LENT 1 [C]: DEUT: 26: 4-10, ROM. 10:8-13, LK. 4: 1-13

You may have encountered people who say there are no Satan and hell. People who leave Satan with the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy, relegating "evil" to more manageable and explainable psychoses that can be named and catalogued within the human heart. There's nothing wrong with Hitler, Pol Pot, and Osama bin Laden.  I remember one of my classmates approaching our systematic theology professor in seminary asking, "Do I really have to say that line about the devil and all his empty promises?" The professor smiled at him and said, "Spend twenty years in parish ministry and come back and ask me that question again." Well, I have seen myself, Satan or evil spirits speaking through people and violent people becoming calm and quiet when the evil spirits leave them.

Malcolm Muggeridge, the late British journalist, converted to Christianity in mid-life after years of agnosticism once wrote: "Personally I have found the Devil easier to believe in than God; for one thing, alas, I have had more to do with him."

Satan is as real as God is real and Hell is as real as heaven is real. Redemption in Jesus makes sense only in the context of Satan, hell, and the great fall of humanity.

Most temptations strong enough to lead one away from God should have its origin in Satan. St.James 1:13 says: When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone. God can allow temptation happen to us as we see in the book of Job. It is to test and strengthen one’s faith and fidelity to God. But not all temptations are from Satan either. Some are conditioned by our own inordinate desires. The power of all temptation is the prospect that it will make one happier."

But temptation is not sin.  In fact, every temptation is a chance to exercise our trust in God, to reclaim territory for Christ's Kingdom, just as Jesus did when he was tempted.

The temptations of the saints were for them opportunities of self-discovery. They revealed the breaches in the fortress of their souls that needed to be fortified, until they became the strongest points.

Temptation is part and parcel of the human condition. Temptations become stronger and almost irresistible after each successive failure. Like it is very hard to stop itching just once when we start scratching the itching part of the body. We may need to continue until we get more satisfaction. Or temptation can be compared to like: if I like a particular kind of snack chips, if I open the packet it is almost impossible to stop eating after eating just one piece of chips. Almost an irresistible urge will push my hand down the chips packet. So is temptation too. Once we open the can…it will continue the flow or series for some time.

There is a story about a little boy named Bobby who desperately wanted a new bicycle. His plan was to save his nickels, dimes and quarters until he finally had enough to buy a new 10-speed. Each night he asked God to help him save his money. Kneeling beside his bed, he prayed, "Dear Lord, please help me save my money for a new bike, and please, Lord, don't let the ice cream man come down the street again tomorrow."

An overweight businessman decided it was time to shed some excess pounds. He took his new diet seriously, even changing his driving route to avoid his favorite bakery. One morning, however, he showed up at work with a gigantic coffee cake. Everyone in the office scolded him, but his smile remained nonetheless. "This is a special coffee cake," he explained. "I accidentally drove by the bakery this morning and there in the window was a host of goodies. I felt it was no accident, so I prayed, 'Lord, if you want me to have one of those delicious coffee cakes, let there be a parking spot open right in front.' And sure enough, the eighth time around the block, there it was!"

How do we overcome the temptations. The first step is to pray. Jesus taught us in the prayer our Father: lead us not into temptation. And he told his disciples in the garden of Gathsemene: pray that you may not fall into temptation.  The second step is to avoid the tempting occasions and circumstances and people.

Another way to overcome temptation is to keep reminding us of who we are, and whose we are. We belong to Jesus. He chose us. Martin Luther would cry out: "I am baptized. I am baptized, when he felt by temptation." He needed the assurance of his identity, that he belonged to Jesus. To remind us that we are baptized and we bear the stamp of Christ’s cross on our life will give us the courage to fight the temptation.

We need to confront and conquer temptations as Jesus did, using the means he employed: Even though Jesus refuses to turn stones into bread, later, he will miraculously feed others, but He refuses to let the devil manage His miracles! Knowing that His Mission is to win hearts through love and truth, Jesus refuses to engage in theatrical stunts to win popularity.

Jesus sets a model for conquering temptations through prayer, penance and the effective use of the ‘‘word of God.” Temptations make us true warriors of God by strengthening our minds and hearts. We are never tempted beyond our power. In his first letter, St. John assures us: "Greater is He who is in us, than the power of the world." Hence during Lent, let us confront our evil tendencies by prayer, by penance and by meditative reading of the Bible. Knowledge of the Bible prepares us for the moment of temptation by enabling us "to know Jesus more clearly, to love him more dearly and to follow him more nearly, day by day.”