Sunday Reflections

There is a story about Leonardo da Vinci and his painting of ‘The Last Supper’ in Milan.  He decided that he would use the faces of the men in Milan for his models for the Apostles and Jesus.  He had a fixed idea of the Apostles, and wanted to choose the faces of men which portrayed the virtues and characteristics of the Apostles.  He decided to begin with Judas.  So, he went out into the streets and looked for the man who appears the most forgotten and abandoned, someone who was looked down upon by the other residents of Milan.  He found such a man, living on the street, and brought him to the monastery where he was painting ‘The Last Supper’.  As he began to paint the young man asked him about what he was painting, and Leonardo Da Vinci went into a detailed story of Jesus Christ – His birth, His life, His preaching and miracles, and finally, His death and resurrection.  The young man did not know much about Jesus and listened intently.  After finishing this face Leonardo paid him and sent him on his way, going out to look for a face to be used for the next Apostle.  Finally, at the end, he was prepared to paint the face of Jesus.  He went out into Milan to look for a man whose very presence showed forth charity and virtue, holiness and service of others.  And so, he found him!  After painting for some time the young man asked him, “Do you not recognize me?”, to which Leonardo responded “No, young man, I really don’t know people here in Milan”.  The young man responded, “It was my face, many months ago, that you used to paint the face of Judas”.*

This young man had been transformed by the faith and testimony that Leonardo Da Vinci shared with him. 

I thought of this story as I reflected on the gospel of this weekend, the First Sunday of the Lenten season (Luke 4:1-13).  Every First Sunday of Lent the gospel is on the temptations of Jesus by Satan.  What impressed me as I read and reflected on it was the strength of will that Jesus showed before such strong temptations that Satan put before Him.  After all, Jesus had been without food for forty days, and the devil, knowing what Jesus would most want as God-made-man, tempted Him with food.  Then he tempted Him with power and then to reveal Himself as the Messiah.  Jesus resisted, because He knew that this was not the Father’s will for him.  His mission was to do the will of the Father, and above all that was His concern.  During the forty days in the desert He devoted himself to prayer, and never took His eyes off what the Father wanted of Him.  Throughout His life and ministry, even before the pain of the cross, He never wavered from His mission.  He remained faithful to the Father, despite the hardship and difficulties. 

For us, too, the Lenten season should be about keeping faithful to the Father’s will.  We too experience temptation, and the devil knows our weaknesses too, and how to attack and pursue us to lead us into sin.  How easy it is to fall, when we take our eyes off the Lord, and depend solely on our human strength.  We are told that Jesus was “filled with the Holy Spirit” and that He was ”led by the Spirit”.  He was not alone.  Perhaps often during those forty days He called out, as the psalm reflects, “Be with me, Lord, when I am in trouble”.  We can relate to that situation in our own lives – feeling attracted to evil, being under attack by the devil or falling prey to bad example.  Our strength, like that of Jesus, is that we are not alone – the Holy Spirit is with us, that Holy Spirit we received in Baptism and Confirmation, that Holy Spirit that is with us each and every time we call out to the Lord, “Be with me, Lord, for I am in trouble”.   The Spirit comes to us in our need and fills us with grace to say ‘No’ to the temptation and sin, and ‘Yes‘ to new life and doing the Father’s will. 

What is our struggle?  What is our ‘cross’ this Lent?  Each one of us must answer that for ourselves. 

Perhaps it is a negative attitude towards someone at home, work or school – reacting and relating to them in a harsh or judgmental manner, unlike the way we respond to others.

Perhaps it is a bad habit – like abusing alcohol or drugs, or physically abusing or bullying someone, or smoking, or over-eating or not eating enough – that we can put our will to overcoming during Lent – one day at a time!

Perhaps it is not applying ourselves and sharing in the responsibilities at home, school or at work – doing things half-heartedly or begrudgingly.

Perhaps it is dishonesty to others, and ourselves – trying to escape the consequences of our actions, or lack of actions, by lies and deceit.

During our forty days of Lent, we will each have to determine how the Lord is going to ask us to ‘flex’ our will, choosing God’s will above our own.  The Holy Spirit, who accompanied Jesus in his desert, will accompany us in our desert – here and now – and be for us the source of strength before the temptations we encounter within us and around us.  We should not be afraid to call out, “Be with me, Lord, when I am in trouble”. 

Then, like the young man in my story about Leonardo Da Vinci, we will be transformed – unrecognizably – by the grace of God for knowing, loving and serving God in a new and more profound way.