Responding to the truth

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today connect to many links that invite a response from us in our relationship to God.

The reading from Deuteronomy invites response to God during thanksgiving for the harvest.

 Thanksgiving for the Harvest 1

For Psalm 91 the response “Be with me, Lord, when I am in trouble.” echoes a prayer of someone who has taken refuge in the Lord.

 * [Psalm 91] A prayer of someone who has taken refuge in the Lord, possibly within the Temple (Ps 91:1–2). The psalmist is confident that God’s presence will protect the people in every dangerous situation (Ps 91:3–13). The final verses are an oracle of salvation promising salvation to those who trust in God (Ps 91:14–16).2

The passage from the Letter to the Romans keys on our confession and response.

 * [10:9–11] To confess Jesus as Lord was frequently quite hazardous in the first century (cf. Mt 10:18; 1 Thes 2:2; 1 Pt 2:18–21; 3:14). For a Jew it could mean disruption of normal familial and other social relationships, including great economic sacrifice. In the face of penalties imposed by the secular world, Christians are assured that no one who believes in Jesus will be put to shame (Rom 10:11).3

The Gospel from Luke describes the temptation of Jesus that resonates with distractions we encounter in our pursuit of truth, beauty and goodness.

 * [4:9] To Jerusalem: the Lucan order of the temptations concludes on the parapet of the temple in Jerusalem, the city of destiny in Luke-Acts. It is in Jerusalem that Jesus will ultimately face his destiny (Lk 9:51; 13:33).4

Rev. Richard Gabuzda comments that God revealed to our ancestors was known for intervening faithfully in human history by specific events with an astonishing attentiveness to human need. What is more, the quality of these events can be summed up by the words, “delivering, saving, rescuing, freeing.”

We may see in the specific temptations which Jesus undergoes a battle with temptations to which every human heart is vulnerable: “Turn these stones into bread” – the temptation to live only “on bread alone,” to live as though material things are the only source of life.  “I shall give you all this power and glory” – the temptation to amass reputation and wealth as false gods in an attempt to escape human vulnerability. “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down . . .” – the very subtle temptation for believers: to presume no responsibility for our actions, since “God will take care of everything.”5 

An article compiled and edited by Bible Study Tools Staff concludes Satan's temptations were hedonism, egoism, and materialism.

John the Evangelist in his epistle categorized these temptations as "lust of eyes" (materialism), "lust of body" (hedonism) and "pride of life" (egoism). Temptations intend to deceive and corrupt three main human characteristics; to think, wish and feel which are inside the mind, soul, and heart as Jesus alludes in the Greatest Commandment. These are related with transcendentals or ultimate ideals in three areas of human interests; science (truth), arts (beauty) and religion (goodness). Christians are called to seek for divine virtues; faith, hope, and love that link them directly to God who Himself is Truth, Beauty, and Goodness.6 

Maurice Blumberg shares the Catholic Lane Reflections for Sunday, March 10, 2019: First Sunday of Lent.

Don Schwager quotes “Jesus defeats Satan with the word of God,” by Ambrose of Milan (339-397 AD).

"So, look at the arms of Christ with which he conquered for you, not for himself. For he who showed that stones could, through his majesty, be changed into bread by the transformation into a different nature, teaches that you must do nothing at the devil’s behalf nor for the purpose of manifesting virtue. At the same time, learn from the temptation itself the ingenious cunning of the devil. The devil tempts that he may test. He tests that he may tempt. In contrast, the Lord deceives that he may conquer. He conquers that he may deceive. For if he had changed nature, he would have betrayed its Creator. Thus he responded neutrally, saying, 'It is written, 'That man lives not by bread alone, but by every word of God.' You see what kind of arms he wields, to defend humanity, surrounded and protected against the inducements of appetite, against the assault of spiritual wickedness (Ephesians 6:12). For he does not wield power as God - for what good would that be to me? So, as man, he summons common help for himself, so that eager for the food of the divine Word, he neglects the body’s hunger and obtains the nourishment of the heavenly Word. Eager for this, Moses did not desire bread (Exodus 24:18). Eager for this, Elijah did not feel the hunger of a long fast (1 Kings 19:4.) For he who follows the Word cannot desire earthly bread when he receives the essence of the heavenly Bread (John 6:32,50). There is no doubt that the divine surpasses the human, as the spiritual the physical. Therefore he who desires true life awaits that Bread which through its intangible substance strengthens human hearts (Psalm 103:17). At the same time, when he says, 'Man lives not by bread alone,' he shows that the man is tempted, that is, his acceptance of our flesh, not his divinity." (excerpt from the EXPOSITION OF THE GOSPEL OF LUKE 4.19–20)7 

The Word Among Us Meditation on Romans 10:8-13 comments that In today’s second reading, St. Paul tells us that confessing that Jesus is Lord and believing in his resurrection will bring us to the ultimate goal of our lives: heaven itself. But this is one of those “gospel truths” that comes with an asterisk attached.

Every day this Lent, the Holy Spirit wants to move you toward a deeper faith, a faith that strengthens your love for Jesus and other people.
Think of it this way. Married couples know that love involves much more than saying and believing the words “I love you.” They know it means staying united, serving each other, working out differences, and putting each other above themselves. Likewise, confessing Jesus as Lord and believing it in your heart is much more than accepting a fact and saying it. Confessing and believing is a way of faith. It’s a way of life.8 

Friar Jude Winkler categorizes the text from Deuteronomy as a credal formula based on how God treated them in the past. Justification is an act God has done and we have surrendered to that. Salvation is the result of what we have done as response. Friar Jude finds Providence and trust entirely in God as a theme in the readings today.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, exhorts that If we see the Eternal Christ Mystery as the symbolic Alpha Point for the beginning of “time,” we can see that history and evolution indeed have an intelligence, a plan, and a trajectory from the very start. The Risen Christ, who appears in the middle of history, assures us that, all crucifixions to the contrary, God is leading us somewhere positive.

 As Christian philosopher Beatrice Bruteau (1930–2014) put it:
The conclusion seems to be that to share in the divine life I must accept the vocation of consciously living in this self-creating universe. . . . [This] means that I need to know something about the whole thing, how it works, how it’s moving, how to take my place in it, make my meaningful contribution to this general improvisation.
Joining in [God’s] creative work is really central to the whole contemplative enterprise. Cosmogenesis—the generation of the cosmos—can be seen, as Teilhard de Chardin saw it, as “Christogenesis,” the growth of the “ever greater Christ.” This Christ has been “growing in stature and wisdom” (Luke 2:52; read “complexity and consciousness”) these last dozen or so billion years and is nowhere near finished yet. [1]9

We experience our Lenten journey invited to be as joyful as Paul and and confident that Jesus example will guide us through the temptations to hedonism, egoism, and materialism.

References

1	(n.d.). Deuteronomy, Chapter 26 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Retrieved March 10, 2019, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/bible/Deuteronomy/26:4
2	(n.d.). Psalms, chapter 91. Retrieved March 10, 2019, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/bible/Psalms/91:1
3	(n.d.). Romans, chapter 10. Retrieved March 10, 2019, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/bible/Romans/10:8
4	(n.d.). Luke, chapter 4. Retrieved March 10, 2019, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/bible/luke/4:1
5	(n.d.). Creighton U Daily Reflections .... Retrieved March 10, 2019, from http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html
6	(2018, April 12). The Temptation of Jesus - Bible Story, Verses and Meaning. Retrieved March 10, 2019, from https://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-stories/temptation-of-jesus-bible-story.html
7	(n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved March 10, 2019, from https://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/
8	(n.d.). 1st Sunday of Lent - Mass Readings and Catholic Daily Meditations for .... Retrieved March 10, 2019, from https://wau.org/meditations/2019/03/10/
9	(n.d.). Daily Meditations Archive: March 2019 - Daily Meditations Archives .... Retrieved March 10, 2019, from https://cac.org/category/daily-meditations/2019/03/