21/02/2010 - 01 LENTEN SEASON - C
1 Reading Deut 26, 4-10 Psalm 90 2 Reading Rom 10, 8-13 Gospel Lk 4, 1-13
"They were yours and you gave them to me, and they observed your word".
Jesus has made known the "name" of the Father to his disciples. Now he
speaks of them: "They were yours and you gave them to me". This is how
the Lord sees them. He knows that they were given to him, trusted to him by the
Father, to whom they belong. Jesus feels that he is responsible for them in front
of the Father. He is happy, though, to add a good note: they are obedient, they
knew how to listen and took to heart the teachings he gave them. All that Jesus
said had it's origin in the heart of the Father: "As the Father has taught
me, so I speak" (Jn 8,28). Because of this, now he says "they have obeyed
your word", meaning that they have obeyed him, even though, many times, he
needed to scolded his disciples and, especially, his apostles. Even so, Jesus seem
to be happy of them. As the Gospel tells us, several times he expressed his joy
over their lives. He said that they are the light of the world and the salt of the
earth, other times he gave them his trust, as when he sent them two by two on a
mission empowering them over the evil spirits and illnesses. They have obeyed your
word : they can be of a good example to all those to whom they are sent. The verb
"obey" means not only to keep the word but also to put it in practice.
The disciples have kept in heart and mind the teachings of Jesus, they believed
them to be very precious, as criterions to do small or great choices in their lives.
To keep the Word, means to listen more to it that to one's proper reasoning or convictions,
or customs. The one who keeps the Word, puts it in practice, lives it, in a way
that the Word becomes "flesh", that is life, see by all through actions
and behavior. Jesus himself is the incarnate Word, his life is the love of the Father
to all humanity. The disciples who obey the Word turn out to be the continuation
of the life of Jesus, of his incarnation. This says how much precious is their life
in the eyes of God!
Moses speaking to the people would remind them of the great signs of God's love
for Abram and his descendents. The works of God are never to be forgotten: because
of this, every year, the people of God were to offer him the first fruits of their
land and prostrate in adoration in front of him. The memory of God's blessing was
to be always kept alive. We, who have received salvation through Jesus Christ, would
continue to obey this word of Moses by the confession and the proclamation of our
faith in him that he is Lord, risen from the death. St. Paul urges us not to forget
the Word of Faith, and not to keep it hidden, but to proclaim it with a loud voice,
so that others come to hear it. Let us therefore overcome the fear of being laughed
at, or despised by men, and witness to Jesus who said: "Everyone who confesses
me in front of men, even I shall confess him before the angels of God". Until
I don't accept the challenge of my Lord, I cannot say that I believe in him: if
I'm afraid to be known as his disciple, it means that I consider more what the others,
unbeliever, have to say!
We are assaulted by issues against our holy faith, issues that are truly temptations.
They come from God's enemy who wants to hold us far away from God, and even present
him as our enemy. We are not to be shaken because Jesus himself had to suffer the
same temptation and needed to fight against it to overcome it. He won it for us.
We receive power from his victory and learn from him the way to be winners when
it presents itself to us, members of his body. He was tempted several time and in
various ways, but always with the same intention, that of bringing low God as Father.
To the first temptation he suggests to earn his bread without being in need of God;
to the second, to take care of his reputation by men, abusing even the same Word
of God; to the third one, to busy himself with politics using human methods, even
so satanic: power by using even violence. Let us learn from Jesus: every time he
answers back by the Word of God and not by his proper reasoning. He does not accept
the provocation of the discussion, but shows his faith. He believes that God is
Father, his Father. As if Jesus wants to say: "being a Son, I remain obedient
as a son, and therefore I listen to every Word of God, my Father! I don't seek anything
for myself, but only him and I want to put myself under his will". This humble
obedience is rich in love for the Father to made Jesus victorious. Even my victory
over all my temptations from the world around me, my inclinations, will have it's
beginning from the humility that obeys with love. Because of this, I will turn to
the Word of God and stay in communion with the church, who offers me the Word of
God who is a loving Father in abundance and faithfully!