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A sermon on Mark 1:12-15

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Fr. Mike Paraniuk

By Fr. Mike Paraniuk
St. Mary Catholic Church
St. Benignus Catholic Church 
St. Mary Queen of Heaven
and Holy Trinity Catholic Church

Many are giving credit to Travis Kelce for the Kansas City Chiefs winning Super Bowl 58. Not only because of his great performance on the field, but for what he did before the game ever started. 

Travis was invited to give the traditional pre-game speech to the team on Saturday night. Teammates gathered around Travis wondering what he would say. From out of his mouth came forth a speech so powerful, so movingly heart felt that some began to cry. 

Mecole Hardman who caught the winning touchdown described it this way. "I have never heard a speech like this before. It gave me chills. I could never reenact the passion and energy that he gave to us." 

Kelce described the main message of his talk. "I just wanted to let them know how much passion I have for this team and that we had the formula – a formula for success and formula to fight until the end." 

Hardman explained the "formula."

"Travis urged us not to be a hero, not to be bigger than anyone else, and to lean on teammates if they got overwhelmed."

Today, Jesus retreats into the desert to prepare for an encounter far greater than a Super Bowl. Jesus began His fight against evil. Satan countered by tempting Jesus in three ways that are common to all humans. The devil first tempts Jesus in the battleground of the flesh. "You're hungry. Turn these stones into bread. Pamper yourself."(Mt. 4:3.) 

The second temptation is pride. "Jesus you are so important just throw yourself off the temple roof. Force God to do your will. Make Him send angels to you." (Mt. 4:5-6.) 

The third temptation is idolatry. "Jesus, worship me! I'll give you an easy life of selfish comfort." (Mt. 4:8-9.) 

Satan tries his best to distract Jesus from God's mission of salvation. Satan will try to distract you from accepting that salvation. All your temptations will flow from these basic three: desires of the flesh, pride or idolatry. It is not a sin to be tempted. People confess that to me a lot. I tell them, "The devil tempts you when you are growing closer to God. The sin happens when you give into them." 

A temptation is like a badge of honor that shows you must be doing something right for God. Satan hates that. He will tempt you to turn away from God.

Jesus then leaves the desert and gives His pep talk. He proclaims His "formula" for a successful life with God and victory in our fight over evil. Repent and Believe. 

"Repent" is a Greek military word that simply means to "turn around." It refers to soldiers who are going down the wrong road and now must turn around to travel the right road. You go down the wrong road when you think you're bigger than God, when you become a hero in your own mind. I found the most difficulty patients to work with at the Care Unit Hospital for Drug Rehabilitation were those who had money and power. They were going to fix their addiction to drugs on their own terms with a recovery program designed by them. They needed no one to help them. AA meetings were for the weak. Grandiosity befit their life for length of days. Then about a month after leaving, they would relapse. They returned through the hospital doors humbled, now ready to learn the right road of recovery.     

Repentance is only the first step in the formula proclaimed by Jesus. The second is to "Believe". Jesus tells you what to believe. Believe in the "Good News" (aka Gospel). What is the Good News? It's simply this. When you turn away from God, believe He wants you back. The pressure of a Super Bowl can get overwhelming. Kelce told his team mates to lean on each other. Life can get overwhelming. 

Jesus tells you to lean on Him. God's Good News is He always wants you to return to Him. God longs for you to find Him again. Jesus said, "For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” (Luke 19:10.)

There is an interesting story about Mecole Hardman who made the TD winning catch. He told the CBS broadcast team, "I caught that pass, and I blacked out. I didn't know what was going on until I saw Patrick running to me and I'm like, 'Oh, we just won, let's celebrate." 

Mecole was so overwhelmed with joy that it took him a while to know what happened. He didn't feel like a hero, but just one of many heroes on the team who gave their all. Lent is a time for you to really know the joy of Jesus giving His all for you. Jesus runs to you and says, "We won!" Happy Lent.

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