TRANSFIGURATION OF JESUS - 2nd Sunday of Lent (Cycle A)

Homily for the 2^nd Sunday of Advent (Cycle A)

Based on Mt 17:1-9 (Gospel), Gn 12:1-4 (First Reading) and 2 Tm 1:8-10 (Second Reading)

From the Series: “Reflections and Teachings of the Desert”

TRANSFIGURATION OF JESUS

“There in their presence he was transfigured” (Mt 17:2).

The Gospel reading for this 2^nd Sunday of Lent (Cycle A) is from Mt 17:1-9 with a title “The Transfiguration.”

Parallel texts for the title are:

1.       Mk 9:2-10 - Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John and led them up a high mountain where they could be alone by themselves. There is their presence he was transfigured: (v. 2) his clothes became dazzlingly white, whiter than any earthly bleacher could make them (v. 3) Elijah appeared to them with Moses; and they were talking with Jesus (v. 4) Then Peter spoke to Jesus, ‘Rabbi,’ he said, ‘it is wonderful for us to be here; so let us make three tents, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah’ (v. 5). He did not know what to say; they were so frightened (v. 6) And a cloud came, covering them in shadow; and there came a voice from the cloud, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved. Listen to him (v. 7).’Then suddenly, when they looked round, they saw no one with them anymore but only Jesus (v. 8). As they came down from the mountain he warned them to tell no one what they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead (v. 9) They observed the warning faithfully, though among themselves they discussed what ‘rising from the dead’ could mean (v. 10).

2.       Lk 9:28-36 - The Transfiguration^e.  Now about eight days after this had been said, he took with him Peter and John and James and went up the mountain to pray (v. 28). As he prayed, the aspect of his face changed and his clothing became brilliant as lightning (v. 29). Suddenly there were two men there talking to him; they were Moses and Elijah (v. 30), appearing in glory, and they were speaking of his passing which he was to accomplish in Jerusalem (v. 31). Peter and his companions were heavy with sleep, but they kept awake,^f and saw his glory^g and the two men standing with him (v. 32). As these were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is wonderful for us to be here; so let us make three tents, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah’. - He did not know what he was saying (v. 33). As he spoke, a cloud came and covered them with shadow; and when they went into the cloud the disciples were afraid (v. 34). And a voice came from the cloud saying, ‘This is my Son, the Chosen One.^h Listen to him (v. 35).’ And after the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. They disciples kept silence and, at that time, told no one what they had seen (v. 36). Footnote ^e  says “One of the narratives in which Lk most widely differs from Mk, It is clear that Lk. had his own source of information (John?).”; Footnote ^f  says  “Preferable to ‘they woke up’.”; Footnote ^g  says “The glory of his future coming, 9:26.”; and Footnote^h says “Var. ‘the Beloved’, cf. Mt and Mk. The titles ‘Chosen One’, cf. 23:35; Is 42:1, and ‘Son of Man’ alternate in the Parables of Enoch.”

3.       2 P 1:16-18 - It was not any cleverly invented myths that we are repeating^k when we brought you the knowledge of the power and the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ; we have seen his majesty for ourselves(v. 16)^l He was honored and glorified by God the Father, when the Sublime Glory itself spoke to him and said,^m ‘This is my Son, the Beloved; he enjoys my favor’ (v. 17). We heard this ourselves, spoken from heaven, when we were with him on the holy mountain.ⁿ Footnote ^k says “Lit. ‘not following myths that have been cleverly devised’; this is another warning against Gnostics who had a doctrine of the parousia based not on logical proofs, but on an elaborate mythological system, cf. 3:4f.”;  Footnote ^l  says “At the transfiguration.”; Footnote ^m  says “Lit. For receiving from God (the) Father honor and glory such as a voice being borne to him by the magnificent glory’; var. (Vulg.) ‘out of the magnificent glory’.”; and Footnote ⁿ  says “‘holy mountain’ should perhaps be taken as a suggestion that the mountain of transfiguration was the antitype of Sinai.”

Verses 1, 2, 3 and 4 say: Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John, and led them up a high mountain^a where they could be alone. There in their presence he was transfigured; his face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light^b . Suddenly Moses and Elijah^c appeared to them, they were talking with him. Then Peter spoke to Jesus, ‘Lord,’ he said ‘it is wonderful for us to be here;^d if you wish, I will make^e three tents here, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.  Footnote ^a  says “Tabor, according to the traditional opinion. Some favor Great Hermon.”; Footnote ^b says “Var ‘as snow’.”; Footnote ^c  says “Respectively representing Law and prophets, they do homage to the founder of the ‘new alliance’, cf. 5:17; Lk 22:20. As once they were privileged at Sinai with God’s revelation, Ex 33:20+; cf 1 K 19:9-13, so now they are made witnesses of the anticipated revelation of the Son of Man, cf 24:30.”; Footnote ^d  says “An alternative translation ‘It is good thing for us to be here’.”; and Footnote ^e  says “Vulg. ‘let us make’.”

Parallel text for verse 2 is Mt 28:3 that says: His face was like lightning, his robe white as snow.

Verse 5, 6, 7 and 8 say: He was still speaking when suddenly a bright cloud covered them with shadow, and from the cloud there came a voice which said, “This is my Son, the beloved, he enjoys my favor. Listen to him’. When they heard this, the disciples fell on their faces, overcome with fear. But Jesus came and touched them, ‘Stand up’ he said, ‘do not be afraid’.  And when they raised their eyes, they saw no one else but only Jesus.

Parallel texts for verse 5 are:

1.       Mt 24:30 - And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven;^o then too all the peoples of the earth will beat their breasts; and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.^p Footnote ^o  says “For the Fathers this ‘sign’ was Christ’s cross but possibly it is Christ himself proving by the triumph of his kingdom on earth that he has truly risen and is in glory.”; and Footnote ^p says “In these words Daniel foretold the establishment of the messianic kingdom by a Son of Man coming on the clouds. The cloud is the usual accompaniment of both OT and NT theophanies: Ex. 13:22+; 19:16+; 34:5+; Lv 16:2; 1 K 8:10-11; Ps 18:11; 97:2; 104:3; Is 19:1; Jr. 4:13Ezk 1:4; 10:3f; 2 M 2:8. For NT, cf. Mt 17:5; Ac 1:9,11; 1 Th 4:17; Rv 1:7; 14:14.”

2.       Ex 13:12 - You are to make over to Yahweh all the first issues from the womb, and every first-born cast by your animals: these males belong to Yahweh.

3.       Ex 19:16 - Now as daybreak on the third day there were peals of thunder on the mountain and lightning flashes, a dense cloud, and a loud trumpet blast, and inside the camp all the people trembled.

4.       2 P 1:17 - He was honored and glorified by God the Father, when the Sublime Glory itself spoke to him and said,^m ‘This is my Son, the Beloved; he enjoys my favor. Footnote ^m  says “Lit. For receiving from God (the) Father honor and glory such as a voice being borne to him by the magnificent glory’; var. (Vulg.) ‘out of the magnificent glory’.”

5.       Mt 3:17 - And a voice spoke from heaven, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved; my favor rests on him’ⁿ Footnote ⁿ  says “The immediate purpose of this sentence is to declare that Jesus is in truth the servant foretold by Isaiah, but the substitution of ‘Son’ for ‘servant’ (made possible by the double sense of the Greek word pais) underlines the relationship of Jesus with the Father, which is that of anointed Son, cf.4:3+.”

Verse 9 says: As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus gave them this order, “Tell no one about the vision until the Son of Man has risen from the dead.’

Parallel texts are:

1.      Mk 1:34 - And he cured many who were suffering from diseases of one kind or another; he also cast out many devils, but he would not allow them to speak, because they knew who he was.ⁱ Footnote ⁱ says “Jesus forbids the news that he is the Messiah to be spread by the devils, 1:25,34; 3:12, by those he cured, 1:44; 5:43; 7:36; 8:26, even by the apostles, 8:30; 9:9. The silence is not to be broken till after his death, Mt. 10:27+. Since the prevailing idea of the Messiah was nationalistic and warlike, in sharp contrast with his own ideal, Jesus had to be very careful, at least on Israelite soil, cf. 5:19, to avoid giving a false and dangerous impression of his mission, cf. Jn. 6:15; Mt. 13:13+. This policy of silence (‘the messianic secret’) is not an invention of Mk’s, as some have claimed, but is in fact Christ’s own, though Mark has given it a special emphasis. With the exception of Mt. 9:30, Mt. and Lk. record the injunction to silence only in passages which are parallel with Mk, frequently omitting it even in these cases.”

2.       Mt 8:20+ - Jesus replied, ‘Foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man^h has nowhere to lay his head’. Footnote ^h says “With the exception of Ac 7:56, Rv 1:13; 14:14; this title appears only in the  gospels. There is no doubt that Jesus used it of himself, and indeed preferred it to others. At times he uses it to express his lowly state, 8:20; 11:19; 20:28, especially the humiliation of the Passion, 17:22, etc. At others times it is used to proclaim the definitive triumph of his resurrection, 17:9, of his return in glory, 24:30; of his coming in judgment, 25:31. That this title, Aramaic in flavor, could bring together these seemingly  opposed qualities is clear from the following considerations. The phrase originally meant ‘man’, Ezk. 2:1+, and by reason of its unusual and indirect form it underlined the lowliness of man’s state. But the title suggested glory, too. It was used in Dn 7:13+, and later in the Jewish apocalyptic Book of Enoch, to indicate the transcendent figure, heavenly in origin, who was to receive from God’s hand the eschatological kingdom (the kingdom ‘at the end of times’). In this way therefore the title both veiled and hinted at (cf. Mk. 1:34+; Mt. 13:13+) the sort of Messiah Jesus was. Moreover, the explicit avowal in the presence of the Sanhedrin, 26:64+, should have removed all ambiguity.”

The First Reading is from Gn 12:1-4. The title is “The call of Abraham^a”. Footnote ^a says “Ch. 12-13 are a Yahwistic narrative with some ‘Priestly’ or editorial EDITIONS. As a result of God’s call and promise of posterity Abraham cuts off all earthly ties and with his childless wife, 11:30, sets out for an unknown land. It is Abraham’s first act of faith; it will be renewed when the promise is repeated, 15:5-6+, and put to the test when God asks for the surrender of Isaac who was the fruit of that promise, ch. 22+. To Abraham’s unquestioning act of faith the chosen people owes its existence and destiny, Heb 11:8-19. Not only Abraham’s physical descendants but all who, in virtue of this same faith, become his sons will have their share in that destiny as Paul shows, Rm 4; Ga 3:7.”

Parallel texts are:

1.       Ws 10:5 - Again, when, concurring in wickedness, the nations had been thrown into confusion, it was she who singled out^g the virtuous man, preserved him blameless before God and fortified him against pity for his child.  Footnote  ^g  says “Lit. ‘knew’, in the biblical sense, i.e. thought highly of, loved, reference to the choosing of Abraham.”

2.       Ac 7:2-3 - He replied,^a ‘My brothers, my fathers, listen to what I have to say. The God of glory appeared to our ancestor Abraham, while he was in Mesopotamia before settling in Haran, (v. 2) and said to him,^b “Leave your country and your family and go to the land I will show you”. Footnote ^a  says “The discourse opens with a summary of the stories of Abraham and Joseph, vv. 2_16; it goes on to expound the history of Moses, vv. 17-43 (cf. the charge made against Stephen, 6:11). With Moses’ divine mission of salvation Stephen contrasts the attitude of Israel: rejection, disobedience, faithlessness – traditional themes (cf. Dt.) but here elaborated with the Christian Event in mind. When Stephen speaks of Moses he is thinking of Christ whom Moses prefigured: the Jews react now as the Israelites did then. From the subsequent history of Israel Stephen selects only the building of the Temple: his purpose is to point out that God does not dwell in man-made temples, vv. 44-50 (cf. the allegation in 6:13). The speech ends with a fierce diatribe, vv. 51-53, which uses one of the themes of the earliest Christian preaching, cf. 2:23+.”; and Footnote ^b  says “According to Gn 11:31 the apparition took place at Haran. Stephen follows a non-biblical tradition.”

3.       Heb 11:8f  - It was by faith that Abraham obeyed the call to set out for a country that was the inheritance given to him and his descendants,  and that he set out without knowing where he was going.

Verse 1 says: Yahweh said to Abram: “Leave your country, your family and your father’s house for the land I will show you.

Parallel texts are:

1.       Gn 15:1 - It happened sometime later that the word of Yahweh was spoken to Abram in a vision, ‘Have no fear, Abram, I am your shield; your reward will be very great’.

2.       Gn 26:2 - Yahweh appeared to him and said, ‘Do not go down into Egypt; stay in the land I shall tell you of.

3.       Ps 45:10 - Listen, daughter, pay careful attention: forget your nation and your ancestral home.^g Footnote ^g  says “In the messianic interpretation: Israel, like the ancestral figure Abraham must sever all links with the surrounding pagan world, thus leaving the ‘ancestral home’ in order to receive ‘sons’, v. 16.”

Verse 2 says: I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name so famous that it will be used as^b a blessing.  Footnote ^b  says “‘that it will be used as’ corr.; ‘and may you be’ Hebr.”

Parallel texts are:

1.       Ex 32:10 - Leave me, now, my wrath shall blaze out against them and devour them; of you, however, I will make a great nation.

2.       Gn 24:1 - By now Abraham was an old man well on his years, and Yahweh had blessed him in every way.

3.       Nb. 10:29 - Moses said to Hobab son of Reuel the Midianite, his father in law, ‘We are setting out for the land of which Yahweh has said: I will give it to you. Come with us, and we will treat you well, for Yahweh has promised happiness to Israel’.

4.       Nb 14:12 - I will strike them with pestilence and disown them. And of you I shall make a new nation, greater and mightier than they are.

5.       Ps. 21:6 - Yes, you confer on him everlasting blessings, you gladden him with the joy of the presence.

Verse 3 says: ‘I will bless those who bless you; I will curse those who slight you. All the tribes of the earth shall bless themselves by you’ ^c  Footnote ^c  says “The formula is repeated in 18:18; 22:18; 26:4; 28:14. Its precise meaning is: ‘the nations shall say to each other: May you be blessed as Abraham was’ (cf. v. 2 and 48:20; Jr 29:22); but Si 44:21, the LXX translation and the NT take it to mean ‘In you all the nations shall be blessed.’”

Parallel texts are:

1.       Gn 22:18 - All the nations of the earth shall themselves by your descendants, as a reward for your obedience.

2.       Nb 24:9 - He has crouched, he has lain down, like a lion, like a lioness; who dares rouse him? Blessed be those who bless you, and accursed be those who curse you!’

3.       Ps 72:17 - Blessed be his name for ever, enduring as long as the  sun!^l May every race in the world be blessed in him, and all the nations call him blessed! Footnote ^l  says “‘blessed’ and ‘every race in the world’; Greek; absent from Hebr. ‘enduring’ one MS and versions; ‘branching forth is his name’ Hebr., alluding to the messianic title ‘Branch’, Is 4:2; Jr 23:5; 33:15; Zc 3:8.”

4.       Si 44:21 - He confirmed the covenant in his own flesh, and proved himself faithful under ordeal (v. 21).^p Footnote  ^p says “On the faith of Abraham, cf. Gn 12:1+; 15:6+; 22:1; Ga 3:6-14; Rm 4:1-25.”

5.       Jr 4:2 - If you swear, “As Yahweh lives!” truthfully, justly and honestly, the nations will bless themselves by you, and glory in you^b.  Footnote ^b  says “‘you’ corr.; ‘him’ Hebr. The promise to Abraham is renewed.”

6.       Zc 8:13 - Just as once you were a curse among the nations, You House of Judah (and House of Israel), so I mean to save you for you to become a blessing. Do not be afraid; let your hands be strong.

7.       Lk 1:5 - In the days of King Herod of Judaea there lived a priest called Zechariah who belonged to the Abijah section of the priesthood, and he had a wife, Elizabeth by name, who was a descendant of Aaron.

8.       Ac 3:25 - You are the heirs of the prophets, the heirs of the covenant God made with our ancestors when he told Abraham: in your offspring all the families of the earth will be blessed.

9.       Ga 3:8 - Scripture foresaw that God was going to use faith to justify the pagans, and proclaimed the Good News long ago when Abraham was told: In you all the pagans will be blessed.

Verse 4 says: So Abram went as Yahweh told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran.

Parallel texts are:

1.       Gn 33:18-20 - Jacob arrived safely at the town of Sechem in Canaanite territory, on his return from Paddan-aram. He encamped opposite the town (v. 18) and for one hundred pieces of silver he bought from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem, the piece of land on which he had pitched his tent (v. 19). Here he erected an altar which he called, ‘El, God of Israel’ (v. 20).

2.       Gn 35:4 - They gave Jacob all the foreign gods in their possession, and the earrings that they were wearing. Jacob buried them under the oak tree near Sechem.

3.       Jos 24:26 - Joshua wrote these words in the Book of the Law of God. Then he took a great stone and set it up there, under the oak in the sanctuary of Yahweh,

The Second Reading is 2 Tm 1:8-10.

Verse 8 says: So you are never to be ashamed of witnessing to the Lord, or ashamed of me for being his prisoner but with me bear the hardships for the sake of the Good News, relying on the power of God.

Parallel texts are:

1.       2 Tm 1:16 - I hope the Lord will be kind to all the family of Onesiphorus because he often been a comfort to me and has never been ashamed of my chains.

2.       Lk 9:26 - For if anyone is ashamed of me and of my words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed of when he comes in his own glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.

3.       Rm 1:16 - For I am not ashamed of the Good News; it is the power of God saving all who have faith^j- Jew first,^k but Greek as well. Footnote ^j says “Faith, which is the response of a human being to God as truth and goodness and so the one source of salvation, relies on the truth of God’s promises and on God’s faithfulness to them (Rm 3:3f; 1 Th 5:24; 2 Tm 2;13; Heb 10:23; 11:11) and on his power to implement them (Rm 4:17-21; Heb  11:19). After the  long O.T. period of preparation (Heb 11) God has spoken through his Son (Heb 1:1). We must believe the Son (cf. Mt 8:10+; Jn 3:11+) and the kerygma or proclamation (Rm 10:8-17; 1 Co 1:21; 15:11, 14; cf. Ac 2:22+) of the Good News (Rm 1:16; 1 Co 15:1-2; Phl: 27; Ep 1:13) made by the apostles (Rm 1:5; 1 Co 3:5; cf. Jn 17:20). The kerygma proclaims that God raised Jesus from the dead, made him Kyrios (Rm 4:24f; 10:9; Ac 17:31; 1 P 1:21; cf. 1 Co 15:14, 17), and thorough him offers life to all who believe in him (Rm 6:8-11; 2 Co 4:13f; Ep 1:19f; Col 2;12; 1 Th 4:14). Faith in the name, or person, of Jesus (Rm 3:26; 10:13; cf. Jn 1:12; Ac 3:16; 1 Jn 3;23) who is the Messiah (Ga 2:16; cf. Ac 24;24; 1 jn 5:1), the Lord (Rm 10:9; 1 Co 12:3; Ph 2:11; cf. Ac 16;31) and Son of God (Ga 2:20; cf. jn 20:31; 1 jn 5:5; Ac 8;37; 9:20) is thus the necessary condition of salvation (Rm 10:9-13; 1 Co 1:21; Ga 3:22; cf. Is 7:9+; Ac 4:12; 16:31; Heb 11:6; Jn 3:15-18). Faith is not only intellectual assent, it is to trust and obey (Rm 1:5; 6:17; 10:16; 16:26; cf. Ac 6:7) the life giving truth (2 Th 2:12f). Faith which thus unites a person with Christ (2 Co 13:5; Ga 2:16, 20; Ep 3:17) also confers the Spirit on him (Ga 3:2,5,14;cf. Jn 7:38f; Ac 11:17), the Spirit of the sons of God (Ga 3:26; cf. Jn 1:12). Faith is reliance on God and not on self (Rm 3:27; Ep 2:9) and thus contrasts with the old order of the Law (Rm 7:7+) with its vain search (Rm 10;3; Ph 3:9) for  holiness by works (Rm 3;20,28; 9:31f; Ga 2:16; 3:11f): only faith can effect rue holiness, the saving holiness of God himself (Rm 1:17+; 3:21-26), received as a free gift from him (Rm 3:24; 4:16; 5:17; Ep 2:8;cf. Ac 15:11). Faith relates to the promise made to Abraham (Rm 4; Ga 3:6-18) and so makes salvation accessible to everyone, pagans included (Rm 1:5,16; 3:29f; 9:30; 10:11f; 16:26; Ga 3:8). It is coupled with baptism (Rm 6:4+), calls for public profession (Rm 10:10; 1 Tm 6:12), and expresses itself in charity (Ga 5:6;cf. Jm 2:14+). Faith is obscure (2 Co 5:7; Heb 11:1; cf. Jn 20:29), and involves hope as its concomitant (Rm 5:2+). It must  be allowed to grow (2 Co 10:15; 1Th 3:10; 2 Th 1:3) amid struggles and sufferings (Ph 1:29; Ep 6:16; 1 Th 3:2-8; 2 Th 1:4; Heb 12:2; 1 P 5:9), demanding fortitude (1 Co 16:13; Col 1:23;) and tenacity 2 Tm 4:7;cf. 1:14; 1 Tm 6:20) right up to the vision and possession of God (1 Co 13:12;cf. 1Jn 3:2).”; and Footnote ^k says “In the actual development of salvation history, the Jews come first; ‘salvation comes from the Jews’ (Jn. 4:22). Cf. Rm. 2:9-10, Mt. 10:5f, 15:24, Mk. 7:27, Ac. 13:5+. But abuse of this privilege could condemn them.”

4.       Rm 5:3f  - But that is not all we can boast about; we can boast about our suffering. These sufferings bring patience, as we know…

5.       Ep 3:13 - So I beg you, never lose confidence just because of the trials that I go through on your account; they are your glory.

Verse 9 says: Who has saved us and called us to be holy^b - not because of anything we ourselves have done but for his own purpose and by his own grace. This grace had already been granted to us, in Christ Jesus, before the beginning of time.  Footnote ^b  says “Lit. ‘and called us with a holy call’; this may be taken in two ways here: the calling of Christians to salvation, cf. Rm 1:6-7; 8:28; 1 Co 1:2,24; Col 3:15; Ep 1:18; 4:4; Ph 3:14; etc, or (by metonomy) the state (‘vocation’) to which Christians have been called.”

Parallel texts are:

1.       Tt 3:5 - It was not because he was concerned with any righteous actions we might have done ourselves; it was for no reason except his own compassion that he saved us, by means of the cleansing water of rebirth and by renewing us with the Holy Spirit.

2.       Rm 8:28 - We know that by turning everything to their good God cooperates with all those who love him, with all those that he has called according to his purpose.^p Footnote ^p says “Var (Vulg) We know that for those who love God everything conspires for good, for all those that he has called…’”

Verse 10 says: but it has only been revealed by the Appearing^c of our savior Christ Jesus. He abolished death, and he has proclaimed life and immortality to light through the Good News;

Footnote ^c  says “The ‘Appearing’ (‘epiphany’), cf. 1 Tm 6:14+, here refers to the incarnation and redemption.”

Parallel texts are:

1.       Rm 16:25 - Doxology^j. Glory to him who is able to give you the strength^k to live according to the Good News I preach, and in which I proclaim Jesus Christ, the revelation of a mystery^l kept secret for endless ages… Footnote ^j  says “Most authorities place this doxology here, but in some it appears at the end of ch. 15 or 14; others omit. A solemn presentation, cf. Ef 3:20; Jude 24-25, of the main points of the letter.: Footnote ^k says “Firmly grounded in doctrine and strong in Christian practice. Cf. 1:11; 1 Th 3:2,13; 2 Th 2:17; 3:3; 1 Co 1:8; 2 Co 1:21; Col 2:7.”; Footnote ^l  says “The idea of a ‘mystery’ of wisdom, v. 27; 1 Co 2:7; Ep 3:10; Col 2:2-3, long hidden in God and now revealed, v. 25; 1 Co 2:7,10; Ep 3:5,9f; Col 1:26, is borrowed by Paul from Jewish apocalypse, Dn 2:18-19+, but he enriches the content of the term by applying it to the climax of the history of salvation: the saving cross of Christ, 1 Co 2:8; the call of the pagans, v. 26; Rm 11:25; Col 1:26-27; Ep 3:6, to this salvation preached by Paul, v. 25; Col 1:23; 4:3; Ep 3:3-12; 6:19, and finally the restoration of all things in Christ as their one head, Ep 1:9-10. See also 1 Co 4:1; 13:2; 14:2; 15:51; Ep 5:32; 2 Th 2:7; 1 Tm 3:9,16; 2 Tm 1:9-10; Mt 13:11p+; Rv 1:20; 10:7; 17:5,7.”

2.       Tt 2:11 - You see, God’s grace has been revealed, and it has made salvation possible for the whole human race…

3.       Tt 3:4 - But when the kindness and love of God our savior for mankind were revealed, it was not because he was concerned with any righteous actions we might have done ourselves…

TEMPTATION IN THE WILDERNESS - 1st Sunday of Lent (Cycle A)

Homily for the 1^stSunday of Lent (Cycle A)

Based on Mt 4:1-11(Gospel), Gn 2:7-9, 3:1-7(First Reading) and Rm 5:12-19(Second Reading)

From the Series: “Reflections and Teachings of the Desert”

TEMPTATION IN THE WILDERNESS

“Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil” (Mt. 4:1).

The Gospel for this 1^st Sunday of Lent (Cycle A) is taken from Mt 4:1-11, under the title “Temptation in the wilderness^a”. Footnote ^a says “That these diabolical suggestions were actually made is quite compatible with Christ’s sinlessness, Jesus was faced with the idea of being a material and political Messiah with its accompanying human privileges of wealth, glory, power. He chose instead utter dependence on God, humility, obedience to God’s will, cf. Mt. 16:21-23; 26:36-46; Heb. 5:7-9; 12:2.”

Parallel texts for the title are:

1.       Mk 1:12-13 - Immediately afterwards the Spirit drove him out into the wilderness (v. 12),and he remained there for forty days, and was tempted by Satan. He was with the wild beasts, and the angels looked after him (v. 13).

2.       Lk 4:1-13 - Temptation in the wilderness^a. Filled with the holy Spirit,^b Jesus left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit through the wilderness (v. 1);being tempted there by the devil for forty days. During this time he ate nothing, and at the end he was hungry (v. 2). Then the devil said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to turn into a loaf’ (v. 3).But Jesus replied, ‘Scripture says: ‘Man does not live on bread alone (v. 4).’Then leading him to a height, the devil showed him in a moment of time all the kingdoms of the world (v. 5), and said to him, ‘I shall give to you all the power and their glory of these kingdoms; for it has been committed to me and I give it to anyone I choose (v. 6)^c ‘Worship me, then, it shall all be yours (v. 7).’ But Jesus answered him, Scripture says: You must worship the Lord, your God, and him serve him alone’ (v.8).Then he led him to Jerusalem and made him stand on the parapet of the Temple, “If you are the Son of God,’ he said to him ‘throw yourself down from here (v. 9),for scripture says: He will put his angels in charge of you to guard you (v. 10),and again: ‘They will hold you up on their hands, in case you hurt your foot against a stone’ (v. 11). But Jesus answered  him, “It has been said: You must not put the Lord your God, to the test’ (v. 12).Having exhausted all these ways of tempting him,^d  the devil left him, to return at the appointed time (v. 13).Footnote ^a  says “Lk continues Mk’s data (40 days of temptation) with Matthew’s (three temptations at the end of 40 days’ fast). He changes Matthew’s order so as to end with Jerusalem; cf. Lk 2:38+.”; Footnote^b says “Luke’s interest in the Holy Spirit is evident not only from his first two chapters, 1:15,35,41,67,80; 225,26,27; but also from the remainder of the gospel in which, on several occasion, he adds a mention of the Spirit to the other synoptic passages, 4:1,14,18; 10:21; 11:13. In Ac also Lk very frequently speaks of the Spirit, Ac 1:8+.”; Footnote ^c says “The devil’s dominion over the world is one of the key ideas of Jn (12:31; 14:30; 16:11; 1 Jn 3:8+; Rv 13:2,4). See also Mt 8:29+.”; and Footnote^d says “Rather than ‘finished all the temptations’.”

Verses 1, 2 and 3 say: Then Jesus was led by the Spirit^b into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. He fasted for forty days and forty nights, after which he was very hungry and the tempter came and said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God,^c tell these stones to turn into loaves.’ Footnote^b  says “The Holy Spirit. The temptation was therefore willed by God.”; and Footnote ^c  says “The biblical title ‘Son of God’ does not necessarily mean natural sonship but may imply a sonship which is merely adoptive, i.e., which as a result of God’s deliberate choice sets up a very intimate relationship between God and his creature. In this sense the title is given to angels (Jb. 1:6), to the Chosen People (Ex. 4:22, Ws. 18:13), to individual Israelites (Dt. 14:1, Ho. 2:1, cf. Mt. 5:9,48, etc.), to their leaders (Ps. 82:6). Were therefore it is attributed to the royal Messiah (1 Ch. 17:13, Ps. 2:7, 89:26) it does not necessarily imply that he is more than man; nor need we suppose that it has any deeper significance when used by Satan (Mt. 4:3,6) or by the possessed (Mk. 3:11, 5:7, Lk. 4:41), still less when used by the centurion (Mk. 15:39, cf. Lk. 23:47). By itself the sentence at baptism (Mt. 3:17) and at the transfiguration (17:5) suggests no more than the divine predilection for the Messiah-servant, and all probability the High priest’s question (26:63) concerns messiahship only. Nevertheless the title ‘Son of God’ can bear a further, more profound meaning of sonship in the full sense of the word. Jesus clearly insinuated this meaning when he spoke of himself as ‘the Son’ (2:37), ranked above the angels (24:36), having God for his ‘Father’ in a way others had not (Jn. 20:17 and cf. ‘my Father’ in Mt. 7:21, etc.), enjoying with the Father an altogether singular relationship of knowledge and love (Mt. 11:27). These assertions, coupled with others that speak of the Messiah’s divine rank (22:42-46), of the heavenly origin of the ‘son of  man’ (8:20+), assertions finally confirmed by the triumph of the resurrection, have endowed the expression ‘son of God’ with the strictly divine significance which will later be found, e.g. in Paul (Rm. 9:5+). During the lifetime of Christ, it is true his disciples had no clear conception of his divinity – the texts of Mt. 14:33 and 16:16 which add the title ‘Son of God’ to the more primitive text of Mk reflect, in all probability, a later stage in the faith’s development. But it is equally true that Jesus expressed with his own lips and with as much clarity as his audience could support, his own consciousness of being Son of the Father in the fullest sense. On these historical utterances the faith of the disciples rested, a faith that reached its perfection after the resurrection with the help of the Holy Spirit.”

Parallel texts for verse 1 are:

1.       Heb 2:18 - That is, because he has himself been through temptation, he is able to help others who are tempted.

2.       Ex 24:18 - Moses went right into the cloud. He went up  the mountain, and stayed there for forty days and forty nights.^g Footnote ^g  says “Cf. the forty days’ journey of Elijah to Sinai, 1 K 19:8 and Christ’s forty days in the desert, Mt 4:2p.”

3.       Ex 34:28 - He stayed there with Yahweh for forty days and forty nights, eating and drinking nothing. He^h inscribed on the tablets the words of the Covenant - the Ten Words. Footnote ^h  says “Moses, cf. v. 27.”

4.       1 K 19:8 - So he got up and ate and drank, and strengthened by that food he walked for forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God.^b Footnote ^b  says “Cf. Ex 19:1+. Zealous to maintain the covenant and restore the ancient faith, Elijah visits the place where the true God revealed himself, Ex 3 and 33:18+, 34:9, and where the covenant  had been concluded, Ex 19 and 24: he sees his own task as that of continuing the work of Moses. Moses and Elijah have in common a theophany at Horeb; both also witness the NT theophany, Christ’s transfiguration, Mt 17:1-9p.”

5.       Heb 12:2 - Let us not lose sight of Jesus, who leads us in our faith and brings it to perfection: for the sake of the joy which was still in the future, he endured the cross, disregarding the shamefulness of it, and from now on has taken his place at the right hand of God’s throne.

Verses 4 and 5 say: But he replied, “Scripture says: Man does not live by bread alone, but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God’. The devil then took him to the holy city and made him stand on the parapet of the Temple.

Parallel text for verse 4 is Dt 8:3 that says: He humbled you, he made you feel hungry, he fed you with manna which neither you nor your fathers had known, to make you understand that man does not live on bread alone but that man lives on everything that comes from the mouth of Yahweh.^a Footnote^a  says “Yahweh makes all things by his word and so gives life to Israel by means of the commandments (miswah) that issue (mosa) from his mouth. On this text, cited in Mt 4:40, see Am 8:11; Ne 9:29; Pr 9:1-5; Ws 16:26; Si 24:19-21; Jn 6:30-36,68+”.

Verse 6 says: ‘If you are the Son of God’ he said ‘throw yourself down for scripture says: ‘He will put you in his angels’ charge, and ‘ they will support you on their hands in case you hurt your foot against a stone.’

Parallel text is Ps 91:11-12 that says: He will put you to his angels’ charge to guard you wherever you go (v. 11). They shall support you on their hands in case you hurt your foot against a stone.

Verse 7, 8 and 9 say: Jesus said to him, “Scripture also says: ‘You must not put the Lord your God to the test’. Next, taking him to a very high mountain the devil showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. ‘I will give you all these’ he said ‘if you fall at my feet and worship me’.

Parallel text for verse 7 is Dt 6:16 that says: Do not put Yahweh your God to the test as you tested him at Massah.

Verse 10 says: Then Jesus replied, “Be off, Satan! For scripture says:‘You must worship the Lord your God, and serve him alone.’

Parallel textis Mt 16:23 that says:But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle^lin my path, because the way you think is  not God’s way but man’s.” Footnote ^l says “By blocking the Messiah’s appointed way, Peter becomes an ‘obstacle’ (primary sense of the Greek skandalon) to Christ and becomes, though unwittingly, the tool of Satan, cf. 4:1-10.”

Verse 11 says: Then the devil left him and angels appeared and looked after him.

Parallel text is Heb 1:14 that says: The truth is that is that they are all spirits whose work is service, sent to help those who will be heirs of salvation.ⁱ Footnote ^I says “Compared with the Son, angels are only servants employed to save human beings.”

The First Reading is from Gn 2:7-9, 3:1-7:

Chapter 2, Verse 7 says: Yahweh fashioned man of dust from the soil^c. Then he breathe into his nostrils a breath of life, and thus man became a living being. Footnote^c says “Man, adam, is of the soil, adamah, cf. 3:19,23. This collective noun is to become, 4:25; 5:1,3, the proper name of the first human being, Adam.

Parallel texts are:

1.       Gn 3:19 - By the sweat of your brow you shall eat your bread, until you return to the soil, as you were taken from it; For dust you are and to dust you shall return.

2.       2 Th 3:12 - In the Lord Jesus Christ, we order and call on people of this kind to go on quietly working and earning the food that they eat.

3.       Gn 6:3 - Yahweh said, ‘My spirit must not forever be disgraced in man, for he is but flesh; his life shall last no more than a one hundred and twenty years.

4.       Ps 104:29f -You turn your face away, they suffer, you stop their breath, they die and revert to dust.

5.       Qo3:20f  -Both go to the same place; both originate from the dust, and to the dust  both return.

6.       Qo 12:7…or before the dust returns to the earth as it once  came from it, and the breath  to God who gave it.^e Footnote ^e says “The earthly part of man returns to earth. But since nothing on this earth can satisfy him, not all of him originates from earth, and that which is of God, returns to God.”

7.       Jb34:14f -Were he to recall his breath, to draw his breathing back to himself.^e Footnote ^e says “‘Draw back’ versions; ‘set’ Hebr. qere. ‘his heart’ is omitted and ‘his breath’ transposed.”

8.       Jb 33:4 - God’s breath it was that  made me, the breathing of Shaddai that gave me life.

9.       1 Co 15:45 -“The first man, Adam, as scripture says, became a living soul;^m but the last Adam has become a life-giving spirit. Footnote ^m  says “Something that is alive because it has a psyche giving it a merely natural life, subject to decay and corruption.”

Verse  8 says: Yahweh God planted a garden in Eden^d which is in the east, and there he put the man he fashioned. Footnote^d  says “‘Garden’ is translated ‘paradise’ in the Greek version and thence becomes traditional. ‘Eden’ is a geographical name but the place cannot be identified; it may originally meant ‘a plain’. Paradise is pictured here as an oasis in the eastern desert.”

Parallel texts are:

1.       Is 51:3 - Yes, Yahweh has pity on Zion, has pity on all her ruins; turns her desolation into an Eden, he wasteland into the garden of Yahweh. Joy and gladness shall be found in her, thanksgiving and the sound of music.

2.       Ezk 31:9 - I had made it lovely with branching green. It was the envy of every tree in Eden, in the garden of God.

Verse 9 says: Yahweh God caused to spring up from the soil every kind of tree, enticing to look at and good to eat, with the three of life^e and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the middle of the garden. Footnote ^e  says “A symbol of immortality, see 3:22 and note. On the tree of the knowledge of good and evil see the note to v. 17.“

Parallel texts are:

1.       Pr 3:18 - She is a tree of life for those who hold her fast, those who cling to her live happy lives.

2.       Rv 2:7 - If anyone has ears to hear, let him listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches: those who prove victorious I will feed from the tree of life set in God’s paradise.^e Footnote ^e says“Var. (Vulg.) ‘the paradise of my God’.”

3.       Rv 22:1-2,14 - Then the angel showed me the river of life, rising form the throne of God and of the Lamb^a and flowing crystal-clear (v. 1)  down the middle of the city street. On either side^b of the river were the trees of life, which bear twelve crops of fruits in a year, one in each month, and the leaves of which are the cure for the pagans (v. 2). Happy those who have washed their robs clean, so that they will have the right to feed on the tree of life and can come through its gates into the city (v. 14). Footnote ^a says “Allusion to the Trinity, since the river of living water is a symbol of the Spirit (Jn 4:1+), cf. Rv 21:6+.”; and Footnote ^b says “Or punctuate ‘Down the middle…on either side’.

Chapter 3, Verses 1, 2, 3 and 4 say: The Fall. The serpent^a was the most subtle of all the wild beasts that Yahweh God has made. It asked the woman, ‘Did God really say you were not to eat from any of the trees in the garden?’ The woman answered the serpent, ‘We may eat the fruit of the trees in the garden. But the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden God said, “You must not eat it, nor touch it, under pain of death”. Then the serpent said to the woman, ‘No! You will not die! Footnote ^a says “The serpent is here used as a disguise for a being hostile to God and an enemy of man: this being is identified with the Adversary or the Devil (Jb 1:6+) in the Book of Wisdom, in the NT and in all Christian tradition.”

Parallel texts are:

1.       Ws 2:24 - It was the devil’s envy that brought death into the world,ⁿ as those who are his partners will discover. Footnote ⁿ says “‘devil’ in the LXX renders the Hebr. Satan, cf. Jb 1:6+. Here, the author is interpreting Gn 3, cf. Rv 12:9; 20:2; Jn 8:44; 1 Jn 3:8. The death introduced by the devil is spiritual, with physical death as its consequence, cf. 1:13+; Rm 5:12f.”

2.       Si 25:24 - Sin began with a woman, and thanks to her we all must die.^h Footnote ^h  says “Alluding to the first sin. Apostle Paul also recalls the guilt of Eve, 2 Co 1:3 1T 2:14, but cf. Rm 5:1.”

3.       Jn 8:44 - The devil is your father, and you prefer to do what your father wants.

4.       Rm 5:12-21 - Adam and Jesus Christ^h. Well then, sin entered the world through one man, and through sin death,ⁱ and thus death has spread through the whole human race because everyone has sinned. ^j (v. 12). Sin existed in the world long before the law was given. There was no law and so no one could be accused of the sin of ‘law-breaking’ (v. 13),Yet death reigned over all from Adam to Moses, even though their sin, unlike that of Adam, was not a matter of breaking a law. Adam prefigured^k the One to come (v. 14),But the gift itself considerably outweighed the fall. If it is certain that through one man’s fall so many^l died, it is even more certain that divine grace, coming through the one man, Jesus Christ, came to so many as an abundant free gift (v. 15).The results of the gift also outweigh the results of on man’s sin: for after one single fall came judgment with a verdict of condemnation, now after many falls comes grace with its verdict of acquittal (v. 16). If it is certain that death reigned over everyone as the consequence of one man’s fall, it is even more certain that one man, Jesus Christ, will cause everyone to reign in life who receives the free gift that he does not deserve, of being made righteous (v. 17).Again, as one man’s fall brought condemnation on everyone, so the good act of one man brings everyone life and makes them justified (v. 18) As by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by one man’s obedience many will be made righteous (v. 19).^m When lawⁿ came, it was to multiply the opportunities of falling, but however great the number of sins committed, grace was even greater (v. 20); and so, just as sin reigned wherever there was death, so grace will reign to bring eternal life thanks to the righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ our Lord (v. 21). Footnote ^h says “Sin dwells within man, Rm 7:14-24; now death, sin’s chastisement, came into the world as a result of Adam’s fall, Ws 2:24; from this Paul concludes that sin itself entered into all men through that first fall. We have here the doctrine of original sin. Its interest for Paul lies in the parallel it enables him to draw between deadly work of the first Adam and the more than sufficient compensation of the ‘second Adam’, vv. 15-19; 1 Co 15:21f, 25. It is as the new head of the human race, the great image in which God remakes his creation, Rm 8:29+; 2 Co 5:17+, that Christ is mankind’s savior.”: Footnote ⁱ says “Sin divides man from God. This separation is ‘death’, death spiritual and eternal; physical death is the symbol of it, cf. Ws 2:24; Heb 6:1+.”; Footnote ^j says “Meaning disputed. Either by sharing in Adam’s sin, (‘all have sinned in Adam’) or else by their own personal sins, cf. 3:23. In this second interpretation the Greek could be translated ‘for this reason that everyone…’ a phrase introducing a situation actually occurring which allowed (eternal) death to threaten all mankind. Sin’s power which through Adam made its entrance into the world did in fact bring about eternal death by means of personal sin, itself an acquiescence in Adam’s rebellion (Paul is of course speaking of adults). A further translation is possible ‘by reason of which (i.e. of the death-situation brought about by Adam’s sin) everyone has sinned’.”; Footnote ^k says ‘prefigured’, 1 Co 10:6+: the likeness, therefore, is not complete – hence the comparison, begun in v. 12 and interrupted by the long parenthesis of vv. 13 and 14, becomes a contrast in v. 5.”; Footnote ^l says “The word ‘many’ means all mankind, cf. v. 18; see Mt 20:28.”; Footnote ^m says “Not only at the Last Judgment (for Paul regards justification as a present condition, cf. 5:1, etc.)’ but progressively as each individual becomes reborn in Christ.”; and Footnote ⁿ  says “‘law’ without the definite article, i.e. a state of things in which law is the governing factor.”

5.       2 Co 11:3 - These people are counterfeit apostles, these are dishonest workmen disguised as apostles of Christ.

6.       Rv 12:9 - The great dragon, the primeval serpent, known as the devil or Satan, who had deceived all the world, was hurled down to the earth and his angels were hurled down with him.

7.       Rv20:2 - He overpowered the dragon, that primeval serpent which is the devil and Satan, and chained him up for a thousand years.

Verses 5, 6 and 7 say: God knows in fact that on the day you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods, knowing good and evil;’ The woman saw that the tree was good to eat and pleasing to the eye, and that it was desirable for the knowledge that  it could give. So she took some of its fruit and ate it. She gave some also to her husband who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened and they realized that they were naked.^b So they sewed fig leaves together to make themselves loin-cloths. Footnote^b  says “What had been good is now known as evil: the choice of indecency has been invented.”

Parallel texts are:

1.       Gn 2:17 - Nevertheless of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil^h you are not to eat, for on the day you eat of it you must surely die. Footnote^h says “This knowledge is a privilege which God reserves to himself and which man, by sinning, is to lay hands on, 3:5, 22. Hence it does not mean omniscience, which fallen man does not possess; nor is it moral discrimination, for fallen man already had it and God could not refuse it to a rational being. It is the power of deciding for himself what is good and what is evil and of acting accordingly, a claim to complete independence by which man refuses to recognize his status as a created being. The first sin was an attack on God’s sovereignty, a sin of pride. This rebellion is described in concrete terms as the transgression of an express command of God for which the text uses the image of a forbidden fruit.”

2.       Gn 3:22 - Then Yahweh God said, ‘See, the man has become like one of us, with his knowledge of good and evil.^f He must not be allowed to stretch his hand out next and pick from the tree of life also, and eat some and live forever.^g Footnote^f  says “Man has sinned, constituting himself arbiter of what is good and what is evil, 2:17+; he has usurped the divine privilege.;” and  Footnote^g says “By nature man is mortal, v. 19; immortality was a pure gift of God which man’s disobedience forfeited, 2:17.”

3.       Is 14:14 - I will climb to the top of thunderclouds, I will rival the Most High.

The Second Reading is from Rm 5:12-19.

Verse 12 says:  Adam and Jesus Christ^h. Well then, sin entered the world through one man, and through sin death,ⁱ and thus death has spread through the whole human race because everyone has sinned. ^j Footnote ^h  says “Sin dwells within man, Rm 7:14-24; now death, sin’s chastisement, came into the world as a result of Adam’s fall, Ws 2:24; from this P{aul concludes that sin itself entered into all men through that first fall. We have here the doctrine of original sin. Its interest for Paul lies in the parallel it enables him to draw between deadly work of the first Adam and the more than sufficient compensation of the ‘second Adam’, vv. 15-19; 1 Co 15:21f, 25. It is as the new head of the human race, the great image in which God remakes his creation, Rm 8:29+; 2 Co 5:17+, that Christ is mankind’s savior.”;  Footnote ⁱ  says “Sin divides man from God. This separation is ‘death’, death spiritual and eternal; physical death is the symbol of it, cf. Ws 2:24; Heb 6:1+.”;  and Footnote ^j says  “Meaning disputed. Either by sharing in Adam’s sin, (‘all have sinned in Adam’) or else by their own personal sins, cf. 3:23. In this second interpretation the Greek could be translated ‘for this reason that everyone…’ a phrase introducing a situation actually occurring which allowed (eternal) death to threaten all mankind. Sin’s power which through Adam made its entrance into the world did in fact bring about eternal death by means of personal sin, itself an acquiescence in Adam’s rebellion (Paul is of course speaking of adults). A further translation is possible ‘by reason of which (i.e. of the death-situation brought about by Adam’s sin) everyone has sinned’.”

Parallel texts are:

1.       Gn 3:1+ - The serpent^a was the most subtle of all the wild beasts that Yahweh God has made. It asked the woman, ‘Did God really say you were not to eat from any of the trees in the garden?’ Footnote  ^a  says “The serpent is here used as a disguise for a being hostile to God and an enemy of man: this being is identified with the Adversary or the Devil (Jb 1:6+) in the Book of Wisdom, in the NT and in all Christian tradition.”

2.       Ws 2:24 - It was the devil’s envy that brought death into the world,ⁿ as those who are his partners will discover.  Footnote ⁿ says “‘devil’ in the LXX renders the Hebr. Satan, cf. Jb 1:6+. Here, the author is interpreting Gn 3, cf. Rv 12:9; 20:2; Jn 8:44; 1 Jn 3:8. The death introduced by the devil is spiritual, with physical death as its consequence, cf. 1:13+; Rm 5:12f.”

3.       Si 25:24 - Sin began with a woman, and thanks to her we all must die.^h Footnote ^h  says  “Alluding to the first sin. Apostle Paul also recalls the guilt of Eve, 2 Co 1:3 1T 2:14, but cf. Rm 5:1.”

4.       1 Co 15:21-22 - Death came through one man and in the same way the resurrection of the dead has come through one man (v. 21).Just as all men die in Adam, so all men will be brought to life in Christ.

5.       Rm 3:23 - Both Jew and pagan sinned and forfeited God’s glory^h. Footnote ^h  says “‘Glory’ in OT sense, Ex 24:16+, that is to say God as present to human beings and communicating himself to them more and more, a process that can only reach its climax in the messianic era, cf. Ps 84:9; Is. 40:5, etc.”

6.       Rm 6:23 - For the wage paid by sin is death; the present given by God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

7.       Gn 3:17,19 - To the man he said, Because you listened to the voice of your wife and ate from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat, Accursed be the soil because of you. With suffering you shall get your food from it every day of your life (v.17) With sweat of your brow you shall eat bread, until you return to the soil, from as you were taken from it; For dust you are, and to dust you shall return (v. 19

Verses 13 and 14 say: Sin existed in the world long before the law was given. There was no law and so no one could be accused of the sin of ‘law-breaking’, Yet death reigned over all from Adam to Moses, even though their sin, unlike that of Adam, was not a matter of breaking a law. Adam prefigured^k the One to come…Footnote ^k says “‘prefigured’, 1 Co 10:6+: the likeness, therefore, is not complete – hence the comparison, begun in v. 12 and interrupted by the long parenthesis of vv. 13 and 14, becomes a contrast in v. 5.”

Parallel texts for verse 14 are:

1.       Rm 4:15 - Law involves the possibility of punishment for breaking the law - only when there is no law can that be avoided^g Footnote ^g says “Lit. ‘For laws brings anger whereas (var. ‘for’)  where there is no law there is no law-breaking either’.”

2.       Rm 7:7 - The function of the Law^e.  Does it follow that the Law itself is sin? Of course not. What I mean is that I should not have known what sin was except for the Law. I should not for instance have known what it means to covet if the Law had not said you shall not covet. Footnote ^e  says “In itself the Law is holy and good since it expresses God’s will, 7:12-15, 1 Tim. 1:8, it is the glorious prerogative of Israel, Rm. 9:4, but cf. 2:14f. And yet it seems to have been a failure: in spite of the law the Jews are sinners like everyone else, Rm. 2:21-27; Ga. 6:3; Ep 2:3, and obedience to it even makes them so confident, Rm 2:17-20; 3:27; 4:2,4; 9:31f; Ph 3:9; Ep 2:8, that they are shut off by it from the grace of Christ, Ga 6:12; Ph 3:18; cf. Ac 15:1; 18:13; 21:21. In short, the Law is powerless to make any man just, Ga 3:11,21f; Rm 3:20; cf. Heb 7:19. Paul’s argument, to which polemic lends a tone of paradox, is that this apparent failure of the Law is due to the nature of the Law itself and to the part it was meant to play in the history of salvation. The Law gives information – it does not give spiritual strength. No law, whether Mosaic or otherwise, not even the primordial command given to Adam, cf. vv 9-11, can prevent sin, in fact the law makes it worse: 1. Because though the law is not the source of sin, it be comes the instrument of sin by arousing concupiscence, Rm 7:7f; 2. Because by informing the mind it increases the fault, which becomes a conscious ‘transgression’, 4:15; 5:13; 3. Because the only remedy law offer is punishment, 4:15, curse, Ga 3:10, condemnation, 2 Co 3:9, death, 2 Co 3:6; hence it can be called ‘the law of sin and death’, Rm 8:2; cf. 1 Co 15:56; Rm 7:13. Nevertheless God willed this defective system, though as a temporary period of schooling, Ga 3:24, to make people conscious of their sin, Rm 3:19f; 5:20; Ga 3:19, and to teach them to look for justification solely to the grace of God, Ga 3:22; Rm 11:32. Since this state of things is only for a time it has to give way before the fulfillment of the promise made, before the Law, to Abraham and his descendants, Ga: 3:6-22; Rm 4. Christ has put an end to the Law, Ep 2:15; cf. Rm 10:4, satisfying its demands by dying a sinner’s death, Ga 3:13; Rm 8:3; Col 2:14, but at the same he ‘fulfills’, cf. Mt 5:17; 3:15, all that is of the positive value in the Law, Rm 3:31; 9:31; 10:4. He emancipates the sons from the guardianship of the tutor, Ga 3:25f. With him they are dead to the Law, Ga 2:19; Rm 7:4-6; cf. Col 2:20, from which he has ‘redeemed’ them, Ga 3:13, in order to make them sons by adoption, Ga 4:5. Through the promised Spirit he gives to mankind thus renewed, Ep 2:15+, the inward strength to do all the good things prescribed by the Law, Rm 8:4f. This order of grace, superseding that of the old Law, may still be called a law, but it is ‘the law of faith’, Rm 3:27, ‘the law of Christ’, Ga 6:2, ‘the law of the Spirit’, Rm 8:1, and love is the essential precept, Ga 5:14; Rm 13:8f; cf. Jm 2:8.”

Verses 15, 16, 17, 18 and 19 say: But the gift itself considerably outweighed the fall. If it is certain that through one man’s fall so many^l  died, it is even more certain that divine grace, coming through the one man, Jesus Christ, came to so many as an abundant free gift. The results of the gift also outweigh the results of on man’s sin: for after one single fall came judgment with a verdict of condemnation, now after many falls comes grace with its verdict of acquittal. If it is certain that death reigned over everyone as the consequence of one man’s fall, it is even more certain that one man, Jesus Christ, will cause everyone to reign in life who receives the free gift that he does not deserve, of being made righteous. Again, as one man’s fall brought condemnation on everyone, so the good act of one man brings everyone life and makes them justified. As by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by one man’s obedience many will be made righteous.^m  Footnote ^l says “The word ‘many’ means all mankind, cf. v. 18; see Mt 20:28.”; and Footnote ^m says “Not only at the Last Judgment (for Paul regards justification as a present condition, cf. 5:1, etc.)’ but progressively as each individual becomes reborn in Christ.”

Parallel texts are:

1.       Is 53:11 - His soul’s anguish over he shall see the lightⁱ and be content. By his sufferings shall my servant justify many ^j, taking their faults on himself. Footnote ^j  says “‘By his suffering’ corr. following one  Hebr. MS; ‘By his knowledge’ Hebr. Before ‘servant’ Hebr. inserts ‘the just one’.”

2.       Ga 3:19 - What then was the purpose of adding the Law? This was done to specify crimes,ⁱ until the posterity came^j to whom the promise was addressed. The law was promulgated by angels,^k assisted by an intermediary. Footnote ⁱ  says “ On the meaning of this terse statement, lit. ‘on account of the crimes’, cf. Rm 7:7f+.”; Footnote  ^j says  “Lit. ‘Why then the Law? It was passed on account of crimes until that posterity came…’ Var. ‘Why then the law of works? It was added until that posterity came…’; and Footnote ^k  says “In Jewish tradition angels were present at Sinai when the Law was given. The ‘intermediary’ is Moses, cf. Ac 7:38+.”

Homily:

The desert temptation of Jesus Christ is similar and is a copy of the desert temptation of Israel. Let us the comparison and similarities between the desert temptation of Jesus Christ and the desert temptation of Israel:

The desert is a school where the Shema is taught and practiced.  The Shema consists in this: Yahweh is the only one God among the many other gods which one must worship alone; love him with one’s whole strength (by fasting), with one’s whole mind (by prayer), and with one’s whole heart (by almsgiving).

If Israel was put by God into this school of faith, which is the desert, for 40 years in order to learn the Shema, so did Jesus Christ went also into this school (desert) for 40 days and nights in order to fulfil the Shema and to perfect the three Jewish spiritualties of fasting, prayer and almsgiving, which was transformed by Apostle Paul into faith (prayer), hope (fasting) and love or charity (almsgiving) (1 Co 13:13). And as Apostle said that “So faith, hope, love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love”, Peter Chrysologus said “If you pray, fast; and if you fast, give alms”, therefore, almsgiving, since this is love or charity, is also the greatest among the three Jewish or Lenten spirituality. Alsmgiving is the climax of the Jewish spirituality, while love or charity is the climax of the Christian Shema.

What is the relationship of the Shema with the story of the fall of man (1^st Reading) and the First Adam (2^nd Reading). Jesus Christ, by fulfilling the Jewish Shema of fasting, prayer and almsgiving, and by perfecting them into the Christian Shema of faith, hope and charity (love) is the New (Second) Adam with a new mind, new heart and new strength, able to believe, hope and love in a new way (Refer to my unpublished book, “New Mind, New Heart and New Strength –Paradigm of the New Man” which enables man to worship God wholly, solely and holily.

The following is an excerpt from my unpublished book  entitled “Initiating Into the Christian Mysteries”:

The “Shema Israel” was the clarion call before for Israel to love their God as the only one whom they have to recognize as the only Lord whom they will serve with their whole mind, heart and strength, to be seen against the backdrop of the rampant polytheism of their neighbors, such as, the Medians, Persians, Mesopotamians, Syro-Phoenicians, Egyptians, etc. Their love for their God was fulfilled by Israel by means of the three spiritualties which had been taught to them by an angel in the desert. These three spiritualties are: prayer, fasting and almsgiving. These three spiritualties were given as tools in order to fight against the three desert temptations of: bread, miracles, and idols.

            During the time of Jesus Christ, he continued to practice the three Jewish spiritualties because he underwent the same experience of the desert temptation just as Israel of old, which he fought with the same spiritualties of prayer, fasting and almsgiving (Cf. Mt. 4:1-11; Mk. 1:12-13; Lk. 4:1-13).

            But these three OT Jewish spiritualties had been perfected by Jesus Christ by giving it new meaning and interpretation (Cf. Mt. 6:1-18) and a new fulfillment in his own flesh. For Jesus Christ, the new fulfillment of the Shema is found in his climbing the cross of death in order to fulfill the two commandments, or will of God, which are:  to love God (Dt. 6:1-5), which is represented by the vertical arm of the cross, and to love neighbor as one’s self (Lev. 19:18), which is represented by the horizontal arm of the cross. The NT Shema then is pictured in the cross of Jesus Christ, which has become the Christian symbol, fulfilled by Jesus Christ in his humanity.

            The fulfillment of the Shema by the Christians, to fulfill it according to the spirit of Jesus Christ how he fulfilled the two commandments of God in his own flesh, by means of perfecting the three Jewish spiritualities of prayer, fasting and almsgiving, in the context of the Tetrad of Virtues which the apostle Paul called faith (for prayer), hope (for fasting) and charity (for almsgiving) (Cfr. 1 Co. 13:13), as a way of experiencing the suffering and death on the cross of Jesus Christ in order to fulfill the Shema. But according to Apostle Paul, the greatest of these three Christian (or theological) virtues or spiritualties, the greatest of them all, is charity (=almsgiving).

            Hence, Peter Chrysologus had once said, “If you pray, fast; if you fast, give alms”, as a way of implementing the three Jewish spiritualties by Christians. Therefore, the three spiritualties of the Shema are found intimately related and connected to the reality of electricity. Electricity needs to be produced, distributed and consumed.

            The comparison of an electricity being produced is the part of prayer to God (=faith),  because through prayer we produce everything we need in life by asking them from God through entreaty (Cf. Mt. 7:7-11, Lk. 11:9-13; Jh. 14:13-14). Hence, prayer is similar to an electric generator which produces electricity.

            The comparison of electricity being distributed is the part of almsgiving, because the good things which we receive through prayer are shared and distributed to others through almsgiving. The surest sign that all which we have asked from God in prayer had been granted, and therefore our prayer is effective, can be seen in the largeness of our alms and the frequency of our almsgiving.

            The comparison of an electricity being consumed is through fasting (=hope), because the lesser the electric consumption, the lesser is our electric bill. Likewise, in the spiritual plane, the lesser we consume of material food or things, the lesser is our need to work or crave for them. We can lessen our excessive cravings and desire for material things or food only through regular fasting. “