Lent: Time to Be Restored

Temptation is a concept that many of us don’t know of as little children. We can’t pinpoint what temptation is. It’s because sin is not something we really know of. To sin, we have to have as level of free choice and knowledge in what we’re doing. We’re not really capable of that until we have a sense of what is right and wrong and responsibility for our actions which happens when we are little older.

As we grow and get older we recognize how torn we can be in between what is good and what is evil. Knowing this, we can say that no one becomes a great sinner all at once.

At first, we regard sin with horror. We are afraid and make great promises that we will never do such and such a thing. We are afraid to be caught doing something. We regret it and want to make things right immediately. I think this is a good thing. This is part of our human innocence.

However, if we endure and continue in sin, there comes a time when we can lose this sensation of feeling wrong in what is not good. It could get to the point where we feel nothing, we grow callous, or even worse, delighting and being happy in what is wrong.

This is what St Paul is telling the people of Ephesus to AVOID becoming.

In sin, the life of God in our soul dies. Our relationships with others is hurt and broken. Sin is to make us unhappy. Sin darkens our minds. Leaves us in confusion. This is devastating. This is exactly what Christ came to rescue us from.

Here St Paul is warning these Christians: Don’t become so hard hearted. Where your consciences don’t feel the great tragedy of sin. DON’T LIVE LIKE THIS ANYMORE.

The beautiful thing is that the tragedy and death of sin borne of temptation is always couples with the hope of being alive again in the mercy and love of God.

Jesus today is led into the desert by the spirit to be tempted. When someone is led by the Spirit of God it’s usually to do something good. But here it’s almost suggesting that Temptation is willed by God.

WE’RE TRYING TO NOT BE LED IN TEMPTATION AND JESUS HERE IS LED INTO THE DESERT TO BE TEMPTED BY THE SPIRIT.

But here, temptation is not meant to MAKE us sin— it is meant to enable us to conquer sin. It’s not meant to make us bad, it is meant to make us good. It is not meant to weaken us, it is meant to make us emerge stronger and purer from the ordeal.

People think it’s a very human thing to sin. Yes IT IS COMMON, but it’s not normal. Sin doesn’t belong to humanity. Actually, sin makes us less than who we are.

If we continue to lie, we will begin to believe that it is a normal thing to live far from the truth. Everyone does it.

If we continue to gossip, we’ll say it’s not like we’re lying, we’re telling the truth. It becomes normalized.

If we endure in resentment, unforgiveness, drunkenness, impurity, serving our lustful passions, getting revenge, and more, we begin to believe sin is normal but my friends.

SIN IS NOT NORMAL. SIN DOESN’T MAKE US MORE HUMAN, IT MAKES US LESS HUMAN. BECAUSE IT MAKES US LESS HAPPY. LESS THAN WHO WE ARE AND ARE CALLED TO BE.

If you’re thinking why is Father Peter coming at me like this. God tells Isaiah, “Declare to my people their transgression, to the house of Jacob their sins.” Why?

The people Isaiah is sent to is a people who wanted to seek God and draw near to him yes. They even fasted. They’re surprised that God isn’t acknowledging this? Why isn’t he? Why does he send Isaiah, because all the while they’re fasting here’s what they were doing:

you oppress your workers and people who work for

you you’re seeking your own pleasures

you fight with the people around you

God said this type of living is not the type that will allow your voice to be heard by God while fasting.

Instead, God clarifies that the fasting that you’re supposed to be doing is to delight and be happy in doing what is good. It’s to lead you to break the cycles of sin, selfishness, self seeking behavior and lead us to live our life to be guided by love and acts of charity.

As we begin this Season of Lent and Fasting, we have to begin to say to ourselves “I fast, pray, and give alms because I am a sinner” and because I see my sin as something “abnormal” and the cause of my misery and confusion.

I enter this desert with Jesus to die to my sins in Lent to come out of Lent brought to life.