Fr. John Detisch Homily March 6, 2022

[Music] glory to you word of god lord jesus christ glory to you word of god lord jesus christ your words o lord our spirit and life you have the words of everlasting life glory to you word of god lord jesus christ [Music] my friends the lord be with you this is a reading from the holy gospel according to luke glory to you lord filled with the holy spirit jesus returned from the jordan and was led by the spirit into the desert for 40 days to be tempted by the devil he ate nothing during those days and when they were over he was hungry the devil said to him if you are the son of god command this stone to become bread jesus answered him it is written one does not live on bread alone then he took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a single instant the devil said to him i shall give to you all this power and glory for it has been handed over to me and i may give it to whomever i wish all this will be yours if you worship me jesus said to him in reply it is written you shall worship the lord your god and him alone shall you serve then he led him to jerusalem made him stand on the parapet of the temple and said to him if you are the son of god throw yourself down from here for it is written he will command his angels concerning you to guard you and with their hands they will support you lest you dash your foot against a stone jesus said to him in reply it also says you shall not put the lord your god to the test when the devil had finished every temptation he departed from him for a time my friends the gospel of the lord praise to you lord jesus christ i remember giving a homily to the school kids one time a while back and it it it might have been on this gospel and one of the other gospel translations of satan tempting jesus and i was sharing with them about the common phrase maybe i brought it up here the common phrase speak of the devil and for whatever reason that phrase is often used when we are maybe talking about someone and then they come into the room and at that moment we say oh speak of the devil i was sharing with the kids what the entire phrase really is the entire phrase is speak of the devil and he will appear that's the phrase and i told him that i believe that the meaning of that phrase is that the more we talk about satan the more we worry about him or think of him or whatever the more power that we give him that's what i was trying to get the kids to realize and the only way that satan has any power on this earth is if we give it to him so i was trying to tell the kids don't speak about the devil and he won't appear sadly enough i think with each passing day i really believe satan is very real he is alive and he's well and he's living among us in our world because we see so much of it in people's behavior or certainly in events of our lives just look what putin is doing to the people of ukraine he may very well be satan himself with what he's doing what about those guys that flew the planes into the world trade center and then and they did that in the name of god these gang members from ms-13 the brutality vicious brutality innocent people just walk the streets of new york and chicago now you know what people are doing attacking elderly citizens just walking the sidewalks we're on the subways evil is alive and well in our country in our world and it cannot be written off as oh well they're probably mainly disturbed well maybe some of them yes so many more no not at all they're just pure evil the next time you watch mel gibson's passion of the christ which a lot of people who do during lent it and that accurately describes and portrays the last 12 hours of jesus life next time you watch it take notice of the slithering hooded creature that appears everywhere it's in the background during the scourging he's quietly walking along with jesus as he's carrying the crossbeam to calvary he's there among the crowd when jesus is dying on the cross and i really believe that mel gibson was trying to drive home two very distinct points that satan was truly present during the darkest time in human history which was the final hours of jesus life and he's trying to teach us the truth that satan is present throughout our world throughout our lives now with that in mind i also think luke is telling us today that jesus showed us the way to conquer satan is to never give him any power saint james once wrote resist the devil and he will flee you filled with the holy spirit jesus returned from the jordan and was led by the spirit into the desert for forty days to be tempted by the devil he ate nothing during these days and when they were over he was hungry now jesus hadn't done anything yet nothing hadn't preached a single word hadn't called anyone to follow him hadn't healed anyone and done a thing he had just been baptized by john in the jordan and a few days before that he's probably making a table or a chair as a carpenter but as luke says he was filled with the holy spirit and was led by the spirit talk about having armor wow luke points out specifically that he was hungry emphasizing the reality that jesus is fully human and he hungers as we do luke introduces us to the presence of satan the devil and he does it at the very beginning of jesus mission in ministry the devil challenges jesus divinity to take away the human hunger remember not eating a thing for a month and 10 days the devil offers him power over the whole world the devil finally challenges jesus as the son of god to use his own power to protect himself jesus hadn't done a single thing yet and preached a word hadn't healed a single leper nothing he hadn't eaten a thing for a month and 10 days so probably being now the most vulnerable he'd ever been in his 30 years so far but as luke says again filled with the holy spirit led by the spirit jesus conquered and dismissed whatever power satan thought he had not with just the scriptures but jesus conquered satan mostly with his human strength human determination and powerful faith in his father and in himself as the human son of god filled with the holy spirit jesus the messiah son of god didn't really conquer the power of satan himself jesus of nazareth the son of mary and joseph did the conquering of evil was purely human when the devil finished every temptation he departed from him for a while he'd be back time and time again he would be there in the garden during the agony he'd be there on the way to calvary he would be there when jesus thirsted on the cross and i'm sure he just smiled as they put jesus in that tomb but when they found that tomb empty satan would realize that jesus did it to him again jesus pushed satan back the human jesus again and forever my friends evil does exist it is very real and each and every one of us faces it every single day of our lives that is a reality that is life as we know it period and the discussion at the very same time it is nothing to worry about nor is it editing to fear not if we are people of real christian faith because the human christ showed us how to conquer it he showed us how to push back with our human lives and faith the world has become a very secular very sinful place to be sure and truth be told it always was because the human person can be very weak and choose to give in to the weakness probably more in these times in our society than ever before but we're only human is a gutless cop-out it is a statement spoken from weakness jesus humanity pushed satan back daddy didn't do it for him he knew the spirit was within himself and he pushed satan back jesus did the son of joseph and mary we are every bit as human as he was we have the same spirit within us evil is real evil is here it is in our world it is in our lives we can push it back just as hard as jesus did me you the son of art and jeanette you can too i wish you god's peace so you

Channel: St. Jude the Apostle Parish

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Length: 12min 41sec (761 seconds)

Published: Sat Mar 05 2022