LENT I [A] Gen 2:7-9, 3:1-7; Rom 5:12-19; Mt 4:1-11

Just a little over a week ago, I was in the very place where Jesus spent 40 days praying and fasting and was finally tempted. He came out victorious over the temptations. The first reading shows how Adam and Eve failed the temptation to Satan and made belly their god.

The temptations of Jesus in the desert recapitulate the temptation of Adam in Paradise and the temptations of Israel in the desert. The Israelites in the desert when they had no food and water murmured against God and they were bitten by snakes. Satan tempts Jesus in regard to his obedience to the mission given him by the Father. By allowing himself to be tempted, Jesus wanted to teach us how to fight and conquer our temptations.

The love of money is the root of all evil in the modern world. Money can be intoxicating for men. In fact, Jesus named money as one of the main competitors to serving God. Men can be tempted to earn more or borrow more money than what they need. Thus, we are tempted to ignore important things such as: family, quiet time with God and overall quality of life.

In the third temptation, the devil wanted Jesus to enter the world of political power to establish his kingdom of God instead of choosing the path that would lead to suffering, humiliation and death.  It was a temptation to do the right thing using the wrong means.  Jesus was being tempted to win the world by worshipping the devil.  Why not compromise a bit?  Why not strike a deal with the evil powers?  Even, Spirit-filled, sanctified, spiritually vibrant Christians are still subject to the same temptation.  We need companionship, acceptance, love, appreciation and the approval of others.  We are tempted to fulfill these legitimate needs using the wrong means.

 

Jesus serves as a model for us in conquering temptations by strengthening himself through prayer, penance, and the active use of the Word of God. Temptations make us more powerful warriors of God by strengthening our minds and hearts. By constantly struggling against temptations, we become stronger. Each time one is tempted to do evil but does good, one becomes stronger.  Further, we are never tempted beyond our power.  In his first letter, St. John assures us: “Greater is the One Who is in us, than the one who is in the world (1 Jn 4: 4). We may be strengthened by St. Paul’s words in 1 Cor 10:13: “No testing has overtaken you, that is not common to everyone.  God is faithful, and [God] will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing [God] will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.” God will not and cannot tempt anyone to do anything evil. It is Satan tempting. God allows testing. As we can see this in the life of Job. Satan comes to ask God permission to do testing on Job and He allows.

Like Adam and Eve, we are all tempted to put ourselves in God’s place.  Consequently, we resent every limit on our freedom, and we don’t want to be held responsible for the consequences of our choices.  This is one of the tendencies of the modern generation. They do not want to take the responsibility for their actions but tries to put the blame on the previous generations. Growing up I did not have this and that; therefore, I am like this. Or, I was abused while growing up. That kind of excuses do not totally free anyone up from the responsibility of the sinful action one does.

 

Every one of us knows who Mel Gibson is and how he messed up his life after making The Passion of the Christ. It wasn’t coincidence. He did so much good through this movie that it brought on him a lot of attacks by the evil one as revenge for the spiritual good done by the film. Because he wasn’t “careful” enough or didn’t look on what happened to him as his spiritual battlefield, Gibson wasn’t ready for battles that came after he had finished the Passion movie. Because of his well-documented paranoia, he repeatedly roared threats to kill his estranged ex-wife of 28 years and burn down her house. He alludes to having earlier hit her hard enough to break several of her teeth—something he claims she “deserved.” — Mel’s former wife surely knows that not only is Mel a racist, homophobe, misogynist, and anti-Semite, he is a drug and alcohol abuser and potentially violent man. Why did he have all these tragedies after the great triumph of his career The Passion of the Christ which grossed over $604 million worldwide? Because he ignored Peter’s advice, “Stay sober and alert. Your opponent the devil is prowling like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, solid in your Faith. (1 Pt 5:8-9a).

Jesus has taught us in the prayer Our Father “Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.” We need to be constantly on the watch to avoid Satan’s temptations. That is why Jesus taught us to pray like that.

Lent is the time for the desert experience. We can set aside a place and time to be alone daily with God, a time to distance ourselves from the many noises that bombard our lives every day, a time to hear God’s word, a time to rediscover who we are before God, and a time to say yes to God and no to Satan as Jesus did. May this Lent be a different one this year for each of us helping us to know God’s will and trying for our and others salvation.