First Sunday Lent 2008
What are you seeing. Look close they are sitting on chairs
Temptations of Jesus Christ
My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
An elderly carpenter was ready to retire. He told his employer-contractor of his plans to leave house-building business and live a more leisurely life with his wife enjoying his extended family. He would miss the paycheck, but he needed to retire. They could get by. The contractor was sorry to see his good worker go and asked if he could build just one more house as a personal favor. The carpenter said yes, but in time it was easy to see that his heart was not in his work. He resorted to shoddy workmanship and used inferior materials.
It was an unfortunate way to end a dedicated career. When the carpenter finished his work, the employer came to inspect the house. He handed the front-door key to the carpenter. "This is your house," he said, "My gift to you."
The carpenter was shocked! What a shame! If he had only known he was building his own house, he would have done it all so differently.
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, so it is with us. We build our lives, a day at a time, often putting less than our best into the building. Then, with a shock we realize we have to live in the house we have built. If we could do it over, we'd do it much differently. But, we cannot go back. This is the time God gave us to build our house.
Our Gospel today is on the Temptation of Jesus in the wilderness. In each of these three temptations what the devil is saying to Jesus is, "Come on; use what you have to get what you want." And in each case Jesus overcomes the temptation by replying, "No, we can only use godly means to satisfy our God-given needs or to pursue our goals in life."
In the first temptation, Jesus had fasted for forty days in the wilderness and at the end of it he was very hungry. The devil puts an idea into his head: "If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread" (Luke 4:3). Notice that the first thing the devil does is sow a doubt in his mind: "if you are the Son of God." "Are you really sure God is with you?" The same thing happened in the Garden of Eden. The first thing the Tempter said to Eve was, "Did God really say you should not eat of any fruit of the garden" (Genesis 3:1). Temptation always begins with a doubting thought. Jesus overcame the temptations by refusing to entertain such doubts and by standing on the word of God.
Secondly, that people are tempted only with what they need or want. After his fasting Jesus needed to eat. So the devil tempted him with food. It is not a sin for Jesus to eat after fasting. The sin may lie in how the food is obtained. Should he follow the normal way of obtaining bread or should he take the shortcut suggested by the devil to obtain instant bread? Jesus refuses to take the devil's shortcut. The means we employ to satisfy our needs must be in accordance with the word of God.
In the second temptation the devil shows Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and promises to give him authority over them if only Jesus would worship him. Remember that Jesus was about to begin his public life and was looking for a way to get the whole world to know him and accept his message. Again the devil tempts him to use what he has (his heart, his soul) to get what he wants (the loyalty of the whole world). Again Jesus says no. The end does not justify the means. "It is written, 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him'" (verse 8).
The devil is a deceiver! And he deceives himself the most! He believes he possesses all the wealth of the earth, because he thinks that all power on earth belongs to him. But Jesus is there! He is the Master of the universe! Since the Incarnation, through the "yes" of Mary his Mother, Jesus defeated and dominated the whole world!
In the third temptation the devil asks Jesus to throw him down from the pinnacle of the temple as a way to prove that he was the Son of God. Remember that the people were asking Jesus for a sign to prove that he was the Messiah. Jesus wanted to convince them that he was the one. But how do you do it! The devil suggested this sensational sky jump without a parachute. Again, use what you have to get what you want. Use your supernatural power to get the people to recognize you and believe in you as the Son of God, the Messiah. Do some magic?
No animal craves power and self-exaltation as we humans do. The devil offers it for a price: immersing ourselves in the culture of death, that is, worshipping him. After that comes despair, “throw yourself down from here.”
Mel Gibson tells about having everything our society values: success, good looks, money, prestige, adoring members of the opposite sex who would do anything for a moment with him. He had it all, yet felt so empty and miserable that he wanted to throw himself out of a window.
The devil is not stupid. These temptations worked for him in the past. He knew it. The devil is also not lazy. He doesn’t give up easily.
Think if we are tempted during Lent, it should be being tempted to do good. And I think those three temptations of Jesus are a good framework. Take the first one, temptation from hunger. What can we do during this Lent for the hungry of the world? Come up with one little thing you would do during Lent that would make this a better world for the hungry, either close at home or across the world. But there’s another kind of hunger. The other is spiritual hunger. I think we are all spiritually hungry but don’t always know it. You know what happens when people are starving and it gets really bad? They lose their appetites. I think, much of our lives, we lose our appetites for things of the spirit. Lent is a good time to nourish our spirits, our spiritual hunger. We all just have to slow down, and that’s a good way to deal with our spiritual hunger.
The next one is power and control. We all want to be in charge. We all want power and control. I think the best antidote for power and control is gratitude and inner peace. So what I would suggest during Lent, we might every day take a few moments to think about people that we are thankful for. Developing gratitude and an inner peace will really deal with the temptation for power and control. What about the third one? What about miracles? There are things we pray for. We pray for people who are sick. We pray for people who are hurting. Maybe, during Lent, let’s, instead of praying for God to do it, instead of praying for God to make a miracle, say “How can I be an instrument of the very thing I am praying for?” Maybe a visit to someone who is sick, maybe a phone call to someone who is lonely, maybe dropping a card to someone who is distant. Satan’s greatest triumph is that he has caused many people to no longer believe that he really exists. Jesus tells us who he is when he said: "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven” (Luke 10: 18). My dear friends, Satan is real and his actions in the world are very real. We have to fight.
You are the carpenter. Each day you hammer a nail, place a board, or erect a wall. "Life is a do-it-yourself project," someone has said. Your attitudes and the choices you make today build the "house" you live in tomorrow.
Build wisely!
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
An elderly carpenter was ready to retire. He told his employer-contractor of his plans to leave house-building business and live a more leisurely life with his wife enjoying his extended family. He would miss the paycheck, but he needed to retire. They could get by. The contractor was sorry to see his good worker go and asked if he could build just one more house as a personal favor. The carpenter said yes, but in time it was easy to see that his heart was not in his work. He resorted to shoddy workmanship and used inferior materials.
It was an unfortunate way to end a dedicated career. When the carpenter finished his work, the employer came to inspect the house. He handed the front-door key to the carpenter. "This is your house," he said, "My gift to you."
The carpenter was shocked! What a shame! If he had only known he was building his own house, he would have done it all so differently.
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, so it is with us. We build our lives, a day at a time, often putting less than our best into the building. Then, with a shock we realize we have to live in the house we have built. If we could do it over, we'd do it much differently. But, we cannot go back. This is the time God gave us to build our house.
Our Gospel today is on the Temptation of Jesus in the wilderness. In each of these three temptations what the devil is saying to Jesus is, "Come on; use what you have to get what you want." And in each case Jesus overcomes the temptation by replying, "No, we can only use godly means to satisfy our God-given needs or to pursue our goals in life."
In the first temptation, Jesus had fasted for forty days in the wilderness and at the end of it he was very hungry. The devil puts an idea into his head: "If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread" (Luke 4:3). Notice that the first thing the devil does is sow a doubt in his mind: "if you are the Son of God." "Are you really sure God is with you?" The same thing happened in the Garden of Eden. The first thing the Tempter said to Eve was, "Did God really say you should not eat of any fruit of the garden" (Genesis 3:1). Temptation always begins with a doubting thought. Jesus overcame the temptations by refusing to entertain such doubts and by standing on the word of God.
Secondly, that people are tempted only with what they need or want. After his fasting Jesus needed to eat. So the devil tempted him with food. It is not a sin for Jesus to eat after fasting. The sin may lie in how the food is obtained. Should he follow the normal way of obtaining bread or should he take the shortcut suggested by the devil to obtain instant bread? Jesus refuses to take the devil's shortcut. The means we employ to satisfy our needs must be in accordance with the word of God.
In the second temptation the devil shows Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and promises to give him authority over them if only Jesus would worship him. Remember that Jesus was about to begin his public life and was looking for a way to get the whole world to know him and accept his message. Again the devil tempts him to use what he has (his heart, his soul) to get what he wants (the loyalty of the whole world). Again Jesus says no. The end does not justify the means. "It is written, 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him'" (verse 8).
The devil is a deceiver! And he deceives himself the most! He believes he possesses all the wealth of the earth, because he thinks that all power on earth belongs to him. But Jesus is there! He is the Master of the universe! Since the Incarnation, through the "yes" of Mary his Mother, Jesus defeated and dominated the whole world!
In the third temptation the devil asks Jesus to throw him down from the pinnacle of the temple as a way to prove that he was the Son of God. Remember that the people were asking Jesus for a sign to prove that he was the Messiah. Jesus wanted to convince them that he was the one. But how do you do it! The devil suggested this sensational sky jump without a parachute. Again, use what you have to get what you want. Use your supernatural power to get the people to recognize you and believe in you as the Son of God, the Messiah. Do some magic?
No animal craves power and self-exaltation as we humans do. The devil offers it for a price: immersing ourselves in the culture of death, that is, worshipping him. After that comes despair, “throw yourself down from here.”
Mel Gibson tells about having everything our society values: success, good looks, money, prestige, adoring members of the opposite sex who would do anything for a moment with him. He had it all, yet felt so empty and miserable that he wanted to throw himself out of a window.
The devil is not stupid. These temptations worked for him in the past. He knew it. The devil is also not lazy. He doesn’t give up easily.
Think if we are tempted during Lent, it should be being tempted to do good. And I think those three temptations of Jesus are a good framework. Take the first one, temptation from hunger. What can we do during this Lent for the hungry of the world? Come up with one little thing you would do during Lent that would make this a better world for the hungry, either close at home or across the world. But there’s another kind of hunger. The other is spiritual hunger. I think we are all spiritually hungry but don’t always know it. You know what happens when people are starving and it gets really bad? They lose their appetites. I think, much of our lives, we lose our appetites for things of the spirit. Lent is a good time to nourish our spirits, our spiritual hunger. We all just have to slow down, and that’s a good way to deal with our spiritual hunger.
The next one is power and control. We all want to be in charge. We all want power and control. I think the best antidote for power and control is gratitude and inner peace. So what I would suggest during Lent, we might every day take a few moments to think about people that we are thankful for. Developing gratitude and an inner peace will really deal with the temptation for power and control. What about the third one? What about miracles? There are things we pray for. We pray for people who are sick. We pray for people who are hurting. Maybe, during Lent, let’s, instead of praying for God to do it, instead of praying for God to make a miracle, say “How can I be an instrument of the very thing I am praying for?” Maybe a visit to someone who is sick, maybe a phone call to someone who is lonely, maybe dropping a card to someone who is distant. Satan’s greatest triumph is that he has caused many people to no longer believe that he really exists. Jesus tells us who he is when he said: "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven” (Luke 10: 18). My dear friends, Satan is real and his actions in the world are very real. We have to fight.
You are the carpenter. Each day you hammer a nail, place a board, or erect a wall. "Life is a do-it-yourself project," someone has said. Your attitudes and the choices you make today build the "house" you live in tomorrow.
Build wisely!
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
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