Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 4:1-13.
Filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the desert for forty days, to be tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and when they were over he was hungry.
The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.”
Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone.’”
Then he took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a single instant.
The devil said to him, “I shall give to you all this power and their glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I may give it to whomever I wish. All this will be yours, if you worship me.”
Jesus said to him in reply, “It is written: ‘You shall worship the Lord, your God, and him alone shall you serve.’”
Then he led him to Jerusalem, made him stand on the parapet of the temple, and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written: ‘He will command his angels concerning you, to guard you,’ and: ‘With their hands they will support you, lest you dash your foot against a stone.’”
Jesus said to him in reply, “It also says, ‘You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.’”
When the devil had finished every temptation, he departed from him for a time.
–
When temptation is right in front of our faces, its the devil’s goal is for us to take it. In today’s gospel, Jesus resisted the devil’s temptations no matter how desperate the situation was for Him. He spent 40 days and nights in the desert for he was led by the Holy Spirit there. It may sound simple to just say no but temptations these days aren’t as simple as turning rocks into bread or as extreme as jumping over the top or pledging allegiance to the devil. Evil has found so many ways for us to side with him in such modern times.
Temptations like “not doing our homework”, or “watching TV when there’s a test tomorrow,” or “pretending to use the PC for ‘homework’. Simple acts like that are when we give in to temptation. Small it may be, it’s still turning against God which is something that should be avoided. The Priest who shared the homily gave a good point as to how Jesus’ temptations can be compared to a child’s temptations.
Our parents are the people who tell us what to do and what not to do. When they tell us to sleep early every night, we might as well do it , regardless of how much we are against the idea. The temptation here is whether or not we follow our parents. As much as we might loathe the command, we still do it because we both know its for our own good. Our body deserves a good rest and we must maintain a healthy lifestyle.
Just like how God tells everyone that if we follow His command, we are openly welcomed into the Kingdom of Heaven. No matter how much we like giving in to temptation or no matter how much people are against your actions that are for the Lord, you will be greatly rewarded in Heaven. Also, don’t you find it strange for a master to bow down to his own subject? God created all there was besides Him. That means He also created the devil. So, why would Jesus bow down to and follow what He has made? It’s like saying the piece of clay you molded just commanded you to follow it’s orders. Would you do it?
That’s what I want to say. We resist temptations, because God is still giving you a chance to turn back to Him. He wants you to be happy in making your own choices just as how your parents decide on when you are growing up. He gave us free will so that the love He receives from us will be a lot more rewarding compared to when He would have to make the world all good, righteous and holy. It is almost like a test if we have still turn to him even if we have free will.
What temptations were you able to overcome?
No comments:
Post a Comment