Each year, on the 1st Sunday of Lent, we hear the
powerful Gospel passage of Our Blessed Lord facing temptation in the Judaean
desert. The mere fact that we even know about this story is significant: none of
the four evangelists were with Jesus in the desert. So, the details of this
story must have come from the lips of Jesus himself. He wanted his disciples to
know about this profound experience: “Yes, even I was tempted, just like you.”
The Letter to the Hebrews explains the Lord’s solidarity
with us poor sinners, saying: “because he Himself suffered and had been
tempted, he is able to help all those who are tempted.” “For we have not a high
priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every
respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sinning.”
Why do we read from this Gospel of the Lord’s temptations each
year, at the beginning of Lent? During Lent, as we are confronting our demons
and temptations, it is good to hear the Lord’s faithfulness to His Father
amidst his own temptations. This strengthens us as we face our own temptations:
If he was faithful, and he dwells in us, then we can be faithful too.
Let’s consider each of the three temptations of the Lord, in
hope that it will help us.
Firstly, Jesus is tempted, “if you are the son of God, turn
these stones into bread.” Our Lord was
certainly hungry after forty days of fasting. He was likely in physical pain as
his body, having used up fat reserves, was beginning to break down his muscle
tissue to stay alive. Freshly baked bread would sound very good to a starving
man. And so the devil tempted the Lord in his hunger, to use his divine powers to
spare himself the suffering of the human condition.
Here, the devil is tempting Jesus to abandon the road of the
cross. Spare yourself the suffering. This is a temptation each one of us faces.
Spare yourself the suffering of your Lenten penances. Spare yourself the
suffering that will come when you take the Gospel seriously. You had a hard
day, you don’t have time for prayer. You had a hard day, you deserve that extra
drink. You had a hard day, you deserve to indulge the lusts of the flesh.
In his faithfulness to this father, the Lord quotes the
Psalm: “One does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes forth
from the mouth of God” helping us trust that by following the will of God, even
when that entails suffering, we find life. When we follow the will of God—even
when, and maybe especially when, that means turning away from the cravings and
weaknesses of the flesh, we will know a peace and joy that nothing in the world
can give.
Secondly, Jesus was tempted “throw yourself down from the
temple and let the angels catch you.” Here the Lord is tempted to use his
divine powers for fame. Using his divine power to have angels float him down
from the temple would make his identity undeniable.
This temptation of fame permeates our society today doesn’t it. Society even
seems to be structured around social media presence, followers, likes, and
views, viral moments; influencer culture and celebrity worship. We are subtly
trained to believe, “if it isn’t seen, it doesn’t matter. If it isn’t
applauded, it isn’t real. If it doesn’t go viral, it isn’t valuable.” We
literally have people throwing themselves off of buildings for internet
celebrity.
This temptation of fame strongly effects those whose identity is insecure. If I
am uncertain who I am, I will try to prove it—even in illogical, sinful ways.
If I do not know I am loved by God, I will try to derive my worth by the
applause of men. But, living for fame is a distortion of the way of Christ.
For, Christians derive our worth, not from public recognition and adulation,
but from our identity as beloved sons and daughters of God.
At the Lord’s baptism, the voice of the Father, declared
“you are my beloved Son”. Because Jesus is secure in his identity, he overcomes
this temptation. So, too, for us. When we have taken to heart our identity as
beloved son, beloved daughter, we will overcome temptations to find our worth
in sin.
Lastly, the devil tempts Jesus, showing him all the kingdoms
of the world in their magnificence, as if the good that Jesus as come to do
could be accomplished with money and power.
And yet, don’t so many of us make this mistake: we allow money
and power to dictate our decisions and our worth. How many Christians fear
poverty more than they fear sin?
Christians need to remember that our aim isn’t to become
rich and powerful in the eyes of the world, but to become rich in the things of
heaven: wisdom, generosity, self-control.
Now we often play a game here: when I have accumulated
enough wealth, then I’ll become generous. But we are called to generosity now.
In whatever state of life, whatever the size of our bank account right now, we
are called to be generous with our time, talent, and treasure in service of the
mission of the Church.
Jesus goes to the cross and achieves our salvation in
poverty, owning nothing, stripped even of his clothing. We do not need a
certain amount of wealth to be effective of instruments of God. In fact, our
poorest saints, francis, clare and so many others, show us the exact opposite.
The point of this Gospel story isn’t just to teach us that
the devil is real. We see the effects of sin on the daily news and the
divisions in our families. This story
shows us that the devil doesn’t get the last word. Temptation can be overcome when we cling to
the Word of God. St. Peter says, resist
the devil and he will take flight. So
often, we fall into sin because we put up no resistance and fail to trust in
the Lord.
We do well to imitate Jesus in those moments of temptation,
to look at the temptation right in the eyes, to look the serpent right in the
eyes and so, “No, I will not sin because I am a Christian.”
This Lent, we practice fasting, almsgiving, and prayer in
order to strengthen our resolve for doing God’s will, of turning our hearts a
way from earthly pleasure, power, and glory, and to recall that our true
happiness is found in communion with Jesus Christ and humbly following God’s
plan for our lives for the glory of God and salvation of souls.
