The Book of Deuteronomy forms a consistent thread weaving through this week’s readings. In our first reading, the Israelites are commanded to offer the first fruits of their land to the Lord in gratitude that: “…[the Lord] heard our cry…He brought us out of Egypt with his strong hand and outstretched arm.” Conscious of God’s blessings toward them, the people in turn offer some of their bounty back to God. In his Letter to the Romans, Paul cites Deut. 30:14: “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart.” At this moment in the Old Testament, the people of Israel were anxious about fulfilling the law they had been given, so God assured them that His command would not be beyond their reach, up in heaven or beyond the sea. Rather, he would bring His Words near to them—literally into them, so that they could obey the high calling placed upon them.

Finally, in today’s Gospel, Jesus quotes Deuteronomy three times in response to temptations from the devil. God’s word is in his heart and mouth, giving him the ammunition needed to repel the attacks of Satan. Satan’s desire is for Jesus to use his divine authority for personal gain, in a way that would go against his divine mission to liberate captives and bind up the brokenhearted (cf. Luke 4:17-18; Gadenz 94-95). But Jesus does not surrender to the temptation to glorify himself with earthly power and praise—rather he surrenders the “first fruits” of his earthly ministry to God, trusting his Father to glorify him at the appropriate time. Jesus’ perfect surrender to God’s will, his intimate knowledge of Sacred Scripture, and his trust in his Father provide a model for our own Lenten journeys through the desert. Though the road be long and full of temptations, Jesus desires to nourish us through Word and Sacrament, as his Father cared for him during his own time of privation. We need only ask. Let us pray to be always sustained by Christ’s word and by his body during the days and weeks to come.

Reflection by Parishioner Kathryn Wilmotte