SUNDAY GOSPEL – Luke 4:1-13

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished.  The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.”  Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone.’”

Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world.  And the devil said to him, “To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please.  If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.”  Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.’”

 Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying 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 protect you,’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’”  Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”  When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.

POINTERS FOR PRAYER

  1. Jesus was led by the Spirit into what proved to be a wilderness experience. When you look back on times when you hit a low point, can you see the presence of the Spirit of God in some of them?
  2. Jesus is on the verge of starting his public ministry. In the temptations we can see his struggle to say ‘yes’ to the mission given him by God. Perhaps some of your important decisions have been preceded by a time of anxiety and worry. What helped you to say ‘yes’ to risky but hope-filled invitations in your life?
  3. Behind each of the devil’s invitations was a basic temptation to lose trust in God. How have you been tempted in this way? What helped you to hold on to trust in God?
  4. One can enter into the temptations singly and ask:
  • How have I been tempted to give priority to bodily needs and satisfactions?
  • How have I been tempted to a selfish use of power?
  • How have I been tempted to seek to be the centre of attention?

The days of spring lengthen and Lent echoes nature inviting us as well to a new springtime of faith. As in farming and gardening, there is work to be done if new growth is to flourish or even to happen at all. We have to look back and see what has done well and what has, in effect, died off. We need to make space by clearing the ground and looking at ourselves honestly. It would be good to identify what will feed and sustain us during this journey from the ashes of Ash Wednesday to the new birth of Easter.