Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan river and then “Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil” (Matthew 4:1). Both the Gospels of Mark and Luke have a similar narrative, placing Jesus at the Jordan River immediately before his temptation in the wilderness. While Christian tradition often describes Jesus’ temptation as occurring in a “desert,” the Greek word eremos primarily means a location that is isolated, uninhabited and unfit for pasture. Continue reading
Place of Temptation
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As the parish gets ready for the Lenten season, one of the things that always catches me by surprise – it shouldn’t, but it does – are the two very distinct liturgical omissions. It is as though the liturgy is also fasting right along with us. During Lent the Church does not sing (recite) the Gloria or speak the word “Alleluia” (right before the Gospel). It is as though they gave them up for Lent! Ever wonder why we observe these Lenten traditions? 
Traditions can be big or small, important and not. Not all traditions are created equal. If each one of us are to be a person faithful to Gods’ eternal covenant in Christ; if we are to be a church faithful to that covenant, then we must be a people who remember rightly and hold onto the Traditions that go to the heart of faith, the heart of the covenant. 
1 “(But) take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them; otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father. 2 When you give alms, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets to win the praise of others. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. 3 But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing, 4 so that your almsgiving may be secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you. 5 “When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on street corners so that others may see them. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. 6 But when you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you…. 16 “When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites. They neglect their appearance, so that they may appear to others to be fasting. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. 17 But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 18 so that you may not appear to be fasting, except to your Father who is hidden. And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you. 
If you have been following this blog for a while – first of all: thank you! Secondly you probably realize that by following the cycle of Liturgical readings I have been around the loop more than once. Many (or most) of the times, the Monday through Friday postings of gospel commentaries for the upcoming Sunday are re-posts of something from three years ago. For example, the posting for the week of February 4th (5th Sunday, Year C) was actually written about 6 years ago – updated a bit three years ago – and simply re-posted this year. That being said the following weeks were new as I had never had the need to provide a commentary on the gospels for the 6th, 7th, or 8th Sundays of Year C. Just a quirk of when Easter falls in a particular year. 
This weekend we have visiting priests/homilists, so I have a “preaching holiday” so to speak. The unusual thing is that this is the 
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