First Sunday of Lent
~ Sr. Diane Baumann, New London, WI
“One does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.” – Matt. 4:4
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The humanity of Jesus can be seen in our recent celebration of his infancy; he was truly a helpless baby who needed to be fed and changed and cuddled. But perhaps nothing binds his humanity more closely to our own than his temptations, portrayed in today’s gospel.
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Jesus grappled with choosing to use his power to establish food security, to prevent injury and to attain control. As he struggled to discern how to express his ministry, he eventually rejected all self-centered uses of the emerging powers within Him. He refused to take the easy way of attracting followers with bread and control. He drew strength from the Word of God to fight against these very real temptations.
We too can find strength to fight the lure of “the easy way” to use our own inner powers in our relationships and ministry. We can find strength for this fight in “every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.” Jesus modelled for us the difficult action of turning away from selfishness toward uncompromising service of others. Let’s keep encouraging each other to do the same.