Deuteronomy 26: 4-10/Ps. 91: 1-2, 10-11,12-13,14-15/ Romans 10: 8-13/ Luke 4:1-13

Today’s first reading offers us a story. It narrates how the Israelites endured trials by the Egyptians. The Egyptians subjected them to affliction, toil, and oppression. They cried out to the Lord. God heard their voice. He delivered them and gave them a land flowing with milk and honey, signifying triumph and prosperity.

Getting to the Promised Land demonstrates God’s providence towards the Israelites. They in turn showed gratitude to Him for His faithfulness, care and provision throughout their difficult moments. They recognized how God had been with them throughout their history. They presented Him with their first fruits as a sign of their gratitude.

This serves as a reminder of the great love of God. This enduring love transcended even the rebelliousness of the people. They have often disobeyed and rebelled against Him.

He did not forget those whom He loved. When they called upon Him, He came to their help. He gave them all His blessings and brought them to the Land of Promise. He fulfilled the Covenant which He had made with their forefathers. And therefore, it is also a reminder for all of us. If we sincerely seek God’s mercy and love, we shall be forgiven by Him. We shall once again be found in His loving embrace and Presence.

The reading also recalls Israel’s journey through the desert. This desert experience of the Israelite was what God used to formed them into his covenant people.

Beloved in Christ, there are moments in all of our lives when we sense something profound within us is tested. We are being tempted in some fundamental way. The struggles of life can put our faith in the Lord to the test.

Our desire to serve others can be put to the test when we feel an absence of appreciation. Our hope for the future, for ourselves and others, can be tested. We feel this test when we find ourselves continually let down and disappointed. Our enthusiasm for life can be put to the test when some great loss comes our way. Our integrity can be tested when an opportunity comes along to make easy money at other people’s expense.

Our fidelity to someone can be tested, when that relationship proves more demanding than we had anticipated. Our faith in God can be put to the test. This happens when we find ourselves in a dark valley, especially when our prayers seem to go unanswered. To be tested in some significant way is part of most people’s experience.  Let’s take note whenever we have these kinds of testing experiences like Jesus had in the wilderness. God does not leave us to our own resources.

Lent is a time for us to return to God and renew our relationship with him. It is our relationship with Christ that is the only effective antidote against temptation.

So, in this year’s Lenten season, don’t just fast. Be transformed. What good is it to check every ingredient label while ignoring the sins poisoning your soul? To give up meat but still feast on pride, lust, anger, and unforgiveness? Fasting without repentance is starvation, and abstinence without conversion is just an empty ritual.

Lent is not about depriving yourself. It’s about freeing yourself. Freeing yourself from sin, from attachments, from everything that keeps you from Christ. Let go of bitterness. Crush your idols. Silence the voices of the world that drown out the voice of God. True fasting isn’t just about what you remove from your plate, but what you remove from your heart.

Beloved, temptation does not encourage us to think about the consequences of our actions. It compels us to enjoy the moment and not think about tomorrow. Jesus resisted those temptations because he knew that there was no shortcut to what God had sent him to do. There was no easy way of doing God’s work. Following, Jesus as his disciple today will often mean taking the road less traveled. It means saying ‘no’ to what seems very attractive and enticing. When Jesus said ‘no’ to the shortcuts that Satan was suggesting to him, he rejected putting himself first.

This is your time to wake up. To look in the mirror and confront the darkness you’ve tolerated for too long. To surrender not just a meal, but your will.

Because when you finally empty yourself of sin, Christ Himself will fill you. And when He fills you, nothing else will ever satisfy you again.

According to the gospel reading, he entered the wilderness “filled with the Holy Spirit”. When he was at his most vulnerable, the Spirit was at work in his life. He also had the resource of the Scriptures, the word of God. He lived off every word that came from the mouth of God. That word helped to keep him faithful during the test.

We have the same resources at our disposal in our own testing times. The word of God is given to us to keep us spiritually alive. The Holy Spirit works within us. It directs us towards what the Lord wants for us.