So, how are your Lenten sacrifices coming along? Did they last longer than your New Year's resolutions? Did you already forget and eat meat last Friday? Well, guess what? We still have six weeks to go. It's never too late to start and if you fail you can start over again. That applies to a lot of things in our life of faith. If you fail, start over. If you want to live a better life, today is the time to start.
Remember, our sacrifices during Lent are not supposed to make us miserable for 40 days so we can feel happy when the torture is finally over. For too many people, Lent is the time we pretend to feel sorry for our sins so we can pretend to be forgiven. We pretend Jesus really died so we can pretend he really rose from the dead. What a terrible waste, to go through our short time on earth pretending.
But death is very real. And life is very real. And so is love. And forgiveness. And mercy. The true purpose of giving things up for Lent is so we can be mindful of each moment. We can do some spring cleaning of our souls and focus in on what is real, and important, and right.
On this first Sunday of Lent we join Jesus in the desert. No distractions. No music. No texting. No email. No Facebook. No food. No busyness. We stand alone with our thoughts, with our fears, with our doubts.
Today's reading from Matthew's gospel tells us the Holy Spirit led Jesus into the desert precisely so he could be tempted by the devil. What's going on?
Just before he went into the desert to have a smack-down with Satan, Jesus was baptized in the Jordan river by John. At that time, Jesus received a profound insight into his own identity and mission: He was the Son of God sent into the world to save sinners.
That's pretty heady stuff. And if he is not prepared, could be very dangerous. So the Spirit leads Jesus into the wilderness to test him, to prepare him for the most important work any human has ever undertaken.
The gospel story says that after 40 days, Jesus was hungry. Ya think? Now, before the über logical or scientific people among us question whether after 40 days of fasting Jesus wouldn't be hungry, he'd be dead, let me point out that in biblical terms, 40 is short-hand for "lotsa." So, in other words, the Israelites spent lots a years wandering in the desert. And after his resurrection, Jesus spent lotsa time teaching the apostles. So here, Jesus fasted for lots of days. It's like the Korea expression 만 as in 만국기. It's not literally ten thousand flags but lots of flags.
The point is, he was very hungry. And so the tempter approaches with a modest proposal. "So, Joshua (Jesus' name in Hebrew), you had an intense revelation back there at the Jordan river. Son of God, huh? So why be hungry. If you really are who you think you are, why not use your power and change this rock into bread? That shouldn't be too difficult, IF you are God's Son. Besides, who would know? At best, it will relieve your hunger. At worst, if you fail, if you can't change a stone into bread, you can call off this charade and go home and get married to a nice Jewish girl before you get yourself into some real trouble. Here. Do it now."
Jesus was hungry. Jesus was tempted. But Jesus knew who he was and why he was born. He knew to be true to his mission and to be true to his identity, the awesome power of God that flowed through him had to be used for others, not for himself. He came to live---and die---for others. And although Jesus was very hungry, he knew that bread could fill your belly but it could not fill your soul. It cannot satisfy our deeper hunger for meaning and purpose in life. So Jesus responds, "One does not live on bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God." Round one
Goes to Jesus.
So the devil takes Jesus to Jerusalem and makes him stand way up at the highest point of the Temple and says, "Okay, Josh, what about this Messiah business? Ya know, tradition says the Messiah will appear at the Temple. Look at the crowd gathering below. They're all watching you, wondering if you are going to jump. Go ahead. Just one more step and then, the Scripture says 'the angels will bear you up on their hands lest you dash your foot against a stone.' Won't that be a sight! Everyone will acknowledge you as the Messiah as you float gently to the ground."
Again, Jesus refuses to use his power for himself. He resists this temptation to put God to the test, even though the devil himself quotes the Scripture to tempt him. Jesus 2 - Devil 0
The third temptation is the most insidious and powerful: nothing less than all the kingdoms and empires of the world. All Jesus has to do is bow down to Satan and he can have literally all the power in the world. But Jesus recognizes this for what it is: idolatry. He rejects Satan. Jesus Game, Set, Match.
Idolatry is the worst sin in the Bible. Idolatry does not only break the first commandment, it's at the root of every sin because it makes something else more important than God.
How many dictators and tyrants and politicians sell their souls to the devil to grab and hang on to power?
Normally when we think of temptations, we think of vices. We think of walking along 42nd Street and 8th Avenue at 2:00 a.m., or taking a weekend trip to Las Vegas.
But notice Jesus' temptations are not something outwardly bad. Turning a stone into bread, performing a magic stunt, gaining world domination by a simple gesture, who would these hurt? What Satan wants Jesus to do is betray his identity as the Son of God, betray his mission to give his life for others and betray his relationship with the Father. And for what? Self gratification.
That's exactly what Satan wants us to do: betray our identities as children of God, betray our mission to live the gospel in all we say and do, and betray our relationship to God in order to gain earthly power. All for self gratification. And that's why it's important to give things up during Lent, so we can see more clearly how Satan tempts us every in many ways to forget who we are and why we are here. Coffee, chocolates, deserts, all good in themselves but also means of self gratification. We no longer enjoy these things, we need these things for our own happiness and sense of self worth
Satisfying our need for stuff, our desire for fame or popularity, our hunger for unlimited power or influence. It's all tempting. How many people give into these temptations every day? How many people lose their souls every day? Not only is the road to hell paved with good intentions, we walk down that road with baby steps, little betrayals and mindless, insensitive words and actions. We gather for Mass to ask God to help us resist temptation and to show our love and loyalty to the one who refused to turn a rock into bread, but who, instead, gave his life for us, turned bread into his body for us, that we might live, for God and for one another..
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