Desert

First Reading: GN 2:7-9; 3:1-7

The LORD God formed man out of the clay of the ground  and blew into his nostrils the breath of life,  and so man became a living being.

Then the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and placed there the man whom he had formed. Out of the ground the LORD God made various trees grow  that were delightful to look at and good for food,  with the tree of life in the middle of the garden  and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the animals that the LORD God had made.

The serpent asked the woman, "Did God really tell you not to eat from any of the trees in the garden?" The woman answered the serpent:  "We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden;  it is only about the fruit of the tree  in the middle of the garden that God said, 'You shall not eat it or even touch it, lest you die.'"

But the serpent said to the woman: "You certainly will not die! No, God knows well that the moment you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods who know what is good and what is evil." The woman saw that the tree was good for food,  pleasing to the eyes, and desirable for gaining wisdom. So she took some of its fruit and ate it;  and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her,  and he ate it.

Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized that they were naked;  so they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.

Responsorial Psalm: PS 51:3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 17

Second Reading: ROM 5:12-19

Brothers and sisters:

Through one man sin entered the world, and through sin, death, and thus death came to all men, inasmuch as all sinned— for up to the time of the law, sin was in the world,  though sin is not accounted when there is no law. But death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who did not sin after the pattern of the trespass of Adam,  who is the type of the one who was to come. But the gift is not like the transgression. For if by the transgression of the one, the many died,  how much more did the grace of God  and the gracious gift of the one man Jesus Christ  overflow for the many. And the gift is not like the result of the one who sinned.

For after one sin there was the judgment that brought condemnation; but the gift, after many transgressions, brought acquittal. For if, by the transgression of the one, death came to reign through that one,  how much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of justification  come to reign in life through the one Jesus Christ.

In conclusion, just as through one transgression condemnation came upon all, so, through one righteous act, acquittal and life came to all. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners,  so, through the obedience of the one,  the many will be made righteous the many will be made righteous.

Verse Before The Gospel MT 4:4B

One does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.

Gospel: MT 4:1-11

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.

Reflection 
By Grace B Madrinan

 “At that time Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil..” – Matthew 4:1

In today’s Gospel, Jesus was “led” to the desert. He was led to a setting away from convenience, separated from the crowd.  Jesus was really brought to a situation where any man would certainly fail.  Imagine a man in the middle of nowhere, exposed to hunger and thirst, exposed to every kind of danger under the scorching heat of the sun, or even cold during the night.  But Jesus is no ordinary man. He is the Son of God, so He passed the test in flying colors despite desperate efforts of the devil.

Ironically in today’s world, we are experiencing the same temptations. But no, we are no longer led to the “desert” like it used to.  We do not need to be separated from the crowd; we are already isolated even in the midst of the crowd. The devil did not even have to offer us anything or be creative with his tactics to lure us. He went unnoticed in what seemingly harmless social media.

If we are not careful, some content in social media can condition our minds into believing that some behavior are acceptable or “cool”. We are made to think that pursuing what is convenient is not a sign of selfishness but love for self.

Unlike the temptations in Jesus’ time, the temptation of our times did not come as obvious as offer for wealth or power.  It comes in a form of little things that seems negligible. Like telling your boss you are sick just so you can go for an extended weekend on the beach, or bribing the traffic enforcer so you can get to the office on time. We failed on small temptations, how much more then if we are faced with bigger ones?


“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.” – Luke 16:10

Prayer

Father, there are too many distractions that keep us from Your love. May we be able to decipher the lure of this world in order to surpass all temptations. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.