And when the problems were not immediately solved, they question: “Is the Lord among us or not?

The second temptation: Having been fed with the manna, the people of Israel demanded that God prove that he cared for them by meeting all their needs. ”(Ex 17:7). And Moses reminds them, “Do not put the Lord your God to the test, as you tested him at Massah” (Dt 6:16).

Actually, examining myself I see such tendencies in my own self

Often we hear preachers say, “Faith is taking a blind leap!” Is that so? Is Jesus’ unwilling to take that leap from the pinnacle of the temple the lack of trust in his Father or is it the ultimate expression of faith? God does not have to show he cares for me through magic. I do not have to condition God even with my faith. I do not have to put the Lord to the test. I let God be God!

The third temptation: The Lord God desired to lead the people of Israel to the Promised Land – which was a symbol of the covenant between the Him and the people. The people focussed on a physical land, which was not yet in view (even to this day)! Even as Moses was on Mt Sinai, the people of Israel turned aside from the way the Lord had led them through. They worshipped a golden calf (Ex 32:8). The Lord God reminds them, I am the Lord your God (Dt ) – as we heard read in the first reading of today.

When faced with a similar situation, Jesus chooses to trust in his Father! Despite the promise of power over “all the kingdoms of the world”, Jesus prefers the heart of the human http://datingranking.net/costa-rica-chat-room/ person. He invites us to worship that which our heart is ultimately directed to: God alone!

7th Sunday of the Year _A

In the gospel text of today, as Jesus continues his ‘Sermon on the Mount,’ he reiterates, “You must therefore be perfect just as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Mt 5:48). In other words, Jesus is inviting us to imitate God himself, and in the words of the Evangelist Matthew: to be perfect! Continue Reading