Man: His Power Against Temptation

1st Sunday of Lent Mar. 1, 2009 (Mk 1:12-15)

The Spirit drove Jesus out into the desert, and he remained in the desert for forty days, tempted by Satan. He was among wild beasts, and the angels ministered to him.

After John had been arrested, Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God: "This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel."

We are subject to temptation. This is because we, whose destiny is eternity in heaven, are born in time in this world where sin has crept. The lures of the evil one is very strong in this material world. So we have no choice. We will be subject to temptation; that's inevitable. We may sometimes crumble in the face of it. But we have the power to stand up and resist all temptation.

We Filipinos often hear, and even use, the "Tao lang, nagkakamali rin." argument. But this should not be abused. True, we have weaknesses. But we also have special capabilities that comes from God. We are gifted with intelligence, with a reason which tells us what is right; but often we do not listen to it. We are given faith, so we may call on God, our Father; but we do not pray. The "Tao lang, nagkakamali rin." statement should not make us dwell in our mistakes, accepting them as if they were alright. It should be a reminder, a challenge for us all to be bothered by the fact that we are weak and flawed, and thus be inspired to try and live a more virtuous life.

Jesus, in our Gospel today, shows us that living a virtuous life even when we're immersed in a culture of sin and death, is very possible. Jesus lived in the desert among wild beasts (Mk 1:12), yet He remained unharmed. In the same way, Jesus sends us like lambs among wolves. We are exposed, and sometimes, even threatened, by the wolves of evil in this world, but we are strong. The secret of Jesus' strength comes from God. The angels ministering to Jesus remind us that we, too, are in need of help; we offer to God our worship while we admit that we are sinners.

In this very dangerous world, Lent challenges us to die with our old selves in order to be made knew. We are called to acknowledge sinfulness and to repent. Most especially, we are called to believe in the good news of the kingdom.

Jesus' Authority of Love and Truth

4th Sunday in Ordinary Time Feb. 1, 2009 (Mk 1:21-28)

They came to Capernaum, and on the sabbath Jesus entered the synagogue and taught. The people were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes. In their synagogue was a man with an unclean spirit; he cried out, "What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are - the Holy One of God!" Jesus rebuked him and said, "Quiet! Come out of him!" The unclean spirit convulsed him and with a loud cry came out of him. All were amazed and asked one another, "What is this? A new teaching with authority. He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him." His fame spread everywhere through the whole region of Galilee.

Jesus taught the people as one having authority and not as the scribes do. Probably, the scribes always speak about what man should observe in order to please God - the law. And Jesus, as we all know, speaks about God and His great love for man. Jesus doesn't give burdensome laws but tells the people how much God desires their salvation. His mission is to draw mankind back to God's embrace and to be that same loving embrace to mankind. Jesus is not just God's speaker, He is God's love made flesh. He is God visiting His people (Lk 7:16). This is probably the authority that the Israelites felt in Jesus' way of teaching. Jesus' authority is from God.

In the Gospel, we see Jesus casting another evil spirit from a man. It is also noteworthy that this evil spirit acknowledges who Jesus is. The spirit calls Jesus the Holy One of God. He knows this very well. Nevertheless, this spirit is in no way of God, since he is unclean. He just knows God but he still goes against God.

Our parish priest gave us this to reflect on. We believe in God. The Gospel tells us that evil spirits believe in God too. Saint James says, "You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe - and shudder (Jas 2:19)." So how do we differ from the demons who also believe in God? It has to be in the way we live our lives. It is useless to believe in God if we live like demons! Yet, if we live our lives of faith while letting Jesus cast away the evil spirits in us and thereby making room for good works, therein lies our salvation. Faith alone, as Saint James also said, without works, is dead (Jas 2:26).

We should submit ourselves to Jesus' authority which comes from Truth and Love, indeed from God Himself. If we allow ourselves to be His synagogue where He will teach us, He will drive away all the evil spirits in our hearts and lead us back to God. All we have to do is have faith in Him and surrender to His will.