Gen 2:7-9, 3:1-7; Rom
5:12-19; Mt 4:1-11 (A - Lent 1)
“In Christ we
suffered temptation, and in him we overcame the Devil” (Divine Office)
A reflective way of looking at life is to see it as a
struggle between sin and grace, selfishness and holiness. Today’s Scripture
readings show two contrasting reactions to temptation. The first parents, Adam
and Eve, preferred their own inclinations to the will of God (Gen 2:16-17;
3:1-6). Secondly, on several occasions, God tested Abraham to prove his faith and
strengthen his hope in the promises made to him. He obeyed willingly when God
asked him to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, the son of promise. When the
Israelites were sorely tested in Egypt for more than 400 years of hard labor
and persecution, they did not forget him. They kept God’s word and remembered
his promise, leading them into the promised homeland.
Jesus was no exception to this pattern of testing and
preparation for the mission his Father gave him. He resisted temptation,
remaining faithful to God’s will. He was led into the wilderness for 40 days
without food and little shelter. He had nothing to sustain himself in that
barren wilderness except his forty days of prayer and fasting. Jesus was left
alone in that harsh environment to wrestle with the temptation to seek pain and
hardship, humiliation and rejection, suffering and death on a cross. Temptation,
in one form or another, is an unavoidable part of life. If we honestly examine
our daily experience, we can find many aspects of temptation: impulses or
tendencies counter to the right way of doing things. If we rationalize these
temptations, they will become socially acceptable and politically correct, and
that would itself become an insidious temptation.
The Scripture calls the tempter by many names: the
devil and Satan (Rev 12:9), Beelzebul, the prince of demons (Lk 11:15, Mt
12:24), the evil one (Mt 13:38), and the father of lies (Jn 8:44). Where did
Jesus find the strength to survive the tempter’s seduction? He fed himself on
God’s word and found strength in doing his Father’s will.
How can we overcome sin and gain freedom over our
unruly desires and the lies of Satan and the world? The Lord Jesus gives us his
Spirit to help us in our weakness (Rom 8:26) and to be our guide and consoler
in temptation and test (1 Cor 10:13). He gives grace to the humble who
acknowledge their dependence on him (Js 4:6) and helps to stand against the
lies and attacks of our enemy, Satan, who seeks to destroy us (1 Pt 5:8-10; Eph
6:10-18). He wants us to “fight the good fight of faith” (1 Tim 6:12) with the
power and strength that comes from the Holy Spirit. Do we rely on the Lord for
our strength and victory in this Lent?
“…if he were not
tempted, he could not teach you how to triumph over temptation” (Divine Office)
