Posted by The WORD in other words (2023) by Fr. Gerry E. Paat, SVD — Filipino Chaplaincy, Madrid, Spain
1st Sunday of Lent / A
Time flies so fast. Again, we are on the first Sunday of Lent, a season that invites us to undergo a beautiful process that will hopefully transform us into the image and likeness of Christ. Once again, we are asked to step in into the ‘desert of forty days.’ Our biblical spirituality professor would always remind us that number 40 is very symbolic in the bible. It is a symbol of ‘transformation.’
In the Gospel, we read that Jesus was tempted by the devil while fasting for forty days and forty nights. All sorts of things will also tempt us during these forty days of Lent. Different voices will come from everywhere telling us that this invitation to a transformation process to become better persons and committed Christians is useless. But, like Jesus, it pays to stand firm before these temptations.
Speaking of temptation, I remember a classmate of mine discussing its stages. According to him, the first stage is the temptation itself. The second stage is obsession, and the last stage is possession. These stages make the acronym TOP – Temptation, Obsession, and Possession. I believe he has a point. Sometimes we are not aware that we are already being tempted until we give in to it. When repeated many times, it becomes an obsession, and without us knowing it, we are already possessed by a particular vice or sinful habit.
May we find inspiration from the example of Jesus in our Gospel today. Though he was tempted several times, he did not give in. He stood his ground. He was focused on his purpose and mission in life. He defeated the very source of temptation.
There is a story about a little boy who received a new toy car from his godparent. Once he unboxed it, he went out right away and enjoyed playing with his new toy car in their yard. But all of a sudden, he lost control of his toy, and it got stocked between two giant boulders. In his frantic effort to recover his toy, he tried to push the big boulders, but the big stones did not move an inch. When his father went out of the house and saw what he was doing, he asked him, “What happened, son?” The little boy replied, “I am trying to push these boulders so I can recover my toy.” The father asked him again, “Have you already used all your strength?” “Yes, I am already perspiring,” replied the little boy. But the father said, “Not yet, son. You have not yet used all your strength. Because if you have already used all your strength, you should have called me and asked my help.”
Let us have the humility to accept that we are only human. At times we do not know how to resist and overcome temptations. Let us ask the assistance of God that we resist all temptations that would hinder us from becoming the persons that God wants to be, especially during this season of Lent.
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