I SUNDAY OF LENT – THE PROFESSION OF FAITH
Texts :
- Deuteronomy 26, 4-10
- Psalm 90 (91)Â ; Romans 10, 8-13
- Luke 4, 1-13 (Parallel texts in Matthew 4, 1-11 and Mark 1, 12-13)
Faith. Definition. Fides (in Latin): Trust, Fidelity, Faith: Faith is at the spiritual level. A historical faith linked to the people of God, a chosen people with its own history. The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Our fathers in the faith.
Deuteronomy 26, 4-10 Faith in the saving God. Before the Lord your God: ‘My father was a nomadic Aramean who went down to Egypt, where he lived as an immigrant with his small clan. There he became a great nation, powerful and numerous.
06 The Egyptians treated us badly and made us poor; they forced us into hard slavery.
07 We cried out to the Lord, the God of our fathers. He heard our voice and saw that we were in misery, suffering and oppression.
08 The Lord brought us out of Egypt with a strong hand and an outstretched arm, with terrifying deeds, signs and wonders.
It would be good to read and meditate on the whole of chapter 26 from 1 to 19.
Faith in Jesus: Romans 10:8-13 ‘Our salvation in Jesus’. ‘For if you affirm with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, then you will be saved. For it is with the heart that we believe in order to become righteous,
it is with the mouth that you affirm your faith in order to attain salvation’. This Jesus who was born, suffered, died and rose again. ‘For if Christ has not been raised, our faith is in vain. 1 Cor, 15,14, affirmed Saint Paul. To say that this Jesus lived before resurrecting.
The faith contained in our Creed: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. A Trinitarian faith that we need to understand and not just memorize. Jesus revealed the Father and his Word to us.
In Luke 4:1-13, Jesus overcomes and thwarts Satan’s temptations. Hunger, wealth and pride. If Jesus refuses to obey Satan, it is because he is faithful to his Father. Faithful to the Father who entrusted him with a special mission to save all humanity through his incarnation, his teaching, his passion, his death and his resurrection. For him to give in to the temptation of the devil would be an infidelity to the Father. Disobedience to God. It is a teaching for us humans, not a demonstration of strength or endurance.
04 Jesus replied: ‘It is written, ’Man does not live by bread alone: Man does not live by bread alone’.
08 Jesus answered, ‘It is written, ’You shall worship the Lord your God and him alone shall you worship.
12 Jesus answered him, ‘It is written, ’You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.
These three sentences addressed to Satan are a lesson for us. To remain faithful to God. A profession of faith.
For the Jubilee Year.
This invites us to conversion and true faith. To focus on the essentials of our faith so that we can go out to meet the Father with determination and confidence. Our life on this earth is a pilgrimage towards the Father who loves us. A merciful Father. In his 2016 book ‘The Name of God is Mercy’, Pope Francis says: ‘To open ourselves to God’s mercy, to open ourselves and our own hearts, to allow Jesus to come and meet us, by approaching the confessional with confidence. And try to be merciful to others.’
 The seven works of corporal mercy: feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty; clothing the naked; sheltering strangers; visiting the sick; visiting prisoners; burying the dead. P.119
Works of spiritual mercy: advising those who are in doubt; instructing the ignorant; exhorting sinners; consoling the afflicted; forgiving offences; patiently putting up with annoying people; praying to God for the living and the dead. In short, being close, knowing how to listen, advise and teach, above all through our witness’. Page 120-121
Confession of faith and profession of faith.
Peter: ‘You are the Messiah, the Son of God…’. Matthew 16, 16-17
The centurion: ‘Truly this man is the Son of God’ Mark 15, 39
Thomas: ‘My Lord and my God’. John 20, 28-29
As a personal commitment during this time of Lent and the Jubilee Year, do you have any doubts about your faith? Questions or points of clarification about your faith? About faith in God? About Jesus Christ? About the Holy Spirit or the Church? Can you find someone (a friend, relative, neighbour or priest) with whom you share these doubts?
Very inspiring, thank you! In fact, I had never before heard of the corporal and spiritual acts of mercy.