HALT before you Act

 First Sunday of Lent

06 March 2022

 

First Reading: DT 26:4-10

Responsorial Psalm: PS 91:1-2, 10-11, 12-13, 14-15

Second Reading: ROM 10:8-13

Gospel: LK 4:1-13

 

Reflection

By: Jose Paulo M. Gonzales

 

Have you ever had a hard time when in only an instant, you utter some words you can ever get back? When we are visibly typing a paper we have been working to finish and we see a friend approach us with a glass of coffee placed insecurely in hand, there could be a jolt on us to say, "Don't come any nearer, you'd spill that coffee on my laptop!" The instant surge of energy could make it just as easy to deliver the rest of the piece: "You are always like this. How many times do I have to tell you not to do this over and over again?!" In our mind, we are only being reasonable. The friend has really spilled coffee on our laptop at least two times last month, and it is not at all bad to tell others what to avoid doing; but we soon wonder why our friend has been noticeably coming over less frequently. Days turn to months until we do not see them coming over anymore. There was nothing else that happened before or after the encounter that we could trace to this change in behavior, so we reckon, it must have been our sharp admonition that made our friend wary of being with us again. This exchange can happen in different forms at varying levels in many places: in school, in the workplace, or even at our dining tables.

There is great temptation to let others know what wrong things they do, and a greater temptation to hold back when what we are to deliver would make a lasting impact. When we are at the receiving end, it could take just as much energy to snap back, regardless of whether we are guilty of the charge or not. As it is, temptation can be tricky to deal with. It only needs to find a host in our agitation to be properly put into damaging action.

The story of Christ's temptation gives us something comparable. The temptation Jesus weathered could have been so compelling to let Him give in. After all, He was hungry. Forty days – a month and ten days over – is not a short time to abstain from eating. If we could only remember how much we become irate after a day with no proper meal, not even cheat-eats in between, we would understand how convincing the devil could have been. The hungry Jesus could have been mentally tired on top of this; imagine – over a month's worth of deep reflection. Furthermore, with a sudden entity making entry, with charges that could have made Jesus restate His place as the Son of God, it was all the more impressive how Jesus held His own and not let the devil's leading dictate His demeanor. The devil knew scripture, but more so did He –fully, and in proper context.

As troubled creatures we truly are, we are not deprived of the chance to be led to a better moral stature. Hebrews 4:15 tells us that Jesus, made human, was like us in many things: "tempted in every way, just as we are – yet He did not sin."  Jesus gives us a stellar Example of how to properly deal with temptation. He knows our human weaknesses – the gaps we have between who we are and what we strive to become – and how would He not know any better? The first part of the same verse would say: "we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses." In this, we have confidence that we can come to a Father who states primarily how we should conduct ourselves in a context with others, but nevertheless understands the failings that bar us from its perfect delivery. We can make our earnest efforts to be exemplary Christians to each other, and in prayer and genuine intiimate confession with the Lord, recount candidly what it is that hinders us from properly handling temptation. The forgiveness and the providence of the Father could make us better Christians in each progression so we can make "perfection" more a stage of refinement instead of a constant state by which our accomplishment, though worldly impossible, would leave us no room anymore to grow. Furthermore, this constant state is so far from human character that in each failed attempt, it could discourage us into despondency – the dispirited feeling not to perform any good anymore because we just can't... we just can't be "perfect" in this world. The relationship we have with temptation, particularly the negativity so readily ascribed to it would be attenuated by the teachings of the Church that say: it is not temptation itself that makes us sin, but our conscious decisions to succumb to it. May we come to Jesus in hopes that we can handle temptation better and become better Christians to each other as we refine ourselves always in His instruction and help, even to the people outside of our faith. After all, as the first reading for today would point out "there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all, enriching all who call upon Him" (Deuteronomy 26:4-10).

As a last note, a contemporary tool we have learned from our training, courtesy of the Emmaus Center for Psycho-spiritual Formation, could help us better hold our tongues before dealing others a fatal blow. We should halt when we are HALT (hungry, angry, lusting, or tired). When any of these feelings makes us sensitive to even slight disturbances, it is best to first acknowledge that we are in such state so we can distance ourselves from damaging others or maneuver the negative energy into a positive or non-damaging expression. In the end, it is not so bad to tell others where we could change, and there is only so much coffee our laptops could take but always deliver in a tone, spirit, message, and degree that we, ourselves, would appreciate; in a space and time that would not devalue anyone's dignity. The potentiality to maintain friendship in good faith outweighs the vindication to always keep right but let others fall way, but should there be prompting to put our foot down in a situation and properly admonish, always discern if there is need to confront and to what extent, and maintain instruction from the right loving and humble Spirit of God, so that if others misunderstand us no matter our positive delivery, we can ascertain that we come from the right place. On our part, this is sternly not an invitation to militantly keep right in areas that necessitate to aggression, as a scrupulous mind can do that more than a truly moral and spiritual disposition. This is only consolation in times when we must rebuke others and they unattributed our positive intentions. Overall, it is harmony with the Christian spirit to commune with all, and to strengthen conviction when there is need: in standing with the Lord, in standing for truth, and in standing for the values of a higher level than withstanding a norm that disadvantages the last, the least, and the lost. In discerning everything, it is the Lord who knows. It is Him we must ask always for proper direction.

Prayer

Lord, thank You for being our good Father and for all the graces You give us. Please still our hearts in moments of temptation and make iron of our wills to overcome them; but in moments when we cannot withstand them still, we would like to request You forgive us and reconcile us to You again, that in each time You admit us back into Your love, we would be energized in living Christlike lives again. These we ask in Jesus' Most Holy Name, Amen.