If You Are the Son of God

If You Are the Son of God

Lk 4: 1 – 13

First Sunday of Lent

Introduction

Today is the first Sunday of Lent. Our Gospel reading today is about the temptation of Jesus in the desert. Just like us, Jesus too was tempted by the devil. Our reading, however, also tells us how Jesus triumphed over Satan’s cunning wiles, giving us an example of how to deal with our own temptations.

The Gospel

            After Jesus was baptized in the Jordan and after having been filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus is led by the same Spirit into the desert for forty days to be tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and when they were over he was hungry.

            The desert and forty days remind us of the people of Israel who travelled in the desert for forty years. It was a time of testing where Israel met all sorts of difficulties including hunger, thirst and the attacks of fierce enemies in the desert. For Jesus, it was to be a time of testing.

            There in the desert, the devil said to him, “ If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” Jesus answered him, “ It is written, One does not live by bread alone.”

            Then he took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a single instant. The devil said to him, “ I shall give to you all this power and their glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I may give it to whomever I wish. All this will be yours, if you worship me. “ Jesus said to him in reply: “ It is written, You shall worship the Lord, your God and him alone shall you serve.“

            Then he led him to Jerusalem, made him stand on the parapet of the temple and said to him, “ 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. Jesus said to him in reply, “ It also says, you shall not put the Lord your God to the test.”

When the devil had finished every temptation, he departed from him for a time.

Reflection

Today is the first Sunday of Lent. As we all know, Lent is a time when the Church urges us to return to the Lord by breaking away from sin and by doing penance.

Our reading today tells us how Jesus struggled against temptations. While we believe that Jesus had no sin, he was nonetheless, tempted just like all of us.

The first of these temptations was the temptation to transform a stone into bread. Jesus was hungry because he fasted for forty days in the desert. Jesus refused to give in to this temptation and told the devil that while bread was important it was not the only thing that mattered in life. We do not live by material goods alone.

The second of these temptations was the temptation to power and glory. The devil was ready to give Jesus all the kingdoms of the earth, all the power and glory, so long as Jesus worships him. But even this, Jesus refuses and tells the devil that it is God alone who is to be worshiped. The desire for power and glory is a real desire of every man and woman. One who truly worships, worships only God who alone has power and glory over everything in this world. All other power and glory are fleeting and are an illusion.

The third of these temptations was the temptation of Jesus to tempt God to rescue and save him from being harmed once thrown from a high place in the temple. Jesus refuses the devil and tells him that one should not force or compel God in any way to act on our wishes.

One might notice the devil’s words to Jesus: “ If you are the Son of God…” Somehow, the devil wanted Jesus to prove himself as the one and only Son of God by doing all sorts of things. It was a real temptation. He could readily have turned stones into bread and would easily have all the glory and honor that he wanted. But Jesus’ refusal to give in simply tells us that he really had no need to prove himself and prove his identity as God’s own son.

On the cross, many bystanders jeered Jesus telling him the same thing: “ If you are the Messiah, come down from the cross and save yourself! (Lk 23: 35-37) ” People were tempting him to prove himself as the Messiah. Jesus, instead of coming down from the cross, chose to suffer for our sake and never gave in to the temptation of proving to his detractors who he really was.

Why would anyone refuse to turn stone into bread when one was hungry? Don’t we all want to have as much material goods as we possibly can have? Or why would anyone refuse honor and glory? Isn’t honor and glory what most of us are really after? And why won’t we tempt God and compel him to do what we want him to do? 

Somehow, in refusing all of these things, Jesus tells us one thing that is very clear: all of these are ALL LIES! All of these temptations and promises are based on lies that are peddled by the father of lies himself – the devil.

The devil makes us believe that the material world is the only important aspect in our life. The devil makes us believe that glory and power are real and absolute. The devil makes us believe that God who is all powerful and sovereign can be compelled to do what we want him to do. All these are lies!

People who believe in them soon realize that all of these are mere  creations of our collective imagined order prescribed by the devil himself. And many live their lives in pursuit of these lies, only to be disappointed in the end.

So how do we fight these temptations and lies? Jesus shows us the way. His answers to the devil were always based on Scriptures - the word of God. Reading and reflecting on the word of God give us the strength, the light and the direction to fight our battles with the prince of lies, the great deceiver. The word of God will give us the victory that Jesus himself experienced after being tempted by the devil.

During this Lenten season, let us resolve to follow the Lord more closely by returning to him, by doing penance and by reading and reflecting God’s word as we battle against the lies that the devil tells in order to lead us away from the Lord.

Prayer

Dear Lord, I too have often believed in the lies that the devil has advanced in the world. I very much seek so much material wealth, glory, fame and power, thinking that without these, I am simply nobody in the eyes of the world.

But today, I see that you have refused to believe these lies. You did not allow yourself to give in to these temptations just to prove that you are God’s Son. Instead, you battled temptation using the word of God as your guide and light.

Bring me closer to you Lord in this season of Lent so I may turn away from what is evil and do what is good. Amen.

“Submit yourself therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.” – James 4: 7 -8

For reflections like this, see my blog: thevineyardlaborer.blogspot.com