It is an ancient tradition that we read the gospel of the temptation of Jesus on the first Sunday of Lent. There is the obvious connection that Jesus spends forty days in the wilderness, but there are deeper reasons. In each of the synoptic gospels we are told how, before his ministry begins, Jesus, filled with the Spirit, encounters the spirit of evil. It is what his ministry is all about. It is what our lives are all about. To overcome evil with goodness is the constant challenge of the gospel.

In the longer narratives in Matthew and Luke we are given what amounts to a profound reflection on the nature of temptation. To use God-given powers for selfish ends is a temptation rife in our modern times. To worship the source of evil recalls our modern confusion about what is morally good and morally bad. To put God to the test is similarly familiar. Jesus withstands each of these tests. Our gospel ends with the departure of the devil ‘to return at the appointed time’. Luke knows that the critical time will come at Calvary. 

The third and final section of Luke’s Sermon on the Plain begins: And he told them a parable. There are actually four parables, three of which we read today. They are all about how to be a good disciple.

The blind cannot lead the blind. And a disciple cannot be a good disciple unless he or she has learned from the teacher. Everyone who is fully trained is like the teacher who knows how to cure the blind. Before you can be a good disciple and teach others you must take care of yourself. Do not try to take a speck out of your brother’s eye until you have taken the board out of your own. Finally, only when you have purified yourself can you produce the good works that the teacher requires. Discipleship asks us to produce good deeds. But to produce them requires the integrity and purity of heart found in the teacher. When people see your good deeds they will know that this is because you have a good heart.

The final parable, which we do not read today, is about building on the solid foundation of rock and not on sand. This is the only way to face the difficulties a disciple will encounter and survive. 

Many consider mercy to be the same as pity and that being merciful can make one feel superior to the offender. Today’s Scripture readings, through, invite us to a more nuanced understanding of mercy that we must aspire to if our lives are to be holy.

Today’s Gospel, which is part of Luke’s sermon on the plain, is a teaching on loving one’s enemies. From a practical point of view, we are told that we should treat others as we would want to be treated. More important, from a God-centered point of view, we are told to be merciful like our heavenly Father, who is kind to everyone, even the ungrateful and the wicked. The Greek word translated here as “kind” (Lk 6:35) is chrestos, meaning “useful”  or “kindly”. Ironically, it was a common name for slaves in the ancient world.

Simon-Peter had already witnessed the healing of his mother-in-law. Now he experienced the miraculous haul of fishes. Like Isaiah, he found himself utterly confronted by divine holiness. He responds as if that were the case. Notice how, aware of his own unworthiness, Peter says, Depart from me for I am a sinner, O Lord. Like Isaiah, Peter, too, is challenged by God’s vast holiness. Like Isaiah, he too, is confronted with his own moral, psychological and spiritual reality. And like Isaiah, he too, experiences the transforming power of grace. Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men. The pattern is clear. God’s call always involves three things: an encounter with holiness, the acceptance of one’s own wounded reality, and the touch of transforming grace. It is important for us to remember, as well, that God always acts divinely and we always act in a human way. Vocation draws us into the dance between two very different ways of acting. Are we ready to join the liberating dance of Spirit? Are we ready to respond to the attraction of God? Are we ready to walk in the manner of Christ, bearers of holiness and compassion in a lost world?

Last week we saw that after John the Baptist was taken Jesus called Peter, Andrew, James and John. They then moved to Capernaum where Jesus found a house and began his public ministry. He did this by engaging in two closely related actions. He went first to the synagogue to teach and then, while he was there, he performed a deliverance. In telling us this story Mark makes two points about Jesus’ person and mission. First, Jesus teaches and liberates in a new way with great personal authority and power. Then his fame spreads through all the country. In other words, divine revelation is a union of word and deed. The lesson is clear: Jesus’ word is a word of power, an active word that liberates the receptive human spirit. The invitation to each of us today is to open our lives more fully to Jesus’ liberating word and action. Are we ready to allow him to bring God’s work in our lives and the cosmos to glorious completion?

Last Sunday we meditated on the first part of Jesus’ startling sermon on Isaiah 61 in the synagogue at Nazareth. Today we meditate on the second part. The people are astonished and perplexed because they know Jesus and his family. Then comes the rejecting proverb, Physician heal thyself! It is found only here. In the face of such a reaction, coupled with the attempt to hurl him from the cliff that concludes the passage, is it any wonder Jesus calls attention to the miracles for Gentiles performed by Elijah and Elisha? Can you hear the living echoes of Jeremiah’s universal call? What about Luke’s insistence that Jesus was conceived, anointed, filled and sealed by the Spirit? The core of the message is simplicity itself: because of Israel’s rejection of the Messiah, the Gospel goes forth to the Gentile world. How are we to understand the consequences for an Ireland that in its turn joins that wave of rejection? Are we open to the Spirit or to the desires of the world?

This Sunday’s gospel shows our reluctance to leave the Christmas season behind. It tells of the third of the ‘manisfestations’ of Jesus associated with the Christmas season, the others being the Epiphany and the Baptism of the Lord.

They key to understanding the place of today’s gospel in our liturgy is the statement that ‘He let his glory be seen.’  The Gospel of John contains seven major signs by which the true identity of Jesus, his glory, is made known. The transformation of water into wine tells us that Jesus brings a new time, a time of richness and fulfillment. An enormous amount of wine is provided. Although the ‘hour’ of Jesus, the hour of his death and resurrection, has not yet come, this sign is a pointer towards the ‘glory’ of Jesus.

The role of the mother of Jesus, who is addressed by Jesus as ‘Woman’, is significant. As in the stories of Jesus’ birth, so here in John, she collaborates with God’s ways in a humble and self-giving manner.  She is the woman of the new covenant, as Eve was the woman of the old.

Luke offers us a vision of the baptism of Jesus that differs in several ways from that of Mark. Luke paints a picture of people wondering about the messiah. He depicts a Jesus who, the last to be baptised by John, is praying when the Holy Spirit descends on him in bodily form like a dove. Then the heavenly voice speaks. After he is anointed Messiah, Jesus’ public ministry, his life as God’s faithful son confronting the darkness in the world, his life as God’s faithful servant confronting the reality of suffering in the world, begins. Note that not all of John’s disciples followed Jesus. What about us? Do we forget the link Luke draws between the Spirit and prayer in today’s gospel? Do we identify Jesus as God’s Son? Are we ready to welcome Jesus into our hearts at the start of this New Year? Are we ready to accept him as Lord of the year ahead and walk with him in his ways of prayer and service?

The story of the magi carries with it an extraordinary richness. In it the evangelist teaches us about the mission of the Son of God. Jesus is ‘made manifest’ (epiphany = manifestation) as Messiah not only for his own people, but for those who come ‘from the east’, for all the peoples of the earth. At the same time this is the Messiah heralded by the prophets. The Scriptures are fulfilled.

This Messiah is born into danger, as the cruel tyrant, known to history as ‘Herod the Great’, is the first to threaten his life. The gift of myrrh alludes to the death he is to suffer. The presentation of gifts from the peoples of the world completes the Christmas scene. The magi represent the nations, but also the age-old quest among the peoples of the earth for true wisdom. This wisdom is found in Christ.

Apart from the stories about Simeon and Anna and their impact on Mary and Joseph, today’s gospel focusses attention on the growth of the Christ-child to maturity and wisdom at the heart of his family. As a fully human child Jesus, like all of us, had to grow physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. He also grew in wisdom (the Greek word used by Luke includes insight, skill and intelligence). That is how he was able to bring benefit to others and glory to God. And the best way to grow like that is as a cherished person in a loving family given every opportunity to grow and develop. That is how we understand the achievement of Jesus who reveals the wholeness proper to each stage of human development. Look at your family with appreciation today and pray for all children to be nurtured and cherished, surrounded by peace, love, tenderness and care. Then pray blessings on your own children and grandchildren, nieces and nephews, and all the other members of your own family and those of your neighbours and friends.