Genesis 2.7-9,3.1-7 | Romans 5.12-19 | Matthew 4.1-11

We begin the first week of Lent, this liturgical season of penance and conversion, in view of the solemnity of the resurrection of Jesus, Easter.

Today, the evangelist Matthew tells us about Jesus' temptations by the devil in the desert.

After being baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan River, Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, went into the desert and was led by the Spirit.

In this liturgical season that begins, with Jesus, let us enter the Lenten desert, allowing ourselves to be guided by the Holy Spirit.

In that desert, for forty days, Jesus was tempted by the devil. And He overcame the diabolical temptations with Scripture.

In this Lenten desert, the devil will also tempt us, because he does not want us to convert, to be saved, to return to God. Let us put on the armor of Scripture so that we may not be tempted and may be delivered from evil.

The devil tempted Jesus, who had fasted for forty days, proposing a miraculous solution to the problem of hunger. Quoting Scripture, Jesus told him that man shall not live by bread alone.

In this Lenten desert, with Jesus and the Spirit, let us fast, living more on the bread of Scripture than on material bread. Let us overcome gluttony and superfluity.

The devil tempted Jesus, proposing that He expose His life to danger so that God would protect Him. Quoting Scripture, Jesus told him that the Lord God should not be put to the test.

In this Lenten desert, with Jesus and the Spirit, let us live responsibly, as adults, caring for one another. Let us overcome recklessness and complacency.

Finally, the devil tempted Jesus, proposing that He prostrate Himself in worship to receive power and glory. Citing the Scriptures, Jesus told him that only the Lord God should be worshiped and served.

In this Lenten desert, with Jesus and the Spirit, let us reject the favors of the devil, trusting in the promises of God, the only one we worship and serve. Let us overcome excessive ambition and privileges.

The evangelist concludes by saying that when the temptation ended, the devil went away.

We must be vigilant. We cannot be distracted. The devil will tempt us all the time. He knows our weak points, and that is exactly where he will attack us. We will only win with Jesus, with the Spirit, and with the Scriptures.

Today the author of the book of Genesis tells us the story of Adam and Eve, who disobeyed the Creator, allowing themselves to be deceived by the lies of the serpent.

The author said that man was formed from the dust of the earth by the Lord God, and became a living being by the divine breath of life. He also said that the Lord God caused the tree of the knowledge of good and evil to sprout from the earth, and that man and woman were instructed not to eat of its fruit, lest they die.

Adam and Eve represent humanity, and the serpent represents evil. The Creator is responsible for order, for the cosmos. Evil is responsible for disorder, for chaos.

Even today, men and women are tempted to act like gods, deciding what is good and what is evil. Let us watch and pray with the words of Jesus: "Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil."

Today the apostle Paul speaks to us in his letter to the Romans about the comparison between the sinner Adam, through whom condemnation and death came, and the righteous Jesus, through whom justification and life came.

Paul said that Adam, the first man, was a provisional figure of the one who was to come, that is, Jesus. Where the first man failed, through disobedience and weakness in the face of evil, the definitive man succeeded, through obedience and strength over evil.

The apostle said that sin had passed to all men through Adam even before the Law was given to Moses - although the Law served only to identify sin, not to overcome it.

Finally, Paul said that the gift of God's grace was far superior and more effective than the sin of Adam and humanity.

God justified us through Jesus. He freed us from sin and death. In Jesus, we can overcome the temptations of evil.

Local: Praia Grande - SP, Brasil

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