Breaking the Word

1^st Sunday of Lent – 26^th February 2023 – Genesis 2,7-9. 3,1-7; Mt 4,1-11

Cycle of Grace

Today’s readings present the process of -Grace -Temptation – Result of facing temptation – Grace again. Grace is God’s gift of divine life given to humans. Temptation is when humans are given the freedom to choose whether they want to accept God’s grace or choose another value that pleases them. The result of facing temptation will depend on how one chooses to respond with the temptation. The final step is God offering more grace. Notice the cycle begins and ends with God’s gift of grace.

In the first reading, at first, grace is given to the human beings with all of life and its gifts. God gave to Adam not only life, but also all that Adam needs to continue life, including food and companionship. God only asks the first couple one thing: “Eat any fruit from the garden, but do not eat of the tree of good and evil.”  Next comes the tempter, symbolized by the serpent, enters and starts to deceive and twist God’s truth. The fruit and its false promises are pleasing to the couple. And so, they eat the forbidden fruit. Thirdly, the result is that the couple have a new sense of good and evil. They realize they are naked and vulnerable. The first cover up begins.  They no longer have a good relationship with God and each other. Thus, sin enters paradise and the world, and they are deprived of the good life God promised them.  Finally, God gives a promise that there will be conflict between humankind and evil. In this continual conflict, human beings will be harmed, but one of the offspring of a woman would win ultimate victory over the offspring of evil. Thus, even though sin had entered the world, as a result of the couple falling into temptation, there is this final victory. God promises that He would grace humanity with the ultimate gift of divine life.

We are also into that process of – Grace -Temptation – Result of facing temptation – Grace again. We have been graced by God’s life from the first moment of our existence in our mothers’ wombs. We face temptations over and over again. The temptations are the same as for Adam and Eve, David and Jesus. We can choose to follow God’s plan or our own pleasures. We can choose to be like gods, to have our desires met, to build our fame and position in life. The path is filled with promises and false hopes. Yet, Jesus has shown us how to be obedient to the will of the Father. He has manifested God’s love in making the decision to follow God even when faced with temptations, trails, and difficulties. If we choose to fight the temptations, we will experience God’s grace and draw closer to Him. If we fall into the temptations, then also God will grace us differently. God will offer help to pick us up and will give another chance to accept divine graces.

Saturday after Ash Wednesday – 25^th February 203 – Isaiag 58,9b-14; Lk 5,27-32

Refrain from Evil

Our first reading from Isaiah is a continuation of yesterday’s reading. The prophet Isaiah continues to remind us that if we turn away from our evil ways, then God will renew us and restore us, but there are conditions. We must get rid of any form of oppression, false accusations or malicious speech. We need to share our bread with the hungry and console the afflicted. God’s demands are clear, but our anxious desire to secure our own lives, even when it requires that others suffer, make obedience challenging. It is easy to fast when you have abundance; the challenge is to give them up to meet the needs of others and then trust God to “satisfy your needs in parched places.” Surely then the light will shine in our lives and “the gloom shall become for you like midday.” We will become like “a watered garden, like a spring whose water never fails.” In gist, we need to refrain as far as possible from our daily concerns and make every day a day of remembering God’s unconditional gift, “Then you shall delight in the Lord.”