The gospel on this first Sunday of Lent gives us the story of the temptation of Jesus in the desert/wilderness where he spent 40 days before he started his public ministry. This story is also the most immediate biblical foundation of the Lenten season. Why the desert? Why not the beach? Why not in the middle of a bustling city?
The word Lent comes from the Germanic word “lencten”, which means springtime. But, if it’s springtime, why is it that the primary environment that Lent is proposing to us is the wilderness, where it is dry, arid, and almost no vegetation is found. There seems to be a contradiction. How can spring happen in the wilderness? Well, if Lent is supposed to be the spring time of the soul, the seed of the Gospel of Jesus can only bloom or spring up if we are able to center ourselves back to the essentials, to the fundamentals. God’s word needs focus, total attention, less distractions, and the best place for that is the wilderness where we are stripped of the usual conveniences, where we have more time to consider the things that are truly important. – no competing gadgets, no internet, no television, no cellphones, and also no people around. Just with ourselves and with God! And so, for God’s word to bloom in us once again, we first have to visit the wilderness.
And, when we are only with ourselves and with God, we are able to travel to the deepest corners of our hearts, to unmask those things that we have been hiding under the rug that weaken the spirit, those temptations that win us over and over and over again. Those temptations can be grouped into the same temptations that Jesus experienced.
The first temptation, the temptation of material things. It’s interesting to note that the devil tempted Jesus when he was hungry, when he felt that natural human need. It’s easy to resist temptations when our body doesn’t call for it naturally. When one is full, it is easy to resist the temptation to binge or overindulge in something, but when one is in need, there is a greater tendency to give in to the temptation. But, Jesus said, “one does not live on bread alone.” The bread in here stands for all material and sensual pleasures or physical temptations that stand in the way in our relationship with God and with other people, those things that purely satisfy our senses. What are those things that we long for, that we aspire for, that when given a chance we will jump on them right away even if the process of possessing or achieving them compromises our values and our essence as sons and daughters of God? Is there something in our life that we hunger or thirst for to the point that we can sell our soul to the devil in order to have it?
Unsuccessful on his first attempt, the devil continued with his temptation, this time attacking the person of God: “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from this temple, your father will command his angels to guard and protect you.” This temptation particularly taunts or tests God’s loving providence and care. This is especially a temptation for those who are deeply religious people when one is pushed to the wall because of a difficult situation, tries to doubt or to test God’s care for us. “I have been faithful to you, Lord; I’ve done every single thing expected of me by my faith; I sacrificed a lot for you, but look where I am now, where are you? Why do you allow me to suffer like this? Are you really for real?” Another form of this temptation is when we try to compromise with him to grant us a favor: “If you grant my request, you will have my faithfulness.” To this temptation Jesus said, “you shall not put the Lord, your God to the test.” To test God’s faithfulness is to doubt the very essence of who God is – because in his faithfulness, he also shows us his mercy and love. Are there times when we are tempted to despair? Do we see God’s hand and presence even in the midst of difficulties and struggle?
When the devil was unsuccessful on the two temptations, he moved to the third temptation – “you see all these kingdoms? I will give to you all the power and glory there is in the world, you only have to worship me.” The great and alluring temptation for power and glory – something that we all struggle with in one way or another. In a world where there’s always that constant competition on being the best and number one — many times people bulldozed other people, destroyed their character and integrity just to get what they wanted or arrived where they wanted to be. “How dare you tell me what to do, I’ve been here longer than you”. “I am your supervisor or your boss, I don’t really care what you think, just follow my orders”. Do we unjustly use our connections just to have undue advantage to other people in our workplace? If you are a boss, how do you use your authority? Do you manifest compassion, fairness and justice? And, speaking of this burning desire for power or position, is our energy focused on getting ahead regardless of the cost like our health and familial relationships? And, are we willing to compromise our values and integrity just to reach our desired destination and position? To this temptation, Jesus said, “you shall worship the Lord, your God and him alone shall you serve.” Another interesting note on this is that the devil uses the word “worship” (all this will be yours, if you worship me). This temptation for power is so severe that it can parallel our worship to God. People who can be so consumed with power could see themselves like a God, especially in the exercise of personal power – “this is my body, I can do whatever I want with it, no one can tell me what to do with it” – we see clearly where it leads to and the consequences of that misplaced use of personal power. This makes sense why the devil told Jesus “just worship me, and you will have all the power and glory” because this temptation pushes God to the margins as our king and places oneself as the center of everything, looking at oneself as the God incarnate, the worship that is due to God is given to the self. Jesus showed us his
perseverance and endurance in saying “no” to this temptation.
For springtime (that is, the blossoming of God’s Word) to take place in us in this season of Lent, are you ready to pursue the riches hidden in Christ and give up the riches or wealth that the world pursues? Only then, the desert or the wilderness will bloom, and springtime of the soul will be realized. – Fr. Cary