Deuteronomy 20:4-10
Psalm 91
Romans 10:8-13
Luke 4:1-13
FASTING AND FEASTING
On this First Sunday of Lent, our thoughts naturally turn to fasting, sacrifice, "giving up" things we like. However, Lent is also a time for feasting...feasting on the word of God! And today's Scriptural fare is a great beginning for us.
DEUTERONOMY
Our first reading describes the Israelites offering the firstfruits of the products of the soil of the Promised Land. This offering was made in gratitude to God for deliverance from the Egyptians, who "maltreated and oppressed us, imposing hard labor upon us..."
The children of Israel were brought "into a land flowing with milk and honey." The firstfruits were offered in thanksgiving and worship. As we read this today, we are also invited to remember and give thanks for God's countless blessings to us, especially for giving us his revealed word.
GOSPEL
The gospel for the First Sunday of Lent is always the Temptation of the Lord Jesus by the devil. This year we read Luke's version. Jesus is led by the Spirit into the desert and ate nothing for forty days.
The devil tempted Jesus to turn stones into bread. Jesus resists by quoting Deuteronomy 8:3: "Man shall not live by bread alone." The second temptation is to worship the devil in exchange for all the kingdoms of the world. Jesus resists by quoting Deuteronomy 6:13: "You shall worship the Lord your God and him alone shall you adore."
The third temptation is for Jesus to tempt God by throwing himself down from the top of the Temple. For the third time, Jesus uses the word of God as a weapon against the devil: "You shall not tempt the Lord your God" (Deut. 6:16).
The word of God tells us to "resist the devil and he will flee from you" (James 4:7). Today, Jesus gives us the example of how to wield the sword of the Spirit - which is the word of God - in resisting the temptations of the devil.
ROMANS
The word of God, the word of faith, is very near you - in your mouth and in your heart. We profess with our mouth what we believe in our heart. "For if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."
St. Paul emphasizes here, as in so many other places, the need to put our faith in the preaching of the word of God.
FASTING OR FEASTING? BOTH!
The question this Lent should not be fasting or feasting - rather, it should be both! Lent is indeed a time for sacrifice and self-denial. But it is also a time for indulging ourselves...feasting on the word of God. For that is rich food indeed!