The Lord Saw Our Affliction: Reflections on the Readings for the First Sunday of Lent, Cycle C

Deuteronomy 26:4-10
Psalm 91
Romans 10:8-13
Luke 4:1-13

The Lord hears our cries. Too often we don’t realize it because we rarely see things His way. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9) And, in this world of instant gratification, the answer we get does not come immediately or is not the answer we wanted, or both and thus often goes unrecognized.

The first reading recounts God answering the cries of His people even though it came hundreds of years after they were enslaved in Egypt. Moses’ speech takes place just prior to the Israelites entering the promised land (after forty years of wandering). He is reminding them of their debt to the Lord and explaining that they are to bring their firstfruits and set them before the altar.

In this way the Israelites expressed thanksgiving for their deliverance from bondage and for giving them the “land flowing with milk and honey.” We repeat this action when we bring our offerings to the altar during Mass; not only the bread and wine for the Eucharistic sacrifice but also gifts representative of the firstfruits of which Moses speaks, often brough forth in baskets as Moses mentions. And to further show this connection between Scripture and the Mass, the very word “Eucharist” means thanksgiving. Most of us are probably unaware of this connection but it is just another example of the many biblical foundations within the Mass.

In the responsorial psalm we hear the words echoed in the popular hymn, On Eagle’s Wings. We also hear some of the devil’s taunts which he throws at Jesus during His temptation in the desert. The devil is adept at using Scripture in his efforts to deceive. As C.S. Lewis speaking through the demon Screwtape notes, “Everything has to be twisted before it’s any use to us [demons].” (The Screwtape Letters)

The responsorial reminds us of how the Lord walks with us. We all have a guardian angel (“For to his angels he has given command about you, that they guard you in all your ways”) whom we are free to listen to or ignore. It is when we ignore him that we end up dashing our feet against the stones of life. This is because at those times we did not trust in the Lord. The Old Testament is replete with stories of failure of leaders who did not trust God, did not consult Him (pray) before undertaking serious actions, or defied His commandments. And so it goes with us. Think about some of the disasters in your life. Were you ignoring God at those times?

The reading from the Letter to the Romans is also talking about trusting the Lord. If you trust the Lord you will believe in your heart. And if you believe in your heart, you will witness to the Lord in word and deed. And once again we hear that Jesus came for everyone. “For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all, enriching all who call upon him. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.””

Paul also highlights the foundational event that caused so many to believe, that Jesus is Lord and God raised Him from the dead. Again, C.S. Lewis explains through Screwtape, “The earliest converts were converted by a single historical fact (the Resurrection) and a single theological doctrine (the Redemption) operating on a sense of sin that they already had … against the old, platitudinous, universal moral law which they had been taught by their nurses and mothers. The “Gospels “come later, and were written, not to make Christians, but to edify Christians already made.”

The gospel selection from Luke details the temptation of Jesus by the devil. Jesus had just been baptized and then, led by the Spirit, went into the desert, fasting for forty days. The relationship to Lent is immediately obvious, both the forty days and the fasting. We think that fasting will weaken us but what it does is force us to exercise control over our senses and desires. Having achieved this control, Jesus was prepared to meet the devil.

The devil, for his part, tries to use Scripture, much of which we heard in the responsorial psalm, to persuade Jesus to avoid the Cross. Jesus responds in kind with counter arguments from Scripture which are more forceful. The devil was trying to persuade Jesus to be a popular hero by what the devil could “offer.” Bishop Barron explains, “In other words, why take the terrible and tedious way that leads to crucifixion when you can become a hero by titillating the always bored masses? But the basic problem is not boredom, and hence the solution is not signs and wonders; the problem is sin, and the solution is the cross.” (Foreword to Sheen’s Life of Christ)

Some ask how the Son of God could, if He was truly God, be tempted by a fallen angel. Bishop Sheen explains, “If God had not taken upon Himself a human nature, He could not have been tempted. Though His Divine and human natures were united in one Person, the Divine nature was not diminished by His humanity, nor was the humanity swollen out of proportion through union with His Divinity. Because He had a human nature He could be tempted. If He were to become like us in all things, He would have to undergo the human experience of withstanding temptation.” (Life of Christ)

Jesus’ temptation is also documented in both Matthew’s and Mark’s gospels, although Mark eliminates the details. However, both of them add one fact that Luke leaves out, that of God responding to what might have been “distress” (affliction) on the part of Jesus. Both note that after the devil departed, “angels came and ministered to Him.” (Matthew 4:11, Mark 1:13) Luke’s gospel account of the Agony in the Garden also notes the presence of an angel: “And to strengthen him an angel from heaven appeared to him.” (Luke 22:43)

Sheen explains further, “The kingdom that Satan offered was of the world, and not of the Spirit. It would still be a kingdom of evil and the hearts of His subjects would not be regenerated.” Thus, as St. Paul said, we must be converted in our hearts. We must keep Christ in our hearts. We heard the same message in the reading from the prophet Joel on Ash Wednesday, “return to Me with your whole heart.” (Joel 2:12) God sees into the hearts of all.

“Thus shall all the churches come to know that I am the searcher of hearts and minds and that I will give each of you what your works deserve.” (Revelation 2:23)