This past weekend the gospel reading was from Matthew 4:1-11 when Jesus was preparing to begin his ministry and went to the desert to pray for 40 days. At the end of these days Jesus was tempted by the devil. This part of Jesus, being human, helps him to understand what we go through when we are tempted.
The part of this passage when Jesus said, “One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God,” made me stop and think about it for a while. What does this passage really mean to me? “By bread alone” does not necessarily mean food we eat, but the food we receive when we go to Mass, when we are part of a book club or when we sit quietly and listen for God to speak to us. To me “from the mouth of God” is when I sit quietly, not thinking or talking. It is when I am contemplating or meditating and I can hear God.
God gave us, humans, the ability to choose. Sometimes I wished that I did not have to make a choice because I was not sure if it was going to be the right one. You know even though I made the choice, good or bad, right or wrong, it seems that sometimes down the road the other choice came up again in a different opportunity. When that happened I had learned to be quiet, to listen and so making the choice did not seem as scary as the first time it came up.
During Lent, especially, I try to take the time to quiet myself, to listen and to let God in. When I do, then the next time when I have a choice or I am tempted I know that God is with me and I am ready to listen to what is the better choice.
What do you do when you have to make a choice? What do you do when you are tempted?
– Sr. Barb Knauf
Thank you for your encouragement to pause, pray, and let God in.
( I knew your Mom and Deacon Dad. May they rest In Peace!!)
Great thoughts for contemplation, thank you! What is my “by bread alone” and what do I consider “every… from the mouth of God”. And how important this is in my decision making.