Shiny Juicy Temptation

~~~2 Corinthians 11:1-11 ~~~ Psalm 111 ~~~ Matthew 6:7-15

This morning this phrase was highlighted in the homily.

Paul is speaking to the people of Corinth.

He begins by reflecting on the garden where 

Eve was tempted and ultimately succumbed to disobedience.

Her initial pure intentions became corrupted.

The shiny juicy temptation won over her commitment to God.

...from a sincere and pure commitment to Christ.

The question I ask myself is,

How can we protect ourselves from taking the 'apple'?

When does the temptation become greater

 than our sincere commitment?

How can we renew and affirm our commitment?

We can start now to renew

our sincere and pure commitment to what 

has been freely given to us.

Sincerity...

freedom from deceit, hypocrisy, or duplicity.

Our thoughts and our words must both

 mirror our sincerity.

 Our words and our actions must be pure.

Eve ended up playing a game with herself...

she did not believe that one simple action would 

damage her commitment.

Perhaps she was not sincere to her own heart.

Years ago I remember being taught to close a letter with...

Sincerely yours...then the signature.

You were committing

 to the words you had written.

But I am afraid that...

your thoughts may be corrupted...

No one can control your thoughts.

Scriptures can nourish our true commitment to love.

Without love our thoughts, words, and actions

can hardly reveal sincerity.

Protect your thoughts with love.

That is our best defense.

No temptation is worth giving up your 

sincere and pure commitment to Christ

no matter how shiny and juicy.

Be strong!

~~~Peace~~~

Forty Days~Water~Desert~Lent~Forty Nights

~~~ First Sunday of Lent ~~~

~~~ Genesis 9:8-15 ~~~ Psalm 25 ~~~ 1 Peter 3:18-22 ~~~ 

~~~ Mark 1:12-15 ~~~

Forty Days of Lent has deep meaning for us...

God sent a great flood. It rained for forty days and forty nights,

but God saved Noah, his family and pairs of animals of all species.

Jesus is led into the desert to be tried and tempted 

by the devil for forty days and nights.

The Spirit drove Jesus out into the desert, 

and he remained in the desert for forty days,

tempted by Satan.

Jesus was alone in the desert...a time of solitude and torment.

He was being tested by Satan...Satan needed to prove

 to himself that Jesus was truly the Son of God.

The Spirit drove Jesus into the desert.

Was this time of temptation part of God's plan?

Was it necessary for Jesus to be put to the test?

Did Jesus need to have a personal encounter with Satan?

Is this what gave Jesus his later power over the Evil One?

After these temptations in the desert the Evil One

 knew that Jesus was the Savior.

After the flood God promised to never again destroy

 the Earth with floods.

He sends a brilliant rainbow

 to spread across the sky sealing his promise.

Your ways, O Lord, are love and truth to those 

who keep your covenant.

God did not abandon Jesus while he was in the desert;

he sent the angels to minister to him.

The angels were not there to prevent the attacks from Satan

they were present to let Jesus know he was not alone.

God has given us our own guardian angel.

In times of temptation it is this angel 

that comes to our assistance.

The waters of our Baptism is a reminder 

of the covenant God made with Noah.

Through our Baptism waters we are saved.

Forty Days...flood...rainbow...

...desert...Satan...temptation...salvation...

Remember the Blessings of the Rainbow.

It is true there can be no rainbow without the rains.

Jesus overcame the temptations in the desert for our salvation.

Repent, and believe in the gospel.

~~~Peace~~~

Beware: Too Good to be True

First Sunday of Lent



Deuteronomy 26:4-10~~Psalm 91~~~Romans 10:8-13~~~Luke 4:1-13

 

Lent begins with Jesus going away to fast and pray for 40 days.

The devil takes advantage of his isolation and tries

 to work his evil temptations on Jesus.

 

'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.'

 

You undoubtedly have experienced your thought processes

 being clouded when you are hungry.

You can also become grouchy and more likely to be vulnerable.

Jesus was human so the devil thought he had a chance

to make Jesus listen to his lies.

The devil grossly underestimated who he was dealing with that night.

Jesus had the reinforcements from the one who sent him;

God the Father.

  

Be with me, Lord, when I am in trouble.

 

The words of psalm 91 gives us the assurance

that God has given his angels to guard over us.

When Jesus was tempted he did not hesitate to call on his Father.

We must teach ourselves to make calling on the Father for protection a habit.

We must practice this way of praying when we are not in the throws of temptations.

 

 

 

God is closer than you might think...right in your heart. 

 

The word is near you,
in your mouth and in your heart—that is, the word of faith that we preach— 

 

God will not abandon or forsake you when you call on him.

 

For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

When the devil is placing before you a picture too good to be true

listen to the small voice of truth inside. 

The word of the Lord is spirit and truth.

The devil may not be able to outsmart Jesus,

but we must be vigilant to his trickery.

 

The Lord is near to all who call on him.

Lord, your presence in my life makes it more likely

 that I will be able to call for your assistance. 

Selfless or Selfish: Which One?

~~~ Daniel 3: 25, 34-43 ~~~ Psalm 25 ~~~ Matthew 18: 21-35 ~~~

"...with a contrite heart and humble spirit let us be received...let our sacrifice be in your presence today...as we follow unreservedly...we follow you with our whole heart..." (Daniel)

Fire consumes and purifies. Fire consumes things that are flammable like fibers, paper, and cardboard. Fire purifies silver and precious metals, but does not consume in the process.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were thrown into the white hot furnace for refusing to worship the golden statue made for King Nebuchadnezzar. As the three prayed and praised God for his faithfulness, they proclaimed, 'Deliver us by your wonders, and bring glory to your name, O Lord.'

They asked God to intervene on their behalf.
Later, after Jesus' baptism, Satan uses a similar argument attempting to manipulate Jesus to respond to his requests. Jesus rebukes the devil, saying, 'You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.' 

Here we have a stark contrast in motivation. Satan is tempting Jesus and the three men in the fiery furnace are surrendering in their supplication to God.  Both incidents use a similar approach in their choice of words.

We can be guilty of the same in our prayer. Do our words always reflect our true motivation? Are we simply using the same words we have used as a child; only now with different motivation?

Jesus was obedient to the will of the Father securing salvation for us. Our salvation was his motivation. What is your motivation in prayer? Are your prayers a reflection of selfishness or selflessness?

God sent an angel to save the three from the fire because their prayer was honest and sincere. They are examples of complete trust in God.

They model for us praying in humility; knowing you have nothing to offer to God for his love.
We have "...no way of paying (it) back..." to the Lord for being spared from the consuming fire. Instead we humbly beseige God to "...be patient with me...". (Matthew)

All that we can give back to God is to be available for him to use...
to be willing to do his will...
to come before him with open palms and a humble heart.

To follow him unreservedly, with our whole heart
is the best we can offer for repayment.

"May the Lord, our God, bless us in all our works and undertakings."
(Dt. 15:10)

Are We an 'Evil Generation' Too?

~~~ Jonah 3: 1-10 ~~~ Psalm 51 ~~~ Luke 11: 29-32 ~~~

When you begin to enter a google search the computer tries to guess what you might be looking for by offering suggestions for you. It finishes your thought or at least attempts to get into your head. When you type the words from today's gospel, 'this generation is...' here is how google completed my search. '...this generation is...'doomed, stupid, lazy, called, horrible, boring, soft, dumbest, messed up.

Are any of those words how you would choose to complete that phrase? How would you describe our generation? Some of their suggestions have crossed my mind, plus a few others. But in today's reading from Luke the missing word is 'evil'.

Evil, is a much stronger word than most of those offered in my incomplete search. Jesus declared the evil condition of Nineveh before a crowd of people. He goes on to say, '...it seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it, except the sign of Jonah.'

If Jesus came to speak before us today he might be able to give the same sermon. Of course he would tweak it a bit to fit our current society, change a name perhaps, but the message could be the same.

During Lent we can take the time to examine where we have strayed into the realm of sin...evil. We are always tempted by something we already want. Just think about that for a minute. For example if you desire more money you may be tempted to gamble in excess, losing self control, because of your view of money. Whatever your temptations are look closely at their roots therein lies your hope of removing them from your life.

We are blessed today because we not only have the sign of Jonah, but we have Jesus himself. Especially during Lent we have an accentuated sign with the crucifix. The crucifix, while constantly present in our churches, is often draped with purple cloth. This draping draws our attention to the cross. When something changes it gets our attention. It is just the way the human brain is designed to work.

My mother tells the story of how one night dad got up for his usual trip to the bathroom. The room was dark. All of sudden she was awakened by the sound of a crash. Dad had walked into a piece of furniture that mother had moved that day. When things are different they get your attention. Well dad was not too happy with mother's furniture rearranging to say the least.

During this Lent pay attention to this life size sign we have of our salvation, the Crucifix. Take time this Lent to pray the Stations of the Cross. If you pray them alone walking to each station you can really focus on how each one speaks to you.

If you spend time praying with the Crucifix and the Stations of the Cross, your appreciation of Good Friday will come to a deeper realization.

I, for one, do not relish the thought of being referred to as an 'evil generation'.

I want to have a 'steadfast spirit', a 'contrite and humbled heart'.

I want to live the gospel message of mercy and forgiveness.

I want the grace to resist temptation.

Let us pray together for God's compassion to wipe out our offenses,

creating a 'clean heart.'