First Sunday of Lent Year C
Entrance Antiphon
When he calls on me, I will answer him;
I will deliver him and give him glory,
I will grant him length of days.
First Reading: Deuteronomy 26:4-10. A reading from the book of Deuteronomy
The confession of faith of the elect.
Moses said to the people: ‘The priest shall take the pannier from your hand and lay it before the altar of the Lord your God. Then, in the sight of the Lord your God, you must make this pronouncement:
“My father was a wandering Aramaean. He went down into Egypt to find refuge there, few in numbers; but there he became a nation, great, mighty, and strong. The Egyptians ill-treated us, they gave us no peace and inflicted harsh slavery on us. But we called on the Lord, the God of our fathers. The Lord heard our voice and saw our misery, our toil and our oppression; and the Lord brought us out of Egypt with mighty hand and outstretched arm, with great terror, and with signs and wonders. He brought us here and gave us this land, a land where milk and honey flow. Here then I bring the first-fruits of the produce of the soil that you, Lord, have given me.” You must then lay them before the Lord your God, and bow down in the sight of the Lord your God.’
Responsorial Psalm: Be with me, Lord, when I am in trouble.
- He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
and abides in the shade of the Almighty
says to the Lord: ‘My refuge,
my stronghold, my God in whom I trust!’ (R.)
- Upon you no evil shall fall,
no plague approach where you dwell.
For you has he commanded his angels,
to keep you in all your ways. (R.)
- They shall bear you upon their hands
lest you strike your foot against a stone.
On the lion and the viper you will tread
and trample the young lion and the dragon. (R.)
- His love he set on me, so I will rescue him;
protect him for he knows my name.
When he calls I shall answer: ‘I am with you.’
I will save him in distress and give him glory. (R.)
Second Reading: Romans 10:8-13. A reading from the letter of St Paul to the Romans
The confession of faith of the believers in Christ.
Scripture says: The word, that is the faith we proclaim, is very near to you, it is on your lips and in your heart. If your lips confess that Jesus is Lord and if you believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, then you will be saved. By believing from the heart you are made righteous; by confessing with your lips you are saved. When scripture says: those who believe in him will have no cause for shame, it makes no distinction between Jew and Greek: all belong to the same Lord who is rich enough, however many ask for his help, for everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
Gospel Acclamation: Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ, king of endless glory! No one lives on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ, king of endless glory!
Gospel: Luke 4:1-13. A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke
Filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus was led by the Spirit through the wilderness where he was tempted.
Filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit through the wilderness, being tempted there by the devil for forty days. During that time he ate nothing and at the end he was hungry. Then the devil said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to turn into a loaf.’ But Jesus replied, ‘Scripture says: Man does not live on bread alone.’
Then leading him to a height, the devil showed him in a moment of time all the kingdoms of the world and said to him, ‘I will give you all this power and the glory of these kingdoms, for it has been committed to me and I give it to anyone I choose. Worship me, then, and it shall all be yours.’ But Jesus answered him, ‘Scripture says:
You must worship the Lord your God,
and serve him alone.’
Then he led him to Jerusalem and made him stand on the parapet of the Temple. ‘If you are the Son of God’, he said to him ‘throw yourself down from here, for scripture says:
He will put his angels in charge of you
to guard you,
and again:
They will hold you up on their hands
in case you hurt your foot against a stone.’
But Jesus answered him, ‘It has been said:
You must not put the Lord your God to the test.’
Having exhausted all these ways of tempting him, the devil left him, to return at the appointed time.
Gospel Reflection
The episode of the temptations is a clear indicator of the humanity of Jesus – he experienced doubt, uncertainty and fear just as we do. If the gospel intended to emphasise the divinity of Jesus, none of these temptations would have been an issue. We are told that Jesus was indeed tempted, not just pestered by the devil. The opportunities laid before Jesus were actually tempting to him. They challenged his resolve. They made Jesus question the sort of Messiah that he was to be: the all-conquering, powerful Messiah that the people expected; or the servant to the poor who will be tortured and put to death. Jesus is tempted to use his power to make his task easier or to display his authority to others. Had he chosen to do this, surely it would have been easier to get people’s attention – and that was the temptation: to take the easier path or stick to the more subtle, more personal, more difficult path.
Greg Sunter