A few years ago, I stood at the summit of Whistler Mountain in British Columbia, Canada, and that moment has stayed with me. After the long ascent, the world below seemed to fall away. The air grew thinner, the noise faded, and for a brief moment everything felt still. The landscape stretched out in every direction, reminding me how small I am, yet how gently held within something greater than myself. In that quiet, I learned that when we rise above the noise, we begin to see more clearly.

Temptations are usually a way to persuade us that temporal goods are better than the Ultimate Good, God Himself. Temptations offer an opportunity to identity, belong, and measure our worth in things other than God.

Today Jesus is tempted three times by the devil to sin.

Jesus said to his disciples: “I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:20–22

The scribes and Pharisees were masters of the Old Law. Now that the Messiah had arrived, they were unwilling to go deeper and move beyond the Old Testament teachings that they often misrepresented. They preferred their approach to morality that had been with them for centuries. They did not want to change.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus offers a strikingly simple yet demanding image: “You are the salt of the earth… You are the light of the world.” He does not speak about what we should possess or accomplish, but about who we are called to become. This message speaks especially to us as our parish celebrates the Lunar New Year—a time of renewal, new beginnings, and fresh hope for the year ahead.