First Sunday of Lent-A
A desert can be a harsh, desolate place, seeming very empty and alone. Our reading for the First Sunday of Lent describes Jesus going into the wilderness and remaining there for forty days, and being tempted by Satan. It should be noted for clarity’s sake that the journey into the desert was prompted by the Holy Spirit after his Baptism in the Jordan, where the Father declared him as his beloved Son.
From this lofty exultation of Jesus’s divinity comes the attack from Satan, not challenging his Sonship but rather his connection with our human condition. Satan’s temptations are used to try to separate Jesus from his humanness by forcing him to use his divine powers to extricate himself from suffering. If Satan could break the bond of Jesus’ divinity and humanity, he would, in effect, neutralize Jesus’ mission of saving us.
Of course, Jesus did not fall victim to this attractive temptation, nor later did He fall for the greatest temptation of all, using His divine power to come down from the cross: Now one of the criminals hanging there reviled Jesus, saying, “Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us.”
Jesus being tempted in the desert, as already mentioned, comes directly after the declaration of his identity as the Son of God. In a very similar way, baptized Christians are tempted in their lives to turn away from their identity as a child of God. Temptation challenges our relationship with God (grace), and the devil tries to convince us that we need more than grace to live a full life.
He suggests we need more money, fame, power, and possessions to be fully alive. It is the same lie, under different circumstances, that he told our first parents: that God is keeping the good things from them. Nothing has changed, and throughout the ages, people have fallen for it. The only people who are not affected by temptation are those who are evil and have given in to evil. The rest, however, will have to experience temptation, but not more than a person can handle.
The temptations of Jesus are a teaching for us. We are not exempt from temptations as Christians, but the circumstances and offers are more personal and realistic than the pursuit of acquiring the kingdoms of the earth. Satan is smart enough to use what is familiar and plausible to us to enter into our space with his sales pitch. And after we have become lax in our faith, there is an opening that goes something like this: There is more to life if only you would relax or deny the beliefs you once held. And once there is an opening, the temptation becomes real and more often than not is acted upon.
Those conditions leading up to temptation, wrapped in familiarity and plausibility, are the traps we are likely to fall into. The chance to make a few extra dollars may quickly turn to dishonesty and manipulation. The plausible excuse of ambition and rising the corporate ladder may be, in fact, stabbing your fellow worker in the back instead of by your own work and talent. Perceived faults in others lead to a need for retribution, either verbally or otherwise, under the guise of justice. Or, treating yourself to carnal pleasures because, in your view, you have been stressed or arrogant and deserve it.
At the beginning of Lent, we should stop immediately to recognize who we are. And that person, albeit sinful, is a baptized child of God. Stripping ourselves of simple things allows us to reflect on what temptations we have accepted and incorporated into our lives. Those actions are toxic and need to be removed. Think of Lent as a type of spiritual spring cleaning. If we came across black mold in our living quarters, you can be certain we would take immediate steps to remove it. So too with our spiritual life. If we have given in to the lies of Satan and produced rotten fruit, we must take steps through God’s grace to reform our lives. Part of the spiritual spring cleaning is to become more aware of when we have given up our freedom to follow the lies of Satan.