Fr Leslie Miranda
| | TEMPTATION OF THE LORD | | Deut 26:4-10 Rom 10:8-13 Lk 4:1-13 | | February,21 | | 1st Sunday of Lent | In Homer’s Greek epics we read of the sirens. They were charming young maidens. The songs were so beautiful that sailors could not resist the temptation of turning their boats towards the shore. In doing so they were dashed to pieces. The attractive songs appeared good to the sailors. They fell for the temptation and met their doom. It is a fact that every temptation is attractive and also appears good. So naturally many are dragged into temptation.
Ulysses had to sail by the dangerous island of the sirens. He wanted to hear their song; yet he did not want either his sailors or himself to be lured to destruction. He solved the problem of his sailors by stuffing their ears with soft wax. He solved his problem by ordering his sailors to bind him with ropes to the mast. As the ship approached the island of the sirens, |
| Ulysses heard their song but he was not free to move. The sailors could not hear, so they passed the temptation spot into safety.
In today’s Gospel Luke (alone) says that Jesus was full of the Holy Spirit. He also says that it was in (rather than by) the Spirit that Jesus was led through the wilderness. The desert, barren and death-dealing, was uninviting for living. The popular mind looked upon it as a dwelling place for evil spirits. As Origen puts it, Jesus advanced towards the tempter like a trained wrestler seeking his opponent.
Luke further adds that for forty days Jesus was harassed all the while by the devil. After the desert battle, the devil left him only to return when a fresh occasion arrived and at the appointed time. This clearly indicates to us that neither Jesus nor we have freedom from temptation in this ...Contd. | | |
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