It’s not often that we benefit from the devil’s actions, but this Sunday’s gospel reading shows him doing us a great favor. Indirectly, by trying to goad Jesus into several acts of selfish pride, we actually learn important lessons in prayer. Jesus’ 40 days in the desert turned into a master class in prayer, and the devil’s temptations provided high-resolution illustrations.
The temptation in each case is designed to appeal to mankind’s tendencies toward gluttony, greed and pride.
“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,’ the devil stated. Jesus said to him in reply, “It also says, You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.”
Weakened as Jesus was by 40 days of deprivation, the devil’s invitations to enjoy a full meal, some luxury and a bit of catering were designed to be irresistible. Instead of being led into temptation, however, this experience gave Jesus the raw materials to teach humanity how to pray. “Lead us not into temptation and deliver us from evil” not only became the closing of the most important prayer of all time, but it gave humanity the recipe for talking freely, directly and intimately with Our Father.
After the last temptation of Christ in the desert, not only did Jesus remind Satan that we should never put God to the test, but he taught all of humanity to ask God to spare us from the kind of testing he knew we couldn’t survive alone. Following his time in the desert, Jesus never performed a miracle without praying first. He knew the source of his power and wanted all witnesses to know it too. That includes us.
Our first and second readings prove the long tradition Jesus was following, dating back to another trial in the desert when Moses lead the Israelites out of slavery (Dt 26:4-10):
“When the Egyptians maltreated and oppressed us, imposing hard labor upon us, we cried to the LORD, the God of our fathers, and he heard our cry and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression. He brought us out of Egypt with his strong hand and outstretched arm, for there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all, enriching all who call upon him.”
Paul echoes the scriptural call to prayer in his letter to the Romans (Rom 10:8-13), reminding them and us:
“The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart. … Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
The message of Lent is “Prepare through prayer.” That’s what Christ did for 40 days in the desert. Following that, through the miracles of his public life, he taught us that nothing great can happen without a good soul searching. After all, that is where you will find God.
Back in the day, 2000 years ago when your distractions were the activities and work of daily survival , going out into the desert was a great way to prepare. Some of the distractions of today include TV, cable, Internet, smart phones, social media, facebook, twitter, email, pintrest, youtube, facetime, ipods, ipads, x-box, play station, wii, radio, movie theatres, shopping malls, sporting events, etc. So it would seem that we have a lot of options to choose from if we want to eliminate or reduce the number of things that distract us every day. Pick one or more to trade for more time spent in prayer.
The blessed Virgin Mary told Sr. Marianne DE Jesus Torres in the 17th century: “…There will be unbridled luxury, which acting thus to entice the rest into sin, will conquer innumerable frivolous souls who will be lost. Innocence will almost no longer be found in children, nor modesty in women. In this supreme moment of need of the Church, those who should speak will fall silent.”
It would be tough to argue that this has not come to pass. As a society, we are living in the technologically richest period of man’s history. These are certainly days of “unbridled luxury”, as the Virgin tells us. We are overloaded with cell phones, the internet, television, movies and so many other conveniences, that it is more difficult than ever, often impossible, to hear the whisper of the Holy Ghost. Man relishes his advances but it is clear that the easy living they help foster puts him at odds with his supernatural calling. The ‘fruits’ of these advances often result in a deadening of the soul as they easily kill a spirit of penance and quell a thirst for the eternal. (From the book; “One Message One Truth”)
No worries though, we know who wins in the end. Stay the course men.
Thanks Tom for your writings and inspiration.
Have a great Lent.
Wow, Tom A and Mark K are both inspired writers this weekend.
We live in dangerous times and the easier life is made by all the “advances” that we have today clearly seem to make it so much easier to take our off THE BALL, and fall into softness and lukewarmness.
The time of lend prescribed by the church and her wisdom knows that we NEED to be on our knees and challenge ourselves to offer up in order to tighen up our relationship with the Lord. If we do not we are vulnerable to the culture and the time. We need to lead our families by example of “fasting, prayer and alms giving”
Thanks for your witness and example men!