Gospel Lectio Divina for The First Sunday of Lent - February 26, 2023
Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created. And You shall renew the face of the earth.
O, God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit, did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever enjoy His consolations, Through Christ Our Lord, Amen.
READ
At that time Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. He fasted for forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was hungry. The tempter approached and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become loaves of bread."
He said in reply, "It is written:
One does not live on bread alone,
but on every word that comes forth
from the mouth of God."
Then the devil took him to the holy city, and made him stand on the parapet of the temple, and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down.
For it is written:
He will command his angels concerning you
and with their hands they will support you,
lest you dash your foot against a stone."
Jesus answered him, "Again it is written, You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test." Then the devil took him up to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in their magnificence, and he said to him, "All these I shall give to you, if you will prostrate yourself and worship me." At this, Jesus said to him, "Get away, Satan!
It is written:
The Lord, your God, shall you worship
and him alone shall you serve."
Then the devil left him and, behold, angels came and ministered to him.
MEDITATE
One does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.
There is a striking resemblance between the devil’s statement, "If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become loaves of bread" and the critics of God who say, “If God is all-powerful why doesn’t he put an end to starvation in the world?” Jesus gives the answer. It is because man does not live by food alone. Evangelization is more important and must come first. I’m sure you’ve heard the saying, “Feed a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish, feed him for a lifetime.” Jesus says to the disciples, “I will make you fishers of men.” The correlation may seem like a stretch, but the concepts of evangelization and humanitarian efforts are as connected as bait and a hook. Seek first the kingdom of God, and everything else will fall in place, including daily sustenance. “Give us this day our daily bread”; this is the prayer Jesus teaches us to pray. We are fish in the waters of this sinful world, in this valley of death. God baits us with food for the body, but hooks us with the gospel. If he just tossed the bait in the water and went on his way, we would keep coming back for nothing but the food. I see this all of the time in soup kitchens and parish food pantries. People keep coming for the food, but they couldn’t become part of the church community that gives them the food. But who can blame them. No evangelization efforts are made. Just giving people food is not evangelization.
When we give bread alone without the word of God, lives do not change. The food is not enough. Many people think we only need to preach the gospel with our actions, not our words as well. But if we do not communicate the reason why we are acting with charity, how will other people know that the love within us comes from Christ? The word of God alone offers food for the soul, and the soul must be fed before any corporal work of mercy can take root. A person’s soul is their soil. If seeds aren’t sown on good soil, they will not bear fruit.
He will command his angels concerning you and with their hands they will support you, lest you dash your foot against a stone.
May we never forget that the devil can quote Scripture too. That is why it is essential to use Scripture in context. The devil is quoting Psalm 91, which is poetry. In poetry, imagery is used to more concretely convey spiritual realities. In the same psalm, the psalmist says the Lord is “my fortress”, and God’s faithfulness is “your shield”. Clearly he does not literally mean that God is a fortress and faithfulness is an actual shield. The psalmist describes God as an eagle who “will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge.” This imagery helps to illustrate the role God and faithfulness play in the spiritual realm. The devil wants Jesus to believe that angels will literally hold him up if he jumps, which is simply using the verse out of context.
Now, let’s also not mistake Scripture for poetry when it is being literal, though. The Psalms are clearly poetry, but the historical books like Exodus are not. The plagues literally happened. The Red Sea literally parted. The language in Exodus conspicuously categorizes it as a historical book, and the language in the Psalms categorizes that book as poetic literature.
“You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test."
I’ve often asked, “Why not?” Why not put God to the test? If he is faithful, if he is Truth, shouldn’t he stand up against any scrutiny we show toward him trying to prove or disprove his existence? I have often challenged my faith to see if everything I believe is true. I do not say this to be prideful, but rather admitting the doubting Thomas in me. Oftentimes, I will not believe until I put my hand in the Lord’s side. And yet, even in that story, we see God passing Thomas’ test. So, why not put God to the test? I want to believe, but that’s the problem. We all believe what we want to believe. Sometimes it seems like the only way to validate our faith is to doubt it and see if it passes our tests.
Again, context here is key. Jesus is quoting Deuteronomy 6:16, which says “Do not put the Lord, your God to the test, as you did at Massah.” At Massah, the Israelites complained about not having water in the desert. Moses struck a rock and water gushed out. So, even then God passed the test. When Elijah faced the prophets of Ba’al, he drenched the altar with water and called upon the Lord to set it ablaze. Again, he passed that test. Time and time again, God is passing our tests. And yet, we still put him to the test. So, Jesus is essentially saying, ‘Stop it already. How many times does the Lord, your God, have to prove that he is God? It is evident that you just don’t want to believe, because you keep testing him.’ The scribes and Pharisees would do the same to Jesus, constantly testing him to find a place where they could trap him. Those who don’t want to believe will always find a way to not believe, no matter how many of their tests God passes. On the other hand, those who do want to believe will always be given something to hang on to, and it will be just enough to keep the search for God intriguing.
PRAY
Lord God,
Your gospel is more than teachings. You led by example. You didn’t start your ministry until after you resisted the devil in the desert for 40 days. What a testimony to the power and truth of your saving message! Please give me the courage to prevail in denying myself this Lent so I can better see the way to the Kingdom of God. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
LISTEN
This week, as we start Lent, the Church calls us to observe the way Jesus resisted the devil. What better way to begin this penitential season! Jesus’ time in the desert is a clinic for prevailing in our Lenten sacrifice. When we are tempted, listen to Scripture. Pick up the Bible for strength. In fact, it’s not a bad idea to listen to God’s word in some way every day this Lent. That is how Jesus resisted the devil, by learning Scripture and thereby knowing how to respond to temptation.
Kilby is a freelance writer from New Jersey and managing editor of Catholic World Report. He received his undergrad degree in humanities and Catholic culture from the Franciscan University of Steubenville. In addition to working with the Knights of the Holy Eucharist (knights.org), he has served as a journalist for Princeton Packet Publications, and the Trenton Monitor, the magazine for the Diocese of Trenton. Some of his published work can also be found in St. Anthony Messenger, Catholic Herald (UK), and Catholic World Report. For the latter he is managing editor. Find more of his writing at ramblingspirit.com.