Reflection on Sunday's Readings

1. Welcome to Divine Providence Catholic Church
on this First Sunday of Lent in Year C:
February 17, 2013
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Thank you and may God bless you abundantly!
Father Jean-Marie Mvumbi, CICM

2. Gospel according to Luke 4:1-13
Filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus returned from the
Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the desert for
forty days, to be tempted by the devil.
He ate nothing during those days, and when they
were over he was hungry. The devil said to him, “If you
are the Son of God, command this stone to become
bread.” Jesus answered him, “It is written, One does
not live on bread alone.” Then he took him up and
showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a single
instant. The devil said to him, “I shall give to you all
this power and glory; for it has been handed over to
me, and I may give it to whomever I wish. All this will
be yours, if you worship me.”

3. Jesus said to him in reply, “It is written: You shall
worship the Lord, your God, and him alone shall
you serve.” Then he led him to Jerusalem, made
him stand on the parapet of the temple, and said
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 guard
you, and: With their hands they will support
you, lest you dash your foot against a stone.”
Jesus said to him in reply, “It also says, You shall
not put the Lord, your God, to the test.” When the
devil had finished every temptation, he departed
from him for a time.

4. THE G0SPEL narrates Luke's version of the temptations
of Jesus. Luke has changed the order of the
temptations, placing the third in Jerusalem, since for
him, the Holy City is the goal and the end of everything
connected with Jesus .The three temptations deal with
the use and abuse of P0WER: the first temptation deals
with the uses of the personal powers and talents for
one's own benefit; the second, with the acquisition of
worldly power to satisfy one's ego and pride, putting
oneself above others; the third, with having the power
of God at the service of one's whims. Jesus overcomes
all temptations by affirming the primacy of God in
everything, thus effectively saying “no” to the devil.
We, in many ways, suffer the same temptations.

5. Luke speaks of the powers of the world as
"devilish" ("It has been given to me," the devil
says) because in the world of the first century, like in
the world of today, power was used to oppress and
enslave people.
The First Adam was invited to eat the
forbidden fruit, and he disobeyed God; the Israelites
"in the desert" were tempted by the lack of
food, and they protested and sinned against God;
the New Adam is tempted about food, but he resists.
The Word of God is the only true food that takes
away all the hungers, and calms all the
desires, of the human heart. The Eucharist is our
food that sums up our faith in the Word of

6. Jesus, the saints, and all of us, are tempted by our
passions, desires, things, happenings, circumstances, an
d "devils" which want to lead us away from God: we are
tempted to take care of ourselves at the expense of
others; we are tempted to exploit others for our own
benefit; we are tempted to make gods of
money, power, and prestige; we pretend that God will
approve our choices and desires even when they are
outside his will. We can overcome all temptations with
Jesus on our side; then temptations become motives of
glory, strength, happiness and reward. If we cannot
avoid all temptations, with prayer, prudence and
effort, ("Lead us not Into temptation") we can
always fight and conquer like Jesus. Temptations
are conquered with Faith, Fidelity, Prayer, and

7. THE SECOND READING … affirms the primacy of
faith. The Jews of Jesus' time pretended to
please God by obeying the Law; Christians
please God through a living faith that inspires
us to do the will of God, to love our neighbors
as God loves them, to extend a helping hand
to the poor and the needy, and to fight
against sin. Christ is the Lord to whom we all
cling in faith. Since he conquered sin, we shall
conquer with him. Faith is an interior conviction
and dynamism which we must profess with our
lips and proclaim with our actions.

8. THE FIRST READING presents the profession of faith with
which Israelites gave thanks to God after the harvest; it
recalls the three principal actions of God in the history of
their nation: election of the Patriarchs, liberation from
Egypt, gift of the land. The faith of Israel is not directly
concerned with abstract truths but with concrete
salvific actions and events in which the people
experienced the salvation of God. The Creed we recite in
the mass proclaims the Christian experience of God's love.
The works of generosity ("This is why I bring as an offering
... ") are the faith response of the people. (Sortie
Hispanics are not used to contribute to the Church
because, for centuries, the Royal Patronage of the Spanish
Crown took care of the needs of the Church; people need to
be encouraged to take responsibility for their own

9. THEMES FOR REFLECTION
1. Which are the three most common temptations
we have?
2. What thought and actions help you to overcome
temptation?
3. Are there temptations impossible to resist? Why?
4. What good do you derive out of your own
temptations?
5. Which are the principal actions and interventions
of God in the history of your nation and family? How
has God revealed to you his love?
6. What meaning do you see in the expression "Jesus
is my Lord"?