisdom, the dexterity and the agenda to pull us down. Satan employed all these different apparatuses to distract Christ from His mission.

In these temptations of Jesus, we could see that Satan struck in the very situations where Jesus would most likely have been vulnerable: turn these pieces of stone into bread, fall from the pinnacle of the temple, all the glories of the earth would be yours by a little compromise. These temptations were not just directed to any human being, no, they were directed to Someone who possesses the superabundance of powers to perform these wonders. Jesus did not need to call a press conference and sign an executive order on tariffs to get these miracles done. He needed to blink His eyes, and the deeds would be done. So, Satan went direct and attempted puncturing His divinity, His authority, His ego and His humility.

However, Jesus was able to conquer, exercise restraint and self-control. His divine mission is for the salvation of humanity and not for empty show, vain glory and worldly display of powers. Our own purpose and mission on earth is like that of Jesus our Lord. We remember the story of the cheetah - the fastest land animal - and the dog race. A running competition was organized between the cheetah and some dogs. When the whistle was blown, the dogs ran off, but the cheetah did not make a move. When the cheetah was asked why she was not joining in the race, she responded that the race itself is an insult to her because she is the fastest land animal for serious hunting and not for an empty show and display in a competition with puppies.

The underlining factor has always been the deceptive tactics of the Evil One. At the face-value, these temptations of Jesus might appear not serious. If Jesus could feed five thousand men with five loaves and two fish, there appeared to be no big deal turning stones into bread to quench His own hunger. The glories of the world belong to God and not to Satan, there appeared no big deal appropriating publicly what could be considered the glories that rightfully came from God.

However, hidden in these temptations is a calculated attempt by the Evil One to lure Jesus away from His mission via the cross and make Him turn to the worldly way of achieving success. Had it been Jesus succumbed to Satan, he would have turned to using His divine powers to solve all His earthly needs, He would have used His divine powers to conquer and intimidate Pilate and the chief priests, He would have been in an endless power tussle and power display with other earthly kings. Had he followed this route, dying on the cross of Calvary would have been impossible and the salvation of humanity unachieved. The Evil One has a plan indeed.

It was this type of hidden evil tactics that Satan used to deceive our first parents, Adam and Eve. He showed them a very appealing fruit which also has the capacity of making them know the good and the evil and to be like God, but in the end, they never became like God, instead they became naked and empty and lost divine favor. In our world and time, Satan continues to coat his subtle evil agenda with colorful and attractive packages, fantastic arguments, seemingly rewarding and appealing promises. Brothers and sisters, we really need to beware of this satanic Greek gift.

Christ was able to conquer the Evil One through forty days fasting and prayer. He did not just emerge from His hockey pool or playing video games and became victorious, instead his victory came from a Lenten forty days’ desert experience of constant communication with His Father, recourse to the power in the Word of God in the Sacred Scriptures. This is the way; we are called to follow the footsteps of Christ our redeemer in this season of Lent.