Are we worthy to receive the grace we have received from God to make us who we are?

First Sunday of Lent

Deuteronomy 26:4-10
Moses spoke to the people, saying: “The priest shall receive the basket from you and shall set it in front of the altar of the LORD, your God. Then you shall declare before the Lord, your God, ‘My father was a wandering Aramean who went down to Egypt with a small household and lived there as an alien. But there he became a nation great, strong, and numerous. When the Egyptians maltreated and oppressed us, imposing hard labor upon us, we cried to the LORD, the God of our fathers, and he heard our cry and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression. He brought us out of Egypt with his strong hand and outstretched arm, with terrifying power, with signs and wonders; and bringing us into this country, he gave us this land flowing with milk and honey. Therefore, I have now brought you the firstfruits of the products of the soil which you, O LORD, have given me.’ And having set them before the Lord, your God, you shall bow down in his presence.”

Romans 10:8-13
Brothers and sisters: What does Scripture say? The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart —that is, the word of faith that we preach—, for, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved. For the Scripture says, No one who believes in him will be put to shame. For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all, enriching all who call upon him. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

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.” 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.

This Sunday’s Gospel reading tells us about how Jesus was tempted for 40 days by the devil in the wilderness and taught us by example how to deal with these temptations that arise from the cares of temporal things, the lure of worldly prosperity, success and wealth.

This reminds us to reflect on the temptations we experience in our daily life, temptations that we consider insignificant or those that we might even ignore. I remember hearing a homily about the homeless. After handing out a $5 bill to the jobless and homeless person standing at the exit of the highway, the priest told us how quickly he regretted he had not been more generous to that person, who might be a victim of circumstances to have become what he was. We as Christians should not judge, were we in his capacities and circumstances, we could be like him or worse. I was nodding in agreement until I was put to the test a week later when I encountered the same situation. With the homily fresh in my mind, I reached for some money without hesitation. Then my passenger thought that the person was unworthy of help, to give him money would actually encourage the person to continue with the problematic lifestyle, alcoholism or even drug addiction. I listened to my passenger who sounded rational enough and drove away. As soon as I drove away, I regretted. Are we worthy to receive the grace we have received from God to make us who we are, we who seem to be superior to the homeless person in every way? Are the grace not given to us freely? Are we worthy of Jesus’ death and crucifixion for us?

In that incident, I was easily tempted to judge with superficial observation and not to follow Jesus’ teaching of feeding the hungry and clothing the naked.

Let us make a Lenten resolution to resist temptations that would hamper us from following Jesus’ teachings. Let us make an effort to be mindful as we participate in the prayerful Lenten and Triduum venerations. Let us make a small Lenten sacrifice to help sharpen our minds and our souls. It can be something very simple, such as giving up movies, chocolates or our cup of cappuccino for Jesus as we re-live Jesus’ suffering and crucifixion for us, for our sins. Let us remember that Jesus died for us, out of God’s unconditional love for us, not because we are worthy.

Shiu Lan

Shiu Lan is your Catholic neighbour with a simple faith and likes praying the Rosary. With a B.Sc from the University of Hong Kong, she worked in Information Technology and Project Management before working with joy at home.

Are we worthy to receive the grace we have received from God to make us who we are?

MORE ARTICLES