Resolve now:
Each week in Lent, I will take time to study the scriptures for the coming weekend to be better prepared to hear, understand, receive and be nourished by the Lord's Word in my mind and heart on Sunday!
The gospel passage for the First Sunday of Lent tells of Jesus' time in the desert and his being tempted by the Evil One. This year we hear Luke's account. I like the illustration to the left because it presents the temptation of Christ in the way I often experience temptation: in the half-light of shadows, seeming to sneak up on me out of nowhere, appearing harmless and innocent, beckoning...
The first reading, from Deuteronomy, does not pair obviously or with great strength with the day's Gospel but does offer us the heart of the Hebrew scriptures: a confession of faith based on thanksgiving for God's deliverance of his own in the Exodus.
The second reading, from Romans, serves as a call to Christians at the beginning of this holy season, that “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
