Now is a Very Acceptable Time

Homily for the First Sunday of Lent

On Ash Wednesday, we read from St. Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians: “Now is a very acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” He was referring to the fact that while we human beings tend to procrastinate when it comes to the question of conversion, this is the time for us to become serious about our efforts to turn to the Lord, to seek the Lord’s forgiveness, and to make an effort to turn away from sin and place our lives in the service of the Gospel.

As we celebrate the first Sunday of Lent, we read, as we always do on this Sunday of the time that Jesus was tempted by Satan. The scene begins in the desert, symbolic not just of the place where Israel once wandered for forty years, but where it first entered into a covenant, recalled in the first reading from the Book of Deuteronomy. It was also the place where that relationship was first put to the test. To understand the Gospel, we need to understand the test and Israel’s failure. In those years of wandering, Israel committed three distinct sins that breached the covenant – ingratitude as they rebelled against Moses, idolatry with the golden calf, and instant gratification as they worshipped before foreign gods.

In the Gospel, we see those same three sins reflected in the words of Satan. It is interesting to note that Satan begins two of the temptations with the manipulative words “if you are the Son of God,” mouthing the same proclamation that was heard at the river Jordan as Jesus was baptized. He is testing God’s words and even uses Scripture to serve his own ends. But on each occasion, Jesus resists and emerges as the faithful Israelite, ultimately using Scripture to silence the tempter.

In the first deeply personal temptation, the devil uses Jesus’ hunger to test his resolve and urges him to turn stone into bread.

In the second temptation, Jesus is offered authority over all the kingdoms of the world. But as we know, Jesus’ authority is very different from earthly power – his is a kingdom of mercy, self-giving, and healing.

The third temptation urges Jesus to hurl himself from the top of the Temple – to prove his divine credentials. Satan knows that he is God’s Son, what he has to learn is that Jesus’ Sonship is not self-serving but will actually be fulfilled on the cross. Only then will Jesus take a leap of faith, not from the Temple, but from the cross, and not into the hands of angels but into the loving hands of his Father.

In this episode we are reminded that the true beauty of the Incarnation is that Jesus experienced the full array of human temptations and yet resisted their empty promises and fleeting rewards. We, like Jesus, are called to be faithful sons and daughters of the Lord. This Lenten journey upon which we have embarked is another opportunity to renew our covenant relationship with God, a covenant made in our baptismal promises.

Let us take St. Paul’s words to heart and put aside all thoughts of procrastination, for none of us is promised another Lent, not even another tomorrow. As we hear from St. Paul today in his Letter to the Romans: “No one who believes in him will be put to shame.” Let our faith in Jesus guide us into a relationship of reconciliation with the Father who waits for each of us with open arms and a loving heart.