1^st Week of Lent (C); 03-06-2022

Deut 26:4-10.  Ps 91.  Rom 10:8-13.  LK 4:1-13

Deacon Jim McFadden

         People of God, we come, once again, to that great season of Lent, which is a time for conversion.  We return to the source of our faith and spend these 40 days allowing ourselves to be touched by God’s Word, which means we listen to Him.  As we do, we will move from egotism to a deeper encounter with our Lord.  So, it’s important we listen to Him and not the devil, who will give us a false interpretation as to what it means to be human.

            Though Jesus will confront the devil who will tempt Him three times, it is the Holy Spirit  himself who will lead Jesus into the desert, not some wicked power.  As we begin our Lent, let us think of the Spirit leading us into this holy place where we move from the death of the False Self to a fuller life in the mystical Body of Christ where we encounter the center of our Christian existence. How we undergo the season of Lent will have a bearing on how we live the rest of the liturgical year.  So, let us make this the best possible Lent of simplicity, purification, and asceticism.

            The Gospel passage from Luke recounts that Jesus after fasting for 40 days is very hungry, which seems like a vintage understatement.  Taking advantage of this situation, the devil invites Jesus to change stone into bread (Lk 4:3), which is a path for possessions: the goods of the world can satisfy my hunger.  Notice how insidious Satan is: he begins with a natural and  legitimate need for nourishment which sustains us in our very complex world, then encourages Jesus to believe  that His deepest hunger can be satisfied without God:  just turn the stones into bread and do it yourself:  you are the Master, not God.  But, Jesus countervails this false option by stating: “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone’” (v. 4).  Yes, we do need possessions, but we don’t put our ultimate trust in them, but we fully entrust ourselves to the providential care of our Father, who loves us unconditionally and always takes care of his children—something that possessions can’t do!

            The second temptation appeals to pride, human vainglory.  The devil says: “If you, then, will worship me, it shall all be yours” (v. 7). It really comes down to this: who are we going to worship—God or ourselves?   God had given us our intrinsic dignity by creating us in his image, but we can diminish that personal dignity if we allow ourselves to be corrupted by the idols of money, prestige, power, and hedonistic pleasure in order to realize self-affirmation.  And, it’s so tempting because all of these do provide the euphoria of fleeting joy and satisfaction.  But, the satisfaction doesn’t last as we go from one rabbit hole to another thinking that this one thing will fulfill me.  Jesus knows that this is a foolish path which won’t end well as he responds: “You shall worship the Lord, your God, and him alone shall you serve” (v. 8).

            And, then we come to the third temptation, which is very devious: exploiting God for our own egoic advantage.   The devil, who cleverly cites Scripture, invites Jesus  to seek a conspicuous miracle from God which will blow people away.  Jesus, knowing who he is and always humble, remains confident in his Father and refuses to manipulate God for his short-term advantage.  We hear: “It is said, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God” (v. 12).  Jesus is resisting the most subtle temptation, which religious people are vulnerable: that of wanting to pull God to our side asking him for graces which in reality just serve our imperial ego and pride.

            All of these paths that are set before Jesus and ourselves are based on the illusion that can find happiness and fulfillment on our own.  Like the citizens of the Tower of Babel, we can make a name for ourselves and we can do it alone: we really don’t need God.  But, in reality they run counter to who we are at the deepest level of our humanity: we are imago Dei who are God’s beloved children.  What these paths do is to tear asunder our relationship with God and each other; they are inherently destructive because they are the works of Satan.  Jesus, personally facing these temptations, shows us how to deal with them  in order to adhere to our Father’s will and plan that he has for each one of us.  And, Jesus just doesn’t offer a stiff-upper lip resolve to combat them, but offers the remedies to us: the interior life of prayer, faith in the One true God, and the certainty of his unconditioned love, which will empower us to overcome any temptation.

            One final thought:  notice the dynamic of this encounter with the devil.  Unlike Eve who engaged in a conversation with the serpent in the Garden, Jesus, in responding to the Tempter does not engage him in a conversation!  We all tend to play around with sin, dabble in its seductions, but Jesus responds to the three challenges with only the Word of God. That teaches us that we should not dialogue with Satan, but to stay grounded in the Word of God, who became Flesh  in Jesus. 

            Therefore, let us throw ourselves into this Lenten season as a privileged time to purify ourselves, to feel God’s comforting presence in our life as we journey into the mystery of the Triune God.  Amen.