The following homily, based upon Luke 4:1-13, was
delivered by Fr. RJ on February 21, 2010. (if you wish instead
to listen to the homily,
click here):
Jesus had just been baptized in the Jordan river. He had heard
the voice of the Father proclaim, "You are my Son, the beloved, with
you I am well pleased." The Holy Spirit had descended upon Him and
remained with Him. If we were not already familiar with the rest of
the story, we might expect that Jesus would gather His disciples and
lead them into Jerusalem where He would establish a kingdom. That
was not the next step. Instead, Jesus was led by the Spirit in the
wilderness where He fasted and was tempted by Satan. If Jesus was
going to defeat His true enemy, He would have to begin where Adam
and Eve had failed.
This event in the life of Jesus has been the subject of many
works of art. Unfortunately Satan is usually depicted as a repulsive
figure who would have difficulty tempting anyone to do much of
anything. Jesus was tempted in the same way that every human is
tempted. Jesus was alone in the wilderness. He was hungry and tired.
Then, unwelcome thoughts began to enter His mind. Throughout the
scripture, whenever we hear Satan speak, he says the same kinds of
things. The temptations come in the form of a doubt that is planted,
a doubt that will destroy the relationship between God and humanity.
It is a doubt which questions God’s care for us, or His love of us.
In the garden it was, "God knows you won’t die. He doesn’t want you
to eat the fruit of that tree because it will make you like Him."
The doubt that was planted was whether God wanted what was best for
Adam and Eve. In the wilderness temptation of Jesus, the doubt
planted was, "Is the Father really pleased with you? Why are you
hungry? If you remain faithful to the Father’s plan, you are going
to be rejected. Just give a nod in my direction, seek the
fulfillment of your mission through me, and I’ll make sure you get
what you came for. If you really are who the Father said you are,
give me and the rest of the world a sign." At the heart of all three
of the temptations Jesus faced were accusations about Jesus’
relationship with His Father. These accusation struck at the heart
of Jesus’ identity that had just been revealed at the baptism.
If we examine how we are tempted, we can see that Jesus faced the
same kinds of temptations that we face. At the heart of every
temptation is a doubt about whether our Father’s plan for us is the
right plan. Temptation takes the form of thoughts like, "If you
don’t look out for number one, no one else will. You need to treat
yourself and put yourself first. As long as no one gets hurt, it’s
okay. Everyone else does it. God doesn’t care. God doesn’t see. All
of these rules are obstacles to your enjoyment of life." That’s
where temptation begins, but when we give in, the accusations
change. The accusations become, "God doesn’t love you. How can a
good Christian do what you did? You might as well give up and keep
listening to all of the doubts, and, whatever you do, don’t get too
close to God. You belong to me now." Does any of this sound
familiar?
At this point, we need to remember that temptation itself is not
sin. The idea was planted in Jesus’ mind to change the stone into
bread, to take Satan’s way to the kingdom, or to seek instant
acclaim. Jesus was tempted in every way we are, but did not sin.
When we are tempted, when doubts about God’s love are planted in our
minds, we need to recognize that they are temptations. They are lies
designed to get us to reject the plan that our Father has for our
lives.
So, what do we do about these doubts and accusations? When Jesus
was tempted, He returned to the foundation of the identity that He
had in relationship to His Father. When He was tempted to turn stone
into bread He responded, "True life is not found in feeding the
desires of the flesh, but in listening to the voice of my Father."
When He was tempted to bow to Satan to gain the kingdoms of this
world, He responded, "There is only One who is worthy of our undying
allegiance." When He was tempted to reach for instant fame, Jesus
responded, "It is not my place to force the hand of the Father."
Rather than listening to the accusations and doubts planted in His
mind, Jesus turned to the words that God had inspired, words that
called Him to a right relationship with His Father.
If we want to respond productively when temptation comes, we need
to know the truth of what our Father says about who we are, and the
kind of relationship He wants us to have with Him. When the thought
is planted that no one will be hurt if we ignore a commandment here
or there, that life is more pleasurable without all of the rules, we
need to recall what God has spoken. Sin brings destruction and
death, but the gift of God is eternal life. When the thought is
planted that we need to look out for ourselves because no one else
will, we need to remember Jesus’ words that the lilies of the field
neither toil nor spin, but God clothes the fields with splendor. Are
we not of more value than the grass that is here today and is thrown
in the fire tomorrow? Our Father will provide for our needs if we
will seek the Kingdom of Heaven. When doubts about God’s love and
forgiveness are planted in our minds we need to remember that God
loved us so much that He sent His only Son, and if we believe in
Him, we have eternal life. He did not come into the world to condemn
us, but that we might be saved. The scriptures tell us who we are.
We are beloved children of the Father in heaven. The scriptures tell
us the kind of relationship God wants to have with us. Jesus came so
that we, through Him, could have life. If we want to survive the
temptations that we will face, we desperately need to know who we
are through the work of Jesus Christ our Lord.
The second thing we need is to be led by the Spirit of God. Just
as Jesus was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, you and I need to
be led by the Spirit of God in the desert of the modern world. When
temptations arise and doubts about the truth of God’s plan come into
our minds, we must rely on the Spirit of God dwelling in us. When we
become aware of temptation, it might be helpful to pray a prayer
taught by the Blessed Peter Faber, "Father, in the name of Jesus,
fill me with the Spirit." It is the Spirit who gives us new life,
who strengthens us to stand against temptation, just as it was the
Spirit who led Jesus through the temptation in the wilderness.
Just as Jesus defeated His true enemy in the wilderness, He can
overcome the temptations that come our way. Through His word and
Holy Spirit, we can be led through this wilderness with the
confidence that our Heavenly Father loves us, and has a plan for us
that leads to life and joy and peace. We have a choice to make. Will
we believe the accusations and doubts that Satan has planted? Or
will we believe what God has said about His love for us? Will we
repeat the choice of Adam and Eve that will lead us into the
wilderness? Or will we be led by Jesus on the path that leads to the
eternal Kingdom of God? Jesus Christ has defeated the enemy for us.
We can continue in the way of that victory if we will choose to
listen to Him, following where He has led the way.
