Deut 26:4-10; Ps 90 (91); Rom 10:8-13; Lk 4:1-13
What Do I Believe In
Dear friends, today is the first Sunday of Lent. Lent is a season when Christians commemorate the passion and death of Jesus. This reminds us of the cost of our salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. Lenten season culminates in the resurrection of Jesus on Easter Sunday. If Jesus did not rise from the dead, Lent would be meaningless. It is because Jesus conquered death that we have been redeemed from slavery of sin and eternal death. We commemorate the Lenten season by observing intensified prayer, fasting, and giving alms.
Intensified prayer keeps us aware of God’s presence and therefore brings us closer to him. When we are close to God, we grow in righteousness. Fasting makes us aware of the sufferings of others and makes us repent of our excesses and sinfulness. Almsgiving is a sign of gratitude for our blessedness and solidarity with the less fortunate. Have you ever sacrificed anything to help someone as a sign of love and solidarity?
Lenten observances form part of the Christian creed. A creed contains historical encounters, experiences, and promises that believers have with their deity. These are handed over from one generation to another as pillars of faith that shape their day-to-day living. The cultural beliefs that we inherited from our ancestors formed our tribal creeds.
In the first reading today, Moses formulates a Creed for the people of Israel that they must hand over to their children. The Creed of the Israelites contained a summary of their historical encounters with God from their patriarch Abraham, the slavery in Egypt, the great exodus, and to the life in the new land they had been promised. The Creed is a constant reminder of who we are, what has led us to where we are now, and the promise of a better future. It is difficult to change a people’s creed when it is deeply rooted. This is what makes evangelization work impossible without the Holy Spirit’s help. People must first be convinced that their traditional creed is against God’s will and plan before they embrace the Gospel.
St. Paul too reminds the community of the Christians in Rome about their Creed. He reminds them that they must believe with their hearts to be made righteous and confess what they believe with their lips to be saved. When we believe in something with our hearts, it shapes our character and when we repeatedly recite it with our lips, it defines our actions. Faith must be deeply rooted in the heart of the believer and regularly confessed aloud with his lips. This is part of the aspects of the liturgy. Can you recite your creed by heart?
Creeds are usually written down to prevent alteration. Our Christian Creed contains six articles namely: Belief in one God who made us and everything else that exists; Belief in Jesus Christ the Son of God who became man and saved us through his passion, death, and resurrection; Belief in the Holy Spirit who is the same as the Father and the Son and who animates and sanctifies us; Belief in the Church as the sacrament of Christ and the vehicle for salvation of the believers; Belief in one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins; and Belief in life after death. What we believe in informs our cosmovision, dictates how we live our lives, and determines how we relate with others and the world. What do you really believe in?
Jesus knew his creed and used it to defeat the devil when he was tempted by him. The devil tempted Jesus in three core appetites of human life. Jesus used his deeply rooted creed to defeat him. The devil came at the most vulnerable time in Jesus’ life, just after forty days of fasting and praying in preparation for his mission. The same way he visits us when we are at our lowest moments. The devil starts by arousing the urge for Jesus to prove himself to him, “If you are the Son of God…”. The devil knows that human beings have an ego that can be manipulated for his own agenda. He does this by casting doubts into us. Jesus did not deem it necessary to prove to the devil that he was the Son of God. How many times have you done bad things trying to prove yourself to people? Is it necessary to prove ourselves to people?
The first temptation was appealing to the appetite of the stomach – the appetite for material things. The devil tells Jesus to change stones into bread and eat because he was very hungry. Jesus sticks to his creed that you do not have to prove anything to the devil just to fill your belly and sin against God. The second temptation was appealing to the appetite for power and wealth. Many of us would fall for this one. The devil claims to own the world and all it contained, but Jesus declined to worship him. Many people are willing to worship dark powers just because they want to be rich and powerful. Are you one of these? The third temptation was appealing to the appetite for prestige and fame. Jesus refused to risk his life just to prove to the devil that he was indeed the Son of God. Do you risk your life to prove to people that you are this or that?
Dear friends, the devil is always tempting us by the above three main appetites. He also comes when we are most vulnerable. If we stick to our creed, we will be able to defeat him. I invite us to learn our creed well, believe it with our hearts and often confess it with our lips. It will help us in our day-to-day battle with our appetites.
Have a fruitful Lenten season.
Fr. Lawrence Muthee, SVD
SVD JAMBO KENTAN 