1st Sunday Lent, Jr. C, Xavier Church

Dear brothers and sisters, we heard in the first reading that God freed the Jewish people from Egypt, where they had to work as slaves. The Lord gave them back their freedom. In response, Moses says the people of God should come to God, bow down before Him and oTer the first fruits of the land to Him. In fact, that is what we do here when we gather to celebrate the Eucharist. Everything we may lay down before Him: our concerns about the situation in the world, the war in Ukraine or in the Middle East, our own worries and our pleas for deliverance from these situations. But also the things we are grateful for in our lives: our families and friends, peace in our regions, the work we get to do for Him.

In the Gospel, we heard how Jesus is tempted three times by the devil to do evil. Here, it is abundantly clear that it is the devil who does that. But often it is more insidious, as with the serpent with Adam and Eve. From the very beginning of creation, man is confronted with evil in this world. People abuse their power. In the last decade, we see human rights violations happening again in Europe, in particular the freedom of speech in Russia and the right to live safely in Ukraine. The question is always: do we reject it, or go along with it?

In the Gospel, the devil brings Jesus on top of the temple gate and says to Him: ‘if you are the Son of God, throw yourself down: the angels will catch you’. Here the devil is actually asking Jesus if He will give up, if He will destroy Himself. Unfortunately, we see this all too often, people harming themselves and others by going too far, whether it is through drinking or drugs, by provoking conflicts in relationships, by risking friendship and love. Jesus therefore says: ‘You must not put the Lord your God to the test’. God who is love has given us freedom, but we must use that freedom in a good way.

Lent is a time of reflection and prayer, of temperance and acts of mercy. We can look at how we ourselves, in our own way, can contribute to more justice in our world, for instance by paying attention to people who are sick or lonely, or weighed down by other evils.

Like Jesus in the desert, we are daily exposed to all kinds of temptations. For example, how diTicult is it to move forward in this world without getting our hands dirty in the process? But also in small ways, in dealing with people: how great could be the temptation to exalt ourself with the words we speak and put the other person in the shade? We will make mistakes from time to time, that is inevitable. After all, that is inherent in our weak human nature. Yet even with our mistakes, we may still get away well with our dear Lord. If only we lay it before Him. Of course, this does mean that we must first admit our mistakes. In this jubilee year, there are several opportunities for this: some go on a pilgrimage to Rome or to Haarlem Cathedral, the Amsterdam Co-Cathedral or one of the other jubilee places in our diocese, or here in our church where there will also be opportunity for confession and adoration.

Dear brothers and sisters, we are not always perfect: none of us are. That is why we come here: to bow down before God. Because we realise that we are just ordinary people. And that we depend on the goodness of God. That is what these forty days are for: to remind us of that again. However, we can be assured: if we open our hearts to God, He is ready to give us everything we need. Amen.