March 6, 2022
(1st Sunday of Lent, Yr. C)
The devil said to Jesus, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” . . .
Then Satan showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a single instant. . . .
and said, “All this will be yours, if you worship me.” Lk_4:1-13
The three temptations. In His humanity, Jesus was tempted by Satan in much the same way that we are tempted, beloved: the Flesh, the World and the Devil. The Flesh: eat, eat, eat. Eat when we don’t need to. Eat what we know we shouldn’t. Eat to satisfy those passions of feeling good. Eat, in response to cravings or just because we were tempted. And then eating grows into satisfying those other fleshly passions and temptations: sex, drugs, stealing, cheating, lying, murder, anger, hatred . . . The devil is in them all, beloved, and he knows that we’re weak when it comes to fleshly temptations (especially those chocolate chip cookies and our coffee). And yet, Jesus showed us that He and we CAN overcome those temptations with a little discipline and faith. We supply the discipline and He, the support in our faith.
Then there’s the world. Oh how the world, through the media, tempts us, entices us into it’s ownership. It complains to the n’th degree about out prejudices, and then it subtly feeds those prejudices itself, in hatred against cultures, against professions, against races and even against sexes. We have apps and TV programs, movies and websites galore, that cannot pass on a single message without selling one thing or another that have nothing to do with the message or even contradicts it. It’s a world of materialism, consumerism and pride. “You can have all of this, IF . . .
IF you worship ME – If you worship the devil, with all his lies, with all his enticement, with all his false promises. The flesh, the world and the devil. All out there to take us away from the love that’s already planted in our hearts for God, for Jesus. For remember that Jesus has already conquered that pest, two thousand years ago. All we need do is rely on Him!
Finally, taking Jesus to the top of the Temple, Satan said, “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.” ibid
Pride. “Here, the devil was saying, “Even though God decides the time and the moment, why not bring the moment forward? Why remain in obscurity when so much good can be done by coming out into the light in a glorious and spectacular way?” We can see that this final temptation is the most complex and subtle of all.” How to turn a good into an evil – Satan’s the pro. And thus, we must be very very careful in our discernment of even the goods that we plan. Is there pride in it? Is there evil hidden in it? Can it lead to evil in the way others view it? We must be very cautious, beloved, and pray for discernment in everything we think, and say and do. This is what Lent is all about!
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Whispers to the Wind 