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Bishop's Homily for the First Sunday of Lent

February 22, 2026

(zhukovvvlad / Shutterstock.com)

Homily of the Most Reverend Larry Silva, Bishop of Honolulu
[St. Joseph Church, Hilo (Rite of Election); Co-Cathedral of St. Theresa, Honolulu (Rite of Election)]

Who do you think you are?

That question is not a put-down but a very important question. We can sometimes forget who we really are, and then all kinds of troubles develop.

Notice how the most cunning serpent “hooked” Adam and Eve into disobeying God, thus bringing sin and death into the world. The serpent said to them, “On the day you eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you will be like gods, knowing good from evil.” Was it wrong to want to be like God, who is all-loving and wise? Or to be able to discern good from evil? They took the bait, bit the hook and were caught. The truth of the matter was that they already were like God, since God had made them in his own image and likeness; and they already had a way of knowing good from evil, just by listening to God, who taught them himself. But that wily serpent made them think they needed to eat some fruit or do some other thing in order to be who they already were. This deception is what brought sin and death into the world. They had forgotten who they really were.

We see the same cunning serpent in the Gospel, this time tempting the Son of God himself! “If you are the Son of God, turn these stones into bread.” We know Jesus was very hungry, that the fast was almost over, and that he was more than capable of performing miracles.  After all, he changed water into wine and raised the dead to life. And rather than starve for another moment while he journeyed to buy bread in town, he could have taken care of his need right away. But Jesus knew this was bait, and he did not bite. He knew very well who he was and what he could do, and he did not need to prove to the tempter or to anyone else that he was indeed the Son of God.

The devil persisted, however! “If you are the Son of God throw yourself down from this dizzying height on top of the Temple to show that God loves you and will take care of you.” Again, Jesus did not have to prove to anyone that he was the Son of God and that his Father loved him infinitely. He was very secure in his identity.

Then, a third time, with his evil persistence, Satan knew that the mission of Jesus was to be King of every kingdom on earth and of every heart. Jesus knew he would have to suffer much and give up his very life to touch and convert such hard hearts as ours. And Satan seemed to be offering the easy way out. “Just bow down before me, and I will make it happen now! That cup of suffering you will plead with the Father to take away from you will disappear instantly. But Jesus knew who he was, the Beloved of God and never the servant of Satan.

Who do you think you are?

This is such an important question that we are asking our catechumens who are preparing for Christian initiation at the Easter Vigil to enroll their names – to submit those names and their identities, because God loves each one as a unique and unrepeatable individual. Yet you enroll your names so that you may soon take on a new and greater identity, without losing your present identity. Soon you will be immersed, soaked, baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. You will bear and swim in the very name of the God who is a Trinity of perfect love. But there is more! In Confirmation you will be sealed, marked, branded, if you will, with the gift of the Holy Spirit, so that he may ooze down into every pore of your being and penetrate you with his love so that you will know your true identity. And there is more! The tree of life was still in the middle of the garden, abandoned for millenia, dying and becoming the symbol of death itself. Jesus climbed up on that tree, and there he died. But he rose from the dead and became the fruit of the tree of life, so that you could eat of that fruit and live forever. He takes you for who you are and in the most intimate and holy communion with you and with all his holy people, he makes you into a member of his own Body, so that, as the risen Lord, he can continue to bring healing to the sick, liberty to captives and light to those in darkness.

Just before you are baptized with the saving waters, you will renounce Satan and all his works, and all his empty show. Do not think, however, that he will renounce you. He will try his best to make you think you can control the God who loves you, or that something essential is lacking in you so that you seek your identity in sex, wealth, or power. But have no fear! Because you will be so deeply united to God that you, like Jesus, will not be led astray by the deceiver. You will know who you truly are and live fully in the truth that God belittled and humbled himself to exalt you in his love, which will be in you, around you and all through you.

Who do you think you are?