First Sunday in Lent, March 6, 2022

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What are my temptations?

Luke 4:1–13

Filled with the holy Spirit, Jesus returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the desert for forty days, to be tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and when they were over he was hungry.

The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.”

Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone.’” Then he took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a single instant.

The devil said to him, “I shall give to you all this power and their glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I may give it to whomever I wish.

“All this will be yours, if you worship me.”

Jesus said to him in reply, “It is written: ‘You shall worship the Lord, your God, and him alone shall you serve.’

Then he led him to Jerusalem, made him stand on the parapet of the temple, and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written: ‘He will command his angels concerning you, to guard you,’ and: ‘With their hands they will support you, lest you dash your foot against a stone.’”

Jesus said to him in reply, “It also says, ‘You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.’”

When the devil had finished every temptation he departed from him for a time.

Music Meditations

  • On Eagle’s Wings—Michael Joncas
  • The Lord Is My Shepherd—John Rutter, Cambridge Singers
  • Psalm 22—The Psalm Project

Companions for the Journey

This is a short writing from one of the Christian or non-Christian witnesses of our tradition—a person who embodies the theme of the gospel we are studying today. This commentary is from “First Impressions”, a service of the Southern Dominican Province.

The temptations are at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry when he begins his journey, his walk with us. He extends an invitation for us to join him—to walk the way he walks in the world. Today’s gospel takes place after Jesus has just been baptized by John in the Jordan. No sooner has the walk started than Jesus meets the Tempter. The devil challenges how real Jesus’ immersion among is will be. Will he command the stone to become bread? In other words, will he know physical hunger and pain, as well as the same longings of the heart we do; or will he just use his powers and satisfy his needs and wants at whim? Will he choose to attract followers by spectacle, by filling their bellies with nothing more lasting than a quick meal? If he fell for the temptation, he would have skipped over the physical and emotional pain we all must have at one time or another. In addition, he would have attracted followers who would have stayed on as long as the free lunch lasted; only until it got too painful to follow him.

The devil has more to offer Jesus. Having shown Jesus “all the kingdoms of the world” the devil makes an offer many humans have, to one degree or another, accepted: Jesus can gain power and influence by worshiping at the altar of power, compromise and deals. In rejecting this temptation, Jesus chooses to live an ordinary person’s life, to undergo the subjection endured by his neighbors in an occupied land. He will walk the path of the oppressed. Those without name recognition will see in him one who is totally faithful in his choice to be human.

The devil goes on: “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written, ‘God will command the angels concerning you, to guard you....’” It is tempting to think that a proof of God’s love for us is a comfortable and pain free life. Certainly this notion of a protected life, of expecting to be spared of all pain and disappointment as God’s beloved, would be a temptation throughout Jesus’ entire life, especially as he endured his passion. Where is God when we are suffering? I thought God loved me. If God really loved me I wouldn’t be in this pain.....failed at this project....been betrayed by those I trusted...etc. But there doesn’t seem to have been an escape clause written into Jesus’ being one of us. He didn’t get out in the nick of time; and so his followers must resist the temptation to opt out when the path of discipleship brings suffering. Nor would Jesus try to attract people to him by shows of divine favor. There would be no quick rescue by God when the forces of evil closed in on him; no angels to show up to protect him. That’s just not what it means for us humans, and so that’s not what it will mean for Jesus as he fulfills his word to be one with us.

Having listened to the tempting offers made by the devil, Jesus turns away from the tempter and towards us. Like us he will stumble and get hurt, know hunger and see his project collapse. He will risk all, placing his message into the hands, not of the powerful, but ordinary people like us. He takes a chance on them, trusts his future to them. The devil has asked him, in effect, “Will you walk totally with these humans? Take their journey to the end? Avoid easy outs, and a flashy success story? Jesus’ response, as evidenced in today’s gospel, is “Yes I will.” The rest of the gospel shows us he walked the talk.

A man I know went to an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. As he entered the room, he saw broken and needy people. His response, “I am not like one of those people.” Too bad, if he had admitted his need and identified with the others in the room, he might have been able to change his life. Lent has begun for us. It is like entering a room that contains others like us: people who have strayed from their commitments; fallen or stumbled; made new resolutions kept them with only some success. All in this room of Lent need forgiveness, all of us need, to one degree or another, to make adjustments in our life’s game plan. We all need to “walk the talk.”

No one forces us into this Lent. We need to choose it for ourselves. We look into this new room we are entering, this Lent, see the folks around us and say, “I am like these people. I too need to face myself and be true to my better self.” It is tempting to pull out, or enter this season half-heartedly. But if we desire to “walk the talk” of being Christians together, then we need this Lent to reorient us. Lent helps us find our true self. Jesus did that in the desert. By denying who he was not, he affirmed his true identity—one sent by God to walk our human path in fidelity to God, even in times of failure and pain. What he did, we can do, because our baptism has given us the gift of the Spirit, the same Spirit that was Jesus’ in the desert when he chose to walk the talk with us.

Read another reflection on the temptations of Jesus >> (adapted from a chapter in The Hidden Jesus by Donald Spoto).

Weekly Memorization

Taken from the gospel for today’s session…

Jesus…was led by the Spirit into the desert for forty days, to be tempted by the devil.

Living the Good News

What action can you take in the next week as a response to today’s reading and discussion?

Keep a private journal of your prayer/actions responses this week. Feel free to use the personal reflection questions or the meditations which follow:

Reflection Questions

  • When our mental or emotional resources are thin, what temptations might we be prey to?
  • How do I define “the devil” in my life and what does “the devil” tempt me to do or not to do?
  • Are my temptations similar to Jesus’ (money, power, relevance)?
  • In our money-centered culture, we are bombarded with more and more inducement to acquire, own, possess STUFF. (We are subjected, through various media, to over 5000 advertisements a day.) How does this kind of milieu tempt us to want more?
  • If not “bread”, what do you hunger for?
  • Where does corruption in government and industry fit it? How can we avoid being part of it?
  • Does fasting help us discipline ourselves to seek only what we need?
  • Can the scriptures “feed me” during Lent?
  • What of my money/possessions am I willing to give away? How generous am I, really?
  • What is the role of power in our society? Who has it, and how does that person keep it?
  • What personal power do I have over my environment, over my everyday life, over my friends and relatives?
  • Who has power over me? Do I resent it? Has power ever been misused against me?
  • From “First Impressions”, a service of the Southern Dominican Province:
    Do I feel the Church has ever used its power inappropriately to coerce people into observance and conformity?
  • Have I ever withheld approval, affection from someone to assert my power over that a person?
    Have I ever, in effect, said: “My needs are more important than yours”?
    Have I ever been a victim of this kind of abuse of power?
  • How can I transform power into service?
    What are some of the positive aspects of power vis-à-vis helping others?
    What are some of the negative ones?
  • Have you ever tried to “force God’s hand”, to make God prove in some way that you are important to God?
  • Was there ever an incident or time in your life when you sort of asked God to PROVE his love for you by granting you a favor or by avoiding something negative?
  • If I am a good person, do I expect God to reward me with health, good fortune and happiness?
  • Do I engage in Lenten practices to make God love me more/
    How do I make God love me more?
  • Where in my temptations have I felt the guidance or presence of the Holy Spirit?
  • What is the role of trust in overcoming life’s temptations?
    In whom do I trust?
    In what do I trust?
    How do I inspire trust?
  • Has there been a time in your life when the experience of being tempted taught you something about yourself?
  • The gospel says that the devil departed from Jesus “for a time”. Have I ever found myself subject to the same old temptations, again and again?

Meditations

A Meditation in the Dominican Style/Asking Questions:

“Let us never forget that the ordinary way to contemplation lies through a desert without trees and without beauty and without water. The spirit enters a wilderness and travels blindly in directions that seem to lead away from vision, away from God, away from all fulfillment and joy. It may be almost impossible to believe that this road goes anywhere at all except to a desolation full of dry bones—the ruin of all our hopes and good intentions” (Thomas Merton, New Seeds of Contemplation)

What desert are you experiencing in your life at this time—love, creativity, friendship, family, accomplishments, compulsions, insecurities? How is this wilderness experience inviting you to place your trust in God? Do you trust in the Spirit enough to give yourself totally to God? What have you held back? What are you afraid of?

—from Songs of Life, Psalm Meditations from the Catholic Community at Stanford, by Anne Greenfield

A Meditation in the Ignatian Style/Imagination:

Read Luke 4:1-11 (The testing in the desert).

Forty days in a desert. Just imagine it. What does it look like? How hot is it during the day? What sounds are there? Does it smell? Are there any animals? Are you hungry? What do you do all day?

Night in the desert: the lonely sounds of an animal in the distance. Are you cold? Afraid? Lonely? Bored?

This is the time when Jesus was most vulnerable, and so He was tempted. Jesus was tempted to use his talents to provide for his own needs; He was tempted to test God’s love; and finally, He was tempted to forsake his trust in God in return for earthly power. How did he react? Are these temptations at all like our human temptations? Have you ever been so tempted? Have you been able to turn to God in these times of temptation? Has God been a source of strength and comfort? Close with a personal prayer thanking God for the strength you have been given to trust during the dark times.

—from Songs of Life, Psalm Meditations from the Catholic Community at Stanford, by Anne Greenfield

A Meditation in the Franciscan Style/Action:

Give something away. Now.

A Meditation in the Augustinian Style/Relationship:

A major theme of this gospel section is Jesus’ trust in his Father’s love and care. This was a big part of the religious tradition into which Jesus was born and in which he operated. Some of this is found in the psalms. Read Psalm 91 below, then transpose “he” into “you” and “you” into “me” so that you are imagining God speaking directly to you and that you are speaking directly to God about your trust in him.

(example of transposition of first verse: I dwell in your shelter, Almighty one, and I will rest in your shadow)

1 Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. 2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,  my God, in whom I trust.” 3 Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. 5 You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, 6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday. 7 A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. 8 You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked. 9 If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,” and you make the Most High your dwelling, 10 no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent. 11 For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; 12 they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. 13 You will tread on the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent. 14 “Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. 15 He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. 16 With long life I will satisfy him  and show him my salvation.”
Literary Reflection:

Father Michael Kennedy. S.J.’s take on todays gospel:

Hey Look Again
(1st Sunday of Lent)

Sometimes we find Out later that the very Thing we were so sure about Is not only not true it is so Far from truth that we feel Stupid and used and really Very hopeless about our own Gifts of discernment and Our ability to read Any situation or Even people

Maybe we finally Have to admit that When evil presents itself In our lives it comes in with Great appeal and often disguised As noble and worth pursuing rather Than as something that must be Avoided at all costs for it is very Hard to spot a satan when he Puts his arm around you while Gently saying nice things and Offers you enough power And wealth to fulfill Your dreams

But we can only See through deception if We also look with the eyes of our Hearts and souls for we need not ask What would Jesus do but what would He have us do and would we always Be in tune with the Gospel with Love at our center for if the Action or the seducer are not In line with the Sermon On the Mount we need to Hear Jesus say to us Hey look again

Poetic Reflection:

A reflection on temptation from Pastor Dan, a Lutheran Pastor and Blogger from Anchorage, Alaska:

Sometimes you know Deep down inside you just know But you have to test Children do it all the time Test They know But they just want to really know Who’s in charge Are things the same And they test The people Israel knew They had their time For forty years they wandered And were put to the test And they knew the story Each line by heart To say one line Said them all And they lived that time And answered the question Who’s in charge? After forty days Jesus was hungry And they knew they had been there too they knew the hunger they knew the pain and they felt each moment when the temptations came and the forty years of their wanderings came back and they remembered that time and they remembered their lack as they whined and groaned and fell into sin at each temptation again and again and answered the question who’s in charge? If you are who you say then tell these rocks And the question rang Tell them to be bread so you can eat The devil sang And the question came out loud and clear And Israel knew it Knew it deep in their hearts Because they lived it And they prayed it Each day of their lives Shema The Lord is our God The Lord is one But still that question it needs to be near and the question rang out who’s in charge here and the answer came as did manna from above that we don’t live on just bread but we live on each word that comes from our God who’s in charge but that wasn’t enough and Jesus was taken to the temple in Jerusalem and the devil said it’s time to test God and the claim that you’re really the son so jump from this temple jump down and show the world that God’s really true God said you’d be safe So prove it. Now Jump Maybe I’ll stop bugging you too… And Israel remembered How they had tested their Lord And the question rang out loud and clear And Jesus snapped back Don’t put God to the test And the question…… Who’s in charge here Next Jesus was led To the top of the mountain To see all the kingdoms below And Israel remembered Shema Israel They remembered their own calf of gold As Moses was taken on high They knew They remembered How miserable they failed in their task And Moses had seen What the people had done And again the question was asked It’s yours You can have it You can be their messiah Just bow down and worship me now And Jesus responded Satan! Go to hell! For it is written Worship and serve only God Remembered Israel They remembered their prayer Shema The Lord is our God The Lord is one