SUNDAY HOMILIES FOR YEAR A

By Fr Munachi E. Ezeogu, cssp

Homily for 1st Sunday in Lent - on the Epistle
Home > Homilies > Year A > Lent 1 Gospel

Now Is the Day of Decision

Genesis 2:7-9, 16-18, 25; 3:1-7 Romans 5:12, 17-19 Matthew 4:1-11

A story has it that Cyrus, the founder of the Persian Empire, once
captured a prince and his family. When they were brought before him,
Cyrus asked the captured prince, “What will you give me if I release
you?”
“The half of my wealth,” was his reply.
“And if I release your children?”
“Everything I possess.”
“And if I release your wife?”
“Your Majesty, I will give myself.”
Cyrus was so moved by his devotion that he freed them all. As they
returned home, the prince said to his wife, “Wasn’t Cyrus a handsome
man!” With a look of deep love for her husband, she said to him, “I
didn’t notice. I could only keep my eyes on you—the one who was
willing to give himself for me.” Lent is the time for us to remember
Jesus, the one who was willing to give his life for us and the manner in
which he did, in fact, give his life for us.

In today’s second reading from the Letter to the Romans, Paul talks
about the two men who, more than anyone else, influenced the history
of our salvation. The first is Adam, through whom sin and death came
into the world and humankind fell from God’s favour. The other is
Jesus, through whom humankind is once more reconciled to God and
grace and eternal life restored to us.

Therefore just as one man's trespass led to

condemnation for all, so one man's act of
righteousness leads to justification and life for all. For
just as by the one man's disobedience the many were
made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the
many will be made righteous. (Romans 5:18-19).

If you find Paul’s reasoning in this passage difficult to follow it is

because Paul is speaking as a Jewish rabbi. As such he assumes popular
Jewish beliefs and uses Jewish forms of reasoning.

One of such Jewish beliefs that Paul uses here is the belief that one
person can act in the name of a whole group of people in such a way
 that the fate and destiny of that group hangs on the success or failure of
that one person. This belief was at play in the famous story of David
and Goliath. In it we see how the war between two nations, the
Israelites and the Philistines, was settled by a one-on-one combat
between David and Goliath. David won, and so the Israelites were
victorious; Goliath lost, and so the entire nation of the Philistines was
defeated. Paul presumes a similar viewpoint when he argues that all
humankind stood condemned on account of Adam’s disobedience or
that all humankind stands justified before God on account of Christ’s
obedience.

Even so, there is a big difference between our sharing in Adam’s loss
and our sharing in Christ’s merits. Since Adam is the father of all
humankind, it can be said that all humankind was literally in Adam’s
loins. Adam’s DNA is stamped in the DNA of all humanity. Original
sin, therefore, is our genetic inheritance from Adam. But we cannot
make the same argument for Jesus Christ. The DNA of Jesus has not
been passed down to all humanity. Our belonging to Adam is by nature.
We have no choice in the matter. But our belonging to Christ is by
choice. That is why all humankind inherits Adam’s fallen human nature,
whether we like it or not. But it is only those who choose to belong to
Christ that will inherit the blessings that Christ has won for humanity.

Lent is the opportune time of the year when the church reminds us of
what Christ has done for us and invites us all to make a conscious
decision to belong to Christ.

So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is

making his appeal through us; we entreat you on
behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. … Now is the
acceptable time; now is the day of salvation! (2
Corinthians 5:20; 6:2).
SUNDAY HOMILIES FOR YEAR A
By Fr Munachi E. Ezeogu, cssp
Homily for 1st Sunday in Lent - on the Gospel
Home > Homilies > Year A > Lent 1 Epistle

Temptations and Trials

Genesis 2:7-9, 16-18, 25; 3:1-7 Romans 5:12, 17-19 Matthew 4:1-11

The African lion and the wild cat look so much alike, yet they are
different. An ancient African theory explains it this way. The same
lioness gives birth to numerous cubs some of which are truly lions at
heart and some of which are not. How does the mother lion know which
is which? Months after the birth of the cubs, just before they are
weaned, the mother lion leaves the den and then, in an unsuspecting
moment, she jumps into the den with a thundering roar as if she was an
enemy attacking the cubs. Some of the cubs stand up and fight back the
presumed enemy while others flee the den with their tails between their
legs. The cubs that hold their ground to face the danger prove
themselves to be real lions. Those that run away prove to be mere wild
cats, false lions. As testing distinguish true lions from the false so also
does it prove true Christians from false ones.

Under the old covenant God subjected His people Israel to testing in the
desert. They failed that test, which made a new covenant necessary. In
today’s gospel reading we see Jesus the bearer of the new covenant
being subjected to testing again in the desert. He stands his ground and
gives the enemy a good fight, thus showing that he is truly the Son of
God. Immediately before the Temptations of Jesus, Matthew has the
story of the baptism of Jesus in which a heavenly voice declared of him:
“This is my beloved son with whom I am well pleased” (Matthew
3:17). As he leaves the baptismal waters of Jordan to embark on his
public ministry as the Anointed Son of God he had to go through the
test. No child of God can go without trials, because this is the means to
distinguish between a true and a false child of God. As Ben Sirach
advises, “My child, when you come to serve the Lord, prepare
yourself for testing” (Sirach 2:1).

Somehow we can understand, and are more comfortable with, the idea
of testing or trial than with the idea of temptation. The fact, however, is
that testing or trial or temptation are one and the same thing. In fact they
all translate the same Greek word peirasmos. When we see the situation
as coming from God, who would like us to pass the test, we call it a test
or trial. And when we see it as coming from the evil one, who would
like us to fail, we call it temptation. But both trials and temptations are
experienced by us in exactly the same way: as a situation where the
principle of evil (the devil) and the principle of good (the Holy Spirit) in
us are vying for our allegiance and whichever one we vote for wins and
becomes the master of our lives until we can reverse the decision.

Jesus is given three tests. The first one, to turn stones into bread, has to
do with how we use our God-given gifts, talents and abilities. The
temptation is for us to use our gifts to make a living for ourselves. But
Paul tells us that spiritual gift are given to the individual “for the
common good” (1 Corinthians 12:7). Jesus would later on in his
ministry multiply bread to feed others. But he would not do it to feed
himself. Do we see our talents and abilities, our jobs and professions, as
a means to serve others or simply as a means to make a living for
 ourselves?

In the second test Jesus is tempted to prove that he is God’s son by

jumping from the pinnacle of the Temple and letting the angels catch
him as was promised in the Scripture: “For he will command his
angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. On their
hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot
against a stone” (Psalm 91/90:11). Though Jesus fully believes the
word of God, he would not put God to the test. This contrasts sharply
with the case of a college student in Nigeria who claimed that he was
born again and to prove it he jumped into the lion’s cage in the zoo
because the Bible promises that nothing can ever harm God’s children.
Maybe his soul is in heaven today but his body provided a special lunch
for the hungry lions that day.

In the third temptation the devil promises Jesus all the kingdoms of the
earth if only Jesus would worship him. Jesus wants the whole world to
acknowledge him, of course, but would he achieve that by worshipping
a false god? Can we pursue our goals by any means whatsoever? Does
the end justify the means? Jesus says no. He remains steadfast and
faithful to God, rejecting the short-cuts offered by the devil. In the end
he attains an end more glorious than that offered by the devil: “All
authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (Matthew
28:18).

Today, let us realise that as God’s children we too are under constant
testing. If you do not know it, then try to answer these questions: Will
you keep believing in God whether or not you get that one thing that
you have always been praying for? Would you still believe that God
loves you if you or your loved one contracted a shameful disease that
has no cure, and God does not give you healing in spite of all your
prayers? Do you sometimes put God to the test and say: “If you do this
for me, then I will serve you, but if not, I will have nothing more to do
with you.” Jesus shows us today that to serve God is to surrender
ourselves to Him unconditionally and in all situations.

The Temptations of Setting Aside the

Mission, of Image Building and of
Power
 March 11, 2011 10:10 am


Homily on the 1st Sunday of Lent Year A (Matt 5:1-12)

 March 13, 2011

By Msgr. Lope C. Robredillo, SThD

In a recently proposed bill at the Philippine Congress, Quezon province Representative

Danilo Suarez wanted to increase the pork barrel of congressmen by P30 M, and that of the
senators by P50M, to be taken from the Motor Vehicle User’s Charge (MVUC). It may be
recalled that under present practice, congressmen received P70 M pork barrel, otherwise
known as Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), while Senators have P200 M.
Reacting to the proposal, Butuan bishop Juan de Dios Pueblos asserted that instead of giving
an increase, the pork barrel should be abolished, and the fund be given directly to the
concerned local and national agencies “Who will be in favor if you are in a good mind and in
a good sense? Our country is in need actually and many of our poor people are languishing
in poverty,” said the good Bishop. “It’s sad that only politicians are getting richer while
millions of people are getting poorer,” he noted. According to the Bishop, there is no
assurance that the hefty sum would be used properly, because it is one big source of
corruptible funds. Of course, greed is not easy to moderate. As Oscar Wilde puts it, “I can
resist everything except temptation.”

In today’s Gospel, Matthew brings us to the subject of temptation that is encountered in the
Christian community, and he provides us with three typical examples: (1) The Tempter says:
“If you are the Son of God, command these stones to turn into bread” (Matt 4:3b). In the
first example in which Jesus is asked to turn the stones into bread, the Christian community
seems to be faced with the temptation of using the powers given by Jesus to satisfy human
need. Of course, at first blush, there seems to be nothing wrong with using power to satisfy
hunger. Jesus himself multiplied the five loaves and two fish to feed the hungry crowd that
has been following him (Matt 14:13-21). This is the reason why the Church does something
about the problem; it sets up social action centers here and there because social charity or
social involvement is not foreign to its mission. Still, this can be a temptation in a Christian
community because, even though it is a good thing, it is not the proper mission of the
Church. Its proper mission is to bring the Good News to men, and social involvement is
meaningful only if it is not divorced from the proclamation of the Word. That is why, in
response to the Tempter, Jesus says: “Not on bread alone is man to live, but on every
utterance that comes from the mouth of God” (Matt 4:4b). Social involvement that does not
proceed from the Word of God is no different from the social involvement of a communist; it
is pure humanism. If the Church serves the poor and gives food to the hungry, it is because
service to them is a Gospel imperative. But before its serves the hungry, the Christian
community must first of all be fed with the bread of life, the Word of God.

(2) “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down,” this is what the Tempter says to Jesus
while they are at the parapet of the Temple (Matt 4:5-6). This temptation has to do with
the community’s power and work to attract attention. Of course, we know that with the
coming of mass media of social communications, we now live in a culture in which image
building is of paramount importance. People often feel the need to parade their personal
achievements, and prefer to splash on the front page of the newspapers their works or
contributions to charities. They would even employ public relations agents and image-
makers to enhance the people’s perception of their appearance. But from a Christian point
of view, success in image-building is not an evidence that the community is faithful to its
mission. The ability to draw huge crowds is not an evidence of the effectiveness of the
community’s ministry, even if many people would like to believe it is—that is why they envy
tele-evangelists who have thousands of viewers. Before God, achievements count
nothing. What is of importance is the community’s faithfulness to God in doing its specific
mission, even if it does not win the admiration of men or attract big numbers of admirers. It
must simply trust in God’s word, even if doing so is not recognized. For this reason, it might
even go against the world and its values (cf Rom 12:2); but certainly it does not need to
justify itself before the judgment seat of men, for what the world holds is abominable before
God (Luke 16:15).

(3) Pointing to the kingdoms of the world and their magnificence, the Tempter says: “All
these I will bestow on you if you prostrate yourself in homage before me” (Matt 4:9). This
third temptation is about power. Of course, politicians crave for it—and some even become
addicted to it, because it gives them the power to control and dominate. Political
power enables the politician to conquer territories, subjugate peoples, convert them en
masse, establish a personal kingdom and, because political power is convertible to economic
power, to get rich. In a secular world where a secular culture prevails, political power is a
great temptation. No wonder every President makes his or her own enemies, because the
logic of power entails it. Still, political power has no place in the Christian community. It
does not and will never advance the cause of Jesus Christ; there is no evidence that
the Kingdom of God will spread throughout the world because of political power; if it will,
Christ should have said so, but he never did. On the contrary, there seems to be something
demonic about it. That is why in today’s Gospel, Jesus rejects it: “You shall do homage to
the Lord your God, and him alone shall you serve” (Matt 4:10). Political power cannot be
exercised in the Christian community, and if at all one should speak of power there, it is the
power to serve: “Anyone among you who aspires to greatness must serve the rest, and
whoever wants to rank first among you must serve the needs of all” (Matt 20:26). Indeed,
Jesus does not mince words in his criticism of political power, for its exercise results in
violence and oppression (Luke 22:25).

This account of the triple temptations of Jesus was preserved to teach the Christian
community. As Wilde notes, temptations are difficult to resist; but the Christian community
has a model to imitate: like the community, Jesus was tempted, but he did not succumb,
and therefore in imitation of the Lord, the community must resist it. The community must
not copy the old Israel that did not overcome temptation. To make that point, Matthew so
framed the story of the temptation of Jesus as God’s Son (Matt 4:1-11) as to make a
comparison between Jesus and Israel. Both Jesus and Israel are sons of God (Matt 4:3;
Matt 2:15 and Hos 11:1); the number 40 is significant in the life of Jesus (40 days of fasting
in the desert, Matt 4:2) and in the life of Israel (40 years of sojourn in the desert, Deut
8:2). But they are different: whereas the community of Israel failed in the temptation in the
desert (Exod 17:1-7), Jesus conquered it (Matt 4:1-11). At the same time, this story of the
triple temptation of Jesus provides us with a picture of what the Christian community should
be: it is a community that lives by the word of God, goes against the values that the world
holds dearly, and serves its members even to the point of dying.