THE FIRST SUNDAY IN LENT

February 14, 2016

 

By: Dcn. Francis Sotalbo

 

In today’s Gospel, Jesus conquers the temptations that the devil throws against Him in the wilderness. Before He was tempted, He was full of the Holy Spirit, (Luke 4:1). And returning to Galilee He was in the power of the Spirit. The ‘power of the Spirit’ is His extraordinary ability to overcome all the adversaries, difficulties and trials that comes His way. With this characteristic, He is always on top of the situation.

 

As Christ’s followers we must also possess this extraordinary ability.  Actually we have it already, because He promised it and He gave it to us. It is in our grasp, to unleash and to use for the fulfillment of the prayer “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven”.

 

If you will notice in the Gospel today, Jesus knows how to read the events around Him and how to control the situation. He sees the full picture and always anticipates what will happen. As with Jesus, it is within our ability to be always aware of what is going to happen around us. It is the power of the Spirit in us that enables us to discern or determine the results of the events in which we are involved.

 

As witnesses of Christ, we should allow the Holy Spirit to work through us and make us effective in delivering the message of hope, the message of God’s love, and the message of deliverance from the bondage of sin. Having this extraordinary gift, we can discern one’s character, one’s heart, one’s need, one’s desire, and one’s pain and problems. We can easily help and give provision for those in need, and greater achievements will be accomplished.

 

Having the power of the Spirit helps us see ahead of time. You can control the situation. We need not wait for what will happen, but we can always initiate, learn, evolve, and have the right attitude in handling any incident.

Jesus never worried about what people might do to Him. He knew how to handle any circumstance. And He did this just like any one of us can, by the power of the Holy Spirit. With this gift we can properly apply the Word of God and use it for the benefit of all His creation, including us, His people. I appeal to all of you brethren: receive, possess, enjoy, and keep the Holy Spirit, because that is the way to a normal Christian life.