Lent 2 (year C)- Luke 13:31-35

In the Gospel for the Second Sunday in Lent, Luke 13:31-35, we are reminded of Jesus' journey toward Jerusalem and the Cross. When warned that Herod Antipas, the Roman appointed ruler of Galilee, seeks His death, our Lord replies with determined realism. He says, "I must go on my way today and tomorrow and the day following, for it cannot be that a prophet should perish away from Jerusalem" (Luke 13:33 ESV). Jesus knows the path that He must walk. He must fulfill His ministry and mission. He chooses to do what He has been called and sent to do. He trusts in God, His heavenly Father, and leaves the outcome in the Father's hands. 

Although our callings are not of the same magnitude as Christ's, we are called to respond in a similar way. As we journey through Lent and throughout the Christian life, there are physical and spiritual obstacles and dangers. But we must not be distracted from our Christian calling or mission. We must be persistent. We strive to do what we are called to do as believers. We live and act in faith today and tomorrow. We trust God, and we leave the future in His hands.

Lent 1 (year C)- Luke 4:1-13

The first or Old Testament reading for the First Sunday in Lent is Deuteronomy 26:1-11. This passage looks back to the history of the patriarchs and Israelite bondage in Egypt and looks forward to entry into the promised land. It a call to respond to God's graciousness by appropriate acts of devotion. 

Psalm 91:1-13 is a selection about divine deliverance, especially in times of trial. It has a two-fold relevance to this Sunday. It contains verses that were misinterpreted by Satan in the Temptation of Jesus, but it also represents the general outlook of Jesus in His trust in and dependence upon the Lord God.

The second or Epistle reading is from Romans 10:8b-13. Here the Apostle Paul speaks of "the word of faith." We are exhorted to confess and believe in Jesus Christ raised from the dead. Such faith is the means of our deliverance or salvation.

The Gospel from Luke 4:1-13 is one of the accounts of  Jesus' temptation in the wilderness. As our Lord prepared to begin His public ministry, He engaged in prayer and fasting, and at the end of this time, the Tempter sought to catch Jesus in a moment of weakness. Satan used three basic human needs as points of spiritual attack. First, there was the physical need to care for the body- in this case, the need for food. Secondly, there was the human need to control our surroundings- in this case, the political surroundings. Thirdly, there was the human desire for social contact and affirmation- in this case, the temptation to seek public adulation by a showy display. Although His human nature was tried, Jesus was able to resist these temptations because of His divine connection with the Father and the Holy Spirit. By overcoming sin in this and other ways throughout His earthly life, death and resurrection, Jesus won a victory for all humanity.

Sadly, we do not have the spiritual perfection of our Lord, and we often succumb to one temptation or another. Still we do have hope. Through our baptism and faith in Christ, His grace can strengthen us to resist many temptations and to seek repentance and renewal after our failures. Temptations to evil are bound to come, but there is good news. Jesus Christ has conquered Satan, sin and death, and He offers us His help each and every day!