CHALLENGED TO DIE TO SIN AND TO RISE AGAIN TO THE NEW LIFE OF CHRIST.

The readings....

Having disobeyed God by eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, Adam brought the curse of death upon them and their descendants. [Gen. 2:7-9, 16-8, 25; 3:1-7]

"For just as the disobedience of one person the many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one person (Christ) the many will be made righteous." [Rom. 5:12-9]

"After being baptised, Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil." [Mt. 4:1-11]

The homily...

My Christian friends, today, we have gathered to celebrate the First Sunday of Lent. This is the time of the year when two things happen. First, all the catechumens make their final preparations to receive the Sacrament of Baptism. Secondly, Catholics are challenged to die to sin so they can rise again to the new life in Christ.

From the First Reading, we learned the origin of sin. The Lord warned Adam, "You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die." Having disobeyed God by eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, Adam and all his descendants were called to suffer death.

From the Second Reading that is taken out of the Letter of Paul to the Romans, St. Paul traces the origin of sin to Adam. He explains that because sin came into the world through one man and death came through sin, so death spreads to all, because all have sinned. At the same time, the Apostle Paul reminds us of the hope that we have in the new life through the obedience of Jesus Christ. Just as the trespass of one, Adam, led to condemnation for all, so the act of righteousness of Jesus leads to justification and life for all. Through the obedience of one Person, Jesus Christ Himself, many will be made righteous.

Considering today's readings and their harmony with the beginning of Lent that is a time when Catholics are challenged to die to sin so they can rise again to the new life in Christ, we are called to search our hearts and to ask ourselves what change we can make in our lives so we can grow in holiness.

Jesus gives us three advices in spiritual wisdom to apply to our lives. First of all, we must worship the Lord our God and serve only Him. Often, when Christians read this passage, they say to themselves that they have no problem with that command since they have no idols. By thinking this way, they miss the point! God wants to be FIRST in the lives of all. He does not want anyone to worship his spouse or his children more than Him. He does not want us to worship our homes, our cars or our money more than we worship Him. Nor does He want us to worship your addictions more than we worship Him.

If those who are married can take 10 minutes each week to say to their spouse, "I love you!", then they should take 20 minutes each week to say the same words to God, placing Him above all. If some can spend 2 hours a week playing Bingo or gambling on the VLT's, then he should spend 4 hours a week in his personal communion with God, assuring God that He is getting more time by placing Him first. This is what it means to place God first.

Secondly, Jesus tells us not to put the Lord God to the test. This reminds me of an event that happened a few years ago between a 10 year old boy and his single-parented mother. The boy asked his mother for a $ 60.00 computer game. The mother reminded the boy that because of her limited financial resources, if he obeyed all month, as agreed, he would get one game per month. Not being overly concerned with the managing decision of his mother, the boy told her that he wanted the game now and if he did not get it, he would not obey her in anything, making her life miserable.

Looking at this example, we know that your Heavenly Father is a loving Father who disciplines us, allowing us to bear some crosses in life so we may spiritually grow in virtues. God knows what is best for us. He makes the management decisions. Jesus tells us not to put God to the test by demanding what we want. We, being mature adults, should all know by now that when we try to manage our own lives, we only make a mess of it. We need God's guidance in all things. Not knowing the Wisdom of God, we have no way of knowing exactly what God wants from us for the growth of our spiritual being. The only way we can achieve this spiritual growth in holiness is by trusting in God. As such, it would be disrespectful towards God to demand that He give us what we want or else we will cut Him off from our lives. To do so will only hurt us. It is the same with the boy who told his mother that he would not obey her if he did not get his computer game. In reality, he was only making his own life miserable.

The third wisdom that Jesus gives us is, "One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God." From those words that Jesus spoke at the beginning of His ministry, He surely was thinking of the Last Supper that He would be celebrating with the Apostles three years later. We know that the bread is the bread of life, the Most Holy Eucharist.

What did Jesus mean when He said that we cannot live by bread alone? We know that we receive the grace of God by attending the celebration of the Holy Mass and by enjoying the Most Holy Eucharist that is the Bread of Life. What Jesus was saying is that the Christian life involves more than just going to Sunday Masses and receiving the Bread of Life. We have to live your faith in Christ on a daily basis. To live the Christian life of faith, we must obey every word that Jesus has spoken, the words that are found in the Holy Bible. We must love one another. We must share with the needy. We must care for the sick. We must feed the hungry. We must forgive others. And the list continues...

Today, we must take the first step to look at what sin we continue to encourage in our lives. We must say to ourselves, "That is enough - that has to go!" We must discontinue enjoying the sin that obstructs our spiritual growth in Jesus Christ. We are called to let that sin die, now and here. Dying in that sin, we must bury it. Then, we must rise to our new life in Christ, being raised to a higher level in your spiritual growth.

My friends, today, I encourage you all to go home and to think of this message. Sincerely reflect on what must be changed in life. Then, let us turn to the Lord Jesus and ask Him to help us put to death our sinful nature so we may rise with Him in our new life. May God blesses you all in this spiritual challenge!

Total: 1149 words

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