Msgr. Michael Woster
Homily from the Televised Mass, NewsCenter1
First Sunday of Lent, February 26, 2023

It’s obvious that our focus today on this first Sunday of Lent is upon temptation and how we are to deal with it. There’s a funny story told about an overweight man who decided it was finally time to shed some pounds. He went on a new diet and took it very seriously this time. He even changed his usual driving route to avoid the temptation of going by his favorite bakery. One morning, however, he arrived at his office carrying a large, sugar-coated coffee cake. His office mates who were trying to support him challenged him on his backsliding, but he only smiled, he shrugged. He said, “what could I do? This is a very special cake. This morning out of habit I inadvertently drove by my favorite bakery. There in the window were trays of the most delicious goodies. I felt that it was no accident that I happened to pass by. So, I prayed, ‘Lord, if you really want me to have one of these delicious coffee cakes, let me find a parking place right in front of the bakery. And guess what? After nine times around the block there it was!” 

Lent, and really all human life, can be a time of testing. The scriptures say to us that if we get serious about our spiritual life, that we’ll find that both our interior human weakness, plus the tricks of the fallen angel, whose name is Satan, will try to trip us up. Indeed, the literal translation of the name Satan means the one who is plotting against you. While we are living sinful lives, or even if we are simply living lives of mediocrity being neither hot nor cold for the Lord and about spiritual things, Satan is quite content to leave us alone. He knows that left to our devices that we can cause our own ruin without his having to bother us very much at all. This leaves him with more time and energy to work on the people who are really trying to be good and to be holy. But if you and I try to get serious about our relationship with God, about our moral life, about our Christian service and love for others, then watch out. Satan will likely come to us with all his energy and his fury.

We see in the Gospel today this was the case with our Lord himself. Satan didn’t bother Jesus very much when he was simply a carpenter in Nazareth taking care of his father’s business. But once he begins to get ready to start teaching the Gospel, which is a context of the Gospel today, and drawing people back to almighty God, then Satan is pretty threatened by that, and he throws his whole weight against our Lord. By the way, that’s the literal meaning of the other name for the fallen angel, the devil. It means the one who is throwing himself against you. 

The first lesson of Lent that Jesus offers is a need to learn how to handle temptation. The first, but not the only purpose of the traditional practices of Lent is exactly this. We heard about that a few days ago on Ash Wednesday. Prayer, fasting, works of charity towards our neighbor, are to strengthen us against the temptations of the evil one, and the temptations of our own fallen human flesh. 

It’s very much like those ancient stories of Greek mythology about the alluring music of the sirens if you remember your Greek studies. The sirens are creatures with heads and beautiful women and bodies of attractive birds. The irresistible charm of their song lured the sailors to their destruction on the rocks surrounding their islands. When he had to pass by these islands, Odysseus, the hero of the Odyssey tied himself to the mast of the ship and put wax in the ears of his crew so they wouldn’t hear the alluring music. But later, the adventurer Jason chose an even better way against this danger. He took with him the great singer, Greek singer, and lyrist Orpheus. When they came by sirens the Greek singer Orpheus took out his liar and sang a song so beautiful and clear that it drowned out the sound of those lovely but deadly sirens and they passed by their islands in safety. 

What is my point? Lent is not so much trying to shut out the tempting music of the world by plugging our ears but rather by filling our lives with the sweeter music of prayer, of God’s word to us, and of our acts of love and charity for our neighbor. Then temptation begins to lose its power over us. Jesus didn’t overcome Satan by clenched fists and gritted teeth but by open hands and open heart to his heavenly father and open heart to us. During this Lent, we follow this example. Serious prayer. Serious fasting from things that are bad for us. And most of all, diligent love and concern for our neighbor. This is indeed beautiful music. Especially to the ears of our gracious God.