First Sunday of Lent
“‘On their hands they will bear you up,
so that you will not dash your foot against a stone’”
Summary
“On the first Sunday of Lent our readings reflect on the importance of the wilderness, a place of uncertainty, where we are not in control and can no longer rely on our own strength. It is in the wilderness that we learn to trust in God and are formed into the people he made us to be. In Deuteronomy 26:1-11, the people of God have left the wilderness but are reminded of its lessons: that they are made by God, that their flourishing depends, not on their own hard work, but on God’s grace and that they are to share their blessings with others. Like his people before him, Jesus heads into the wilderness in Luke 4:1-13. Here the voice of Satan tempts him, encouraging him to be a Messiah who can feed the people, perform miracles, gain power and authority. Jesus resists these expectations by his commitment to listen only to God. We too are tempted by many voices, society, culture, family and friends all have expectations of who we should be but only God can tell us who we are. When we have lost our way, when we feel unsure of ourselves, God is inviting us to listen so that we can be formed and shaped back into the person God made us to be.
FIRST READING
Deuteronomy 26:1-12
“When you have come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance to possess and you possess it and settle in it, you shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you harvest from the land that the Lord your God is giving you, and you shall put it in a basket and go to the place that the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for his name. You shall go to the priest who is in office at that time and say to him, ‘Today I declare to the Lord your God that I have come into the land that the Lord swore to our ancestors to give us.’ When the priest takes the basket from your hand and sets it down before the altar of the Lord your God, you shall make this response before the Lord your God: ‘A wandering Aramean was my ancestor; he went down into Egypt and lived there as an alien, few in number, and there he became a great nation, mighty and populous. When the Egyptians treated us harshly and afflicted us, by imposing hard labor on us, we cried to the Lord, the God of our ancestors; the Lord heard our voice and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression. The Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with a terrifying display of power, and with signs and wonders; and he brought us into this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. So now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground that you, O Lord, have given me.’ You shall set it down before the Lord your God and bow down before the Lord your God. Then you, together with the Levites and the aliens who reside among you, shall celebrate with all the bounty that the Lord your God has given to you and to your house.
GOSPEL
Luke 4:1-13
‘Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tested by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over he was famished. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.” Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone.’ ”
Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And the devil said to him, “To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” Jesus answered him, “It is written,
‘Worship the Lord your God,
and serve only him.’ ”
Then the devil led him to Jerusalem and placed him on the pinnacle 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 protect you,’
and
‘On their hands they will bear you up,
so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’ ”
Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ” When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.’
