Carmelite homily for Sunday, March 1, 2020 – First Sunday of Lent – Lectionary 22 (Matthew 4:1-11)
For this First Sunday of Lent we have Jesus in the desert driven by the spirit and the devil comes to tempt him. And each temptation is heavier than the previous one. It starts off pretty small with ‘You’re hungry? Change these stones to bread.’ Not much of a sin actually. Then the next one, ‘throw yourself from the temple, angels will catch you, and everyone can ooo and ahhh.’ It’s probably a sin of pride. And the last one, ‘worship me, the devil, and I will give you control of the world.’ That’s a pretty heavy-duty sin. I think these sins are given to us in this graded sense to show how we can resist temptation – start small and work yourself big. Here’s what Saint John of the Cross has to say, “Through the practice of one virtue, all the virtues grow; through the indulgence of one vice, all the vices and their effects grow.” I think that’s what we see in this Gospel and that’s what this Lent can be about. Oftentimes we think, ahh, if I give up chocolate or give up coffee what good is that? That is a tremendous thing! It can change the world!
