Fighting Temptation
Readings Deut 26:4-10 Rm 10:8-13 Lk
4:1-13
Today is the
first Sunday in our Lenten journey. Our reflection today centers on the gospel
reading. After fasting and praying for forty days and forty nights, the devil,
in a subtle way, presents Christ with three most attractive and irresistible
human wants: bread, power and safety. First, the devil, knowing that Jesus was
hungry and that man can do anything to eat, challenged Him to turn stones into
bread to prove his claim as the son of God. Secondly, taking the advantage of man’s
quest for power, he asked Jesus to bow down and worship him in exchange for kingdoms
and empires. Thirdly, he asked Jesus to jump down from the pinnacle of the
temple assuring him of angels’ protection. Jesus did not fall for the devil in
spite of all pressures.
We have some
lessons to draw from this temptation narrative from the bible. Christ was
tempted after an intensive preparation for his earthly ministry, though he was
filled with the Holy Spirit (Lk 4:1). Lent is a period of great spiritual
advancement. Every Christian should beware, knowing that toughest temptations
in life come at the peak of our spiritual progress. The bible says “stand up to
him, strong in faith”.
Christ’s temptations are not different from
the ones we have today. The three temptations of Christ revolve around materialism.
The devil asked Jesus to turn stone into bread to satisfy his hunger. Today, in
a world charged with hunger and anxiety about our daily bread, the devil is
still asking us to commercialize our body, to rob others, to kill, to embezzle
public fund, to open abortion clinics, to venture into human trafficking and
slavery in order to eat. However, we should not yield to the devil because “man
does not live by bread alone” (Lk 4:4). Remember that Jesus, who was tempted
over a piece of bread, multiplied bread for 5,000 later. If we persevere today,
Christ will as well multiple the little we will have tomorrow.
Power and
influence are baits with which the devil lures people into sin. The devil can
lure people to take over all the kingdoms of the world, control business
empires, command crowds, move from glory to glory in as much as they bow down
to worship him. Unfortunately, many have fallen prey to this by tying their
lives and destiny to various occultic kingdoms in the world just for a
miniature earthly success. To such people, Christ reminds today, “you must do
homage to the Lord your God and him alone you must serve”. This biblical
injunction also forbids “hero worship” and obsession with celebrities. Some acclaimed men of God are into this net of
the devil. By using religious-ideological blandishment and sophistry they play
on people’s irrational quest for miracles and healing. Some has gone as far as acquiring miraculous
powers to pull crowds. To such people Christ reminds today, “Do not put the
Lord your God to the test”. We should be careful because the
devil does not take people to the pinnacle of success for any other reason
other than to land crash them; his assurance of safety notwithstanding.
Finally, the
reading concludes “Having exhausted every way of putting him to the test, the
devil left him, until the opportune moment”.
This means that victory over one temptation calls for readiness for the
next because the devil is never tired of tempting us. He keeps looking for
better strategies to employ. So we ought to be vigilant with prayer, fasting,
and alms-giving. May God bless our efforts. Amen.
