FAUSTI - The fullness of the Spirit has come down on Jesus in prayer, after Baptism, and in this Spirit He is led into the desert. Here the people who, having come out of the slavery of Egypt, are on their way to the promised land are formed. A land of the already and not yet, of nostalgia for the past and distrust in the future, it is arid, unlivable, threatened by the enemy (everything is an enemy in the desert!). But we must pass through it, guided by the Word of God and provided by His faithfulness. The desert is a figure in the real life of the baptized person, with all the dangers and fears through which the Spirit leads him. Jesus is full of the Holy Spirit; His Spirit also fills us, who are and walk in Him, in solidarity with Him in struggle and in victory. "For forty days tempted by the devil" is an allusion to the 40 years of the generation of the desert, to all life that is threatened by the divider that wants to separate us from God and from His promise. It is the true protagonist of evil, against it is the struggle and the victory of Christ. The divider is the god of this world, the prince of this world, in whose hands is placed all power on earth. The root through which evil can implant itself in man and produce its poisonous fruits is selfishness, which has its ground in the distrust produced by the lie that led to not listening to God. Thus, from His children, we became children of the murderer and the untruth from the beginning. Temptations have as their bait the three fundamental hungers of man, in relation to things, to people and to God respectively. They present the possibility of guaranteeing their satisfaction through possession - the things with having, the people with power, God with will - instead of through gift. Every sin repeats that of Adam: to take possession of the gift, detaching it from the source. Jesus came to show to the world the Face of the Father, living as a Son. He is tempted in His mission to show Himself as the Son of God. Jesus does not show Himself as Son by working miracles for His benefit; He does not bend God to the fundamental need of man. Bread, the sign of life, is man's first need, man who is poor in everything. To bend God to one's own life or one's own life to God? The bread or His Will, man or God? This is the false alternative that Jesus rejects as the first temptation. It is not a question of an alternative, but of priorities. The force with which Jesus rejects temptation is the recourse to Scripture. In obedience to the Word of God one experiences that the first bread, source of Life, is God Himself in His Love. The first bread is obeying to God and trusting in Him.
-->This gives the life its light and its meaning. He, the Word of God, will become Bread for all, not through the privilege of miracle, but through solidarity with our brothers and sisters in obedience to the Father. The temptation of obtaining the Kingdom, all the kingdoms of the earth, with the means of power, by exchanging the thought of God with the thought of man. The Kingdom is for the Son, but He obtains it not because He adores the power, but precisely because He is free of it, and this elevates Him to the Cross. Right there He inaugurates the Kingdom. Using the methods of the enemy means working for him. One sins in idolatry when the means become objective and the creatures occupy the place of God Man is never an atheist. He is only an idolater and absolutizes his own needs out of fear, building a world very different from the Kingdom of God. Only if we worship God, and only God, man can overcome this evil situation. If he worships and fears God in all things, he realizes himself, image and likeness of God, in all things. If he does not worship and do not fear God, he loses himself in all things that he worships or fears. Principle of salvation is the fear of the Lord . The believer can tempt and provoke God in two opposite ways. - With security or religious presumption: I accept God's Grace and His promise, but I forget His Holiness and Justice. God is good! So I attribute forgiveness to myself even before sin, and I make His goodness the pretext for my debauchery. I am a son of God; with Christ on the cross I am safe, without danger or struggle! From this root comes laziness in prayer, in obedience to the Word and in service to one's brothers and sisters. I lose my fear of God. So I sanctify and justify my sin. With despair and distrust to save oneself: I respect the law, justice and holiness of God. Instead, I lose sight of His Holiness and Grace. God must be obeyed, not tempted. He must not exhibit the signs that I ask for my distrust in His Holiness or despair in His Goodness. My life is saved only if it is referred to Him, to His justice, to His goodness that sanctifies. The whole life of Jesus is included in this struggle with satan, between Baptism and the Cross.
Luke 4:1-13 After his baptism, 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 tempted 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 their glory and all this authority; 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 took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying 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.
Old Testament Deuteronomy 26:1-11 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.
The Response Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16 Qui habitat
1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High, * abides under the shadow of the Almighty.
2 He shall say to the Lord, "You are my refuge and my stronghold, * my God in whom I put my trust."
9 Because you have made the Lord your refuge, * and the Most High your habitation,
10 There shall no evil happen to you, * neither shall any plague come near your dwelling.
11 For he shall give his angels charge over you, * to keep you in all your ways.
12 They shall bear you in their hands, * lest you dash your foot against a stone.
13 You shall tread upon the lion and adder; * you shall trample the young lion and the serpent under your feet.
14 Because he is bound to me in love, therefore will I deliver him; * I will protect him, because he knows my Name.
15 He shall call upon me, and I will answer him; * I am with him in trouble; I will rescue him and bring him to honor.
16 With long life will I satisfy him, * and show him my salvation.
The Epistle Romans 10:8b-13 "The word is near you, on your lips and in your heart"
(that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved. The scripture says, "No one who believes in him will be put to shame." For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him. For, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved."
WORDS OF THE HOLY FATHER During the forty days of Lent, as Christians we are invited to follow in the footsteps of Jesus and face the spiritual battle against the Evil One with the power of the Word of God. Not with our word, it is useless. The Word of God: it has the strength to defeat Satan. For this reason, we must become familiar with the Bible: read it often, meditate on it, assimilate it. The Bible contains the Word of God, which is always current and effective. Someone said: what would happen if we treated the Bible as we treated our mobile phone? If we read God's messages in the Bible as we read the messages on our mobile phone, what would happen? In fact, if we had the Word of God always in our hearts, no temptation could keep us away from God and no obstacle could make us deviate from the road of good. (Angelus 5 March 2017)
FAUSTI - The fullness of the Spirit has come down on Jesus in prayer, after Baptism, and in this Spirit He is led into the desert. Here the people who, having come out of the slavery of Egypt, are on their way to the promised land are formed. A land of the already and not yet, of nostalgia for the past and distrust in the future, it is arid, unlivable, threatened by the enemy (everything is an enemy in the desert!).
RispondiEliminaBut we must pass through it, guided by the Word of God and provided by His faithfulness.
The desert is a figure in the real life of the baptized person, with all the dangers and fears through which the Spirit leads him. Jesus is full of the Holy Spirit; His Spirit also fills us, who are and walk in Him, in solidarity with Him in struggle and in victory.
"For forty days tempted by the devil" is an allusion to the 40 years of the generation of the desert, to all life that is threatened by the divider that wants to separate us from God and from His promise.
It is the true protagonist of evil, against it is the struggle and the victory of Christ. The divider is the god of this world, the prince of this world, in whose hands is placed all power on earth.
The root through which evil can implant itself in man and produce its poisonous fruits is selfishness, which has its ground in the distrust produced by the lie that led to not listening to God.
Thus, from His children, we became children of the murderer and the untruth from the beginning.
Temptations have as their bait the three fundamental hungers of man, in relation to things, to people and to God respectively.
They present the possibility of guaranteeing their satisfaction through possession - the things with having, the people with power, God with will - instead of through gift.
Every sin repeats that of Adam: to take possession of the gift, detaching it from the source.
Jesus came to show to the world the Face of the Father, living as a Son.
He is tempted in His mission to show Himself as the Son of God. Jesus does not show Himself as Son by working miracles for His benefit; He does not bend God to the fundamental need of man.
Bread, the sign of life, is man's first need, man who is poor in everything.
To bend God to one's own life or one's own life to God? The bread or His Will, man or God?
This is the false alternative that Jesus rejects as the first temptation. It is not a question of an alternative, but of priorities. The force with which Jesus rejects temptation is the recourse to Scripture. In obedience to the Word of God one experiences that the first bread, source of Life, is God Himself in His Love. The first bread is obeying to God and trusting in Him.
-->This gives the life its light and its meaning. He, the Word of God, will become Bread for all, not through the privilege of miracle, but through solidarity with our brothers and sisters in obedience to the Father.
RispondiEliminaThe temptation of obtaining the Kingdom, all the kingdoms of the earth, with the means of power, by exchanging the thought of God with the thought of man. The Kingdom is for the Son, but He obtains it not because He adores the power, but precisely because He is free of it, and this elevates Him to the Cross.
Right there He inaugurates the Kingdom.
Using the methods of the enemy means working for him. One sins in idolatry when the means become objective and the creatures occupy the place of God Man is never an atheist. He is only an idolater and absolutizes his own needs out of fear, building a world very different from the Kingdom of God.
Only if we worship God, and only God, man can overcome this evil situation. If he worships and fears God in all things, he realizes himself, image and likeness of God, in all things.
If he does not worship and do not fear God, he loses himself in all things that he worships or fears.
Principle of salvation is the fear of the Lord .
The believer can tempt and provoke God in two opposite ways.
- With security or religious presumption: I accept God's Grace and His promise, but I forget His Holiness and Justice.
God is good! So I attribute forgiveness to myself even before sin, and I make His goodness the pretext for my debauchery. I am a son of God; with Christ on the cross I am safe, without danger or struggle! From this root comes laziness in prayer, in obedience to the Word and in service to one's brothers and sisters. I lose my fear of God. So I sanctify and justify my sin.
With despair and distrust to save oneself: I respect the law, justice and holiness of God. Instead, I lose sight of His Holiness and Grace. God must be obeyed, not tempted. He must not exhibit the signs that I ask for my distrust in His Holiness or despair in His Goodness.
My life is saved only if it is referred to Him, to His justice, to His goodness that sanctifies.
The whole life of Jesus is included in this struggle with satan, between Baptism and the Cross.
Luke 4:1-13
RispondiEliminaAfter his baptism, 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 tempted 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 their glory and all this authority; 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 took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying 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.
Old Testament
RispondiEliminaDeuteronomy 26:1-11
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.
The Response
Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16
Qui habitat
1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High, *
abides under the shadow of the Almighty.
2 He shall say to the Lord,
"You are my refuge and my stronghold, *
my God in whom I put my trust."
9 Because you have made the Lord your refuge, *
and the Most High your habitation,
10 There shall no evil happen to you, *
neither shall any plague come near your dwelling.
11 For he shall give his angels charge over you, *
to keep you in all your ways.
12 They shall bear you in their hands, *
lest you dash your foot against a stone.
13 You shall tread upon the lion and adder; *
you shall trample the young lion and the serpent under your feet.
14 Because he is bound to me in love,
therefore will I deliver him; *
I will protect him, because he knows my Name.
15 He shall call upon me, and I will answer him; *
I am with him in trouble;
I will rescue him and bring him to honor.
16 With long life will I satisfy him, *
and show him my salvation.
The Epistle
Romans 10:8b-13
"The word is near you,
on your lips and in your heart"
(that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved. The scripture says, "No one who believes in him will be put to shame." For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him. For, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved."
WORDS OF THE HOLY FATHER
RispondiEliminaDuring the forty days of Lent, as Christians we are invited to follow in the footsteps of Jesus and face the spiritual battle against the Evil One with the power of the Word of God. Not with our word, it is useless. The Word of God: it has the strength to defeat Satan. For this reason, we must become familiar with the Bible: read it often, meditate on it, assimilate it. The Bible contains the Word of God, which is always current and effective. Someone said: what would happen if we treated the Bible as we treated our mobile phone? If we read God's messages in the Bible as we read the messages on our mobile phone, what would happen? In fact, if we had the Word of God always in our hearts, no temptation could keep us away from God and no obstacle could make us deviate from the road of good. (Angelus 5 March 2017)