Temptation of Jesus, our strength
We always pray in
the Lord’s Prayer: “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil”. It
was Jesus Himself who taught the disciples this beautiful prayer. We may
imagine that, while saying these words, Jesus might have recalled His
experience of Satan’s temptation in the desert. When He included this petition –
“Lead us not into temptation” – our Lord may be thinking and saying to Himself:
“I don’t want these disciples of mine go through what I have gone through some
time ago”. We can perfectly relate with this: we don’t want our loved ones to experience the negative
experiences that we had!
We don’t normally
want to be tempted. We think temptations in themselves are sinful. They are
not! When we give in to temptations, when we dialogue with them, and when we
entertain the – that is when we commit sin. Temptations, however, are great
opportunities to show God our fidelity. The Greek term “peirazw” (pi-rad-zo’) means “to make proof of, to attempt, test,
tempt”. When we are tempted, we
are given an opportunity to “make proof of” how faithful are we to God.
Jesus was tempted
immediately after His baptism in the Jordan. Are you not asking why? During His
baptism, the Father assured Him that He is the Son of God (“You are my beloved
Son”). In St. Luke’s account of Jesus’ temptations, in the first and the third,
Satan begins by saying “If you are son of God”. Oftentimes, our temptation consists in putting to test our
identity as children of God. How often do we question saying, “If God
really loved me, then why am I suffering, why do I have problems and
difficulties?”
Curiously, all
three Synoptic Gospels – Mark, Matthew and Luke – indicate that Jesus was “driven”
or “led” by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness or desert in order to be tested
or tempted by the devil. We see here the presence of both the Holy Spirit and
the spirit of evil. Is this not telling us that in our lives, we always perceive
the tension of two opposing “powers” or tendencies – the good and the evil, the
desire to follow God’s will and the inclination to disregard what is pleasing
to God? And have you not noticed that whenever you feel you are filled with the
presence of God, say, for instance, after the Mass or after receiving the
absolution in the confession, temptations are quite evident and strong? Do not
be surprised. As St. Teresa of
Avila noted, “The devil would never tempt someone who is already on his side”.
Jesus was led into
and tempted in the desert or wilderness. Today, many if not all temptations are
in the city streets, not in the wilderness. The devil has entered the city. “Desert”
or wilderness, therefore, is not just a geographical place. The desert could
also be “man’s heart”. In the Biblical context, “desert” could be the place of
liberation (Israel escaped from Egypt and went to the desert. The First Reading is a very concise summary
of this – read something from it). But “desert” could also be the place of
temptation of power (King David gathered his men in the desert before
attacking). The desert of man’s heart is the setting both for man’s salvation and
for man’s corruption by worldly power. Power can corrupt man’s heart.
Jesus faced three
particular temptations – turning stone into bread, seeking power and wealth and
tempting God’s power. In order to understand better the meaning of these
temptations, we must comprehend that the Evangelist intends to say is that the entire life of Jesus “was in essence a
reliving of the history of Israel in the Old Testament”. Jesus’ life is
also a journey – an exodus. He is the new Moses that leads Israel – the Church –
into the Promise Land: heaven. When Israel was in the desert for 40 years, it
was tempted several times and failed. They grumbled and blamed Moses for not
having food. They worshiped the golden calf. They challenged God in Meribah and
Massa, as they asked Him for water.
Jesus was tempted
after fasting for 40 days. (Biblical numbers are often figurative and not a
mathematical one, so that 40 years or 40 days could mean “a long duration of time”
– since “40 years” represent a generation). But instead of falling like the
people of Israel, He showed how to triumph over temptations. Somehow, He pre-enacts what He would
do for all humanity on the cross: conquer sin and defeat the enemy!
Jesus’ first
temptation was in the area of life’s basic necessities – food – the same area
in which Israel failed to trust in God. How often do our basic necessities in
life hinder us from trusting more firmly in God’s providence? There are people
who don’t attend Mass on Sundays and days of obligation simply because they could
not forgo their work. Their basic necessities are pressing! But the more
irresistible temptation of “turning stone into bread” is this: the temptation to use power for personal
interests. How do we employ our influence and political position for the
benefit of other people rather than our own?
The second
temptation deals with the temptation to
worship the wrong god, and, instead of embracing divine values, we rather imbibe
the values of the world. Jesus tells each of us: “You shall worship the
Lord your God and serve Him alone”. St. Paul in the Second Reading echoes this
call of the Lord. He said: “Confess with your lips…and believe from the heart”.
Faith is the greatest worship of our intellect and will as we submit them to
the will of the Father in heaven. Through our Christian faith, may we acquire
enough wisdom to choose God over the worldly powers of wealth, fame and power.
Lastly, the third temptation presumes God’s grace. We
call it the “sin of presumption”, which, at the bottom, manifests a deceitful
humility and a false trust in God. The sin of presumption is the sin of
tempting God. “Lord, if only you will just let my son or daughter pass this
exam, I will begin to serve you in the parish”.
This season of Lent, may
we learn to fight against the insidious snares of the devil. Through the grace
of God and our effort to live faithfully the season of Lent, may we effectively
say NO to sin and sinful situations and truly say YES to God’s promptings. Let
us ask the powerful intercession of the Blessed Mary, Mother of the Church and
our Mother too![1]
1 comment:
THANKS FR.
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