Genesis 2:7-9; 3:1-7 / Romans 5:12-19 / Matthew 4:1-11
The season of Lent can be called a very spiritual season. Compared with all the other liturgical seasons of the year, the season of Lent has many more spiritual activities.
And of course, the mood is not as festive as like the season of Christmas; in fact Lent has a rather serious and sombre mood.
Even decorations are minimized and minimal, and we may have noticed that there are no floral decorations.
Even the music is sober with hymns invoking God's mercy and compassion for forgiveness and repentance.
We began the season of Lent on Ash Wednesday when we were marked with ashes and with fasting.
Ashes and fasting are symbols and acts of penance and we continue with Stations of the Cross on Fridays.
And for the 40 days of Lent, that will be the mood and direction, plus the call to go for Confession, especially towards the end of the season of Lent.
So, the season of Lent is a very spiritual season, with enough of spiritual activities to keep us focused.
The purpose of all that is to make us aware of the spiritual realities in our lives. And the one profound spiritual reality that must come across to us is the spiritual battle between good and evil.
In other words, it is about the devil going against God, and the Gospel reading tells us about this.
The gospel tells us that Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, and it was there that the devil took on Jesus.
In the harsh conditions of the wilderness, Jesus fasted for 40 days, after which He was very hungry.
The devil took advantage of that weakened condition of Jesus to tempt Him to give in to His human need.
And that was only the first of the three temptations. The devil tempted the humanity of Jesus by goading Him to use His divine powers as a quick solution to the problem.
But Jesus showed that self-denial and faithfulness to God are the weapons that will defeat the devil.
The devil couldn't overcome Jesus, and the gospel ends off with the devil leaving Jesus, and the angels appeared and looked after Him.
But that is not the end of the battle, because the devil now turns his focus on us, and the season of Lent is to remind us of this devilish threat.
Just as how the devil tempted Jesus, that will also be how the devil will tempt us. Just as how Jesus fought off the devil with self-denial and faithfulness to God, that will also be how we will be tested.
But let us remember that we are tested, not so much to expose our weakness, but to discover our strength.
For us who observed the obligatory fast and abstinence on Ash Wednesday, we will know how we were tested.
Some may forget the obligation because of the busyness of the day, and only to remember it later. It shows that we are so busy with the things of ourselves, that we forget about the things of God.
That's a test of self-denial, where we are to look out of ourselves and to turn our eyes to God.
And on the day of fasting and abstinence, we may feel exceptionally hungry, and begin to think about delicious food, and want to give in to eating.
That's a test of faithfulness, because we just have to endure in order to be strengthened.
When we deny ourselves and stay faithful to God, then God will certainly protect us and keep us safe.
Let us remember how the gospel ended off: Then the devil left Jesus, and the angels appear and looked after him.
When we deny ourselves and remain faithful to God, then God will send His angels to look after us.