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Temptations

Reflections on the First Sunday of Lent

By Edward Hogan

The readings for
this Sunday:

Genesis 2:7-9; 3:1-7
Romans 5:12-19
Matthew 4:1-11

One of the words that has been used over the centuries to describe the earthly function of Jesus is that of teacher. The task of the teacher is to impart knowledge and in the best of circumstances also to convey wisdom. The text of the Gospel for today displays one of the great teaching moments of Christ's ministry. In this story about the temptations that Jesus faced near the beginning of his work, Matthew centers his story around three areas of human life.

The first of these deals with the issue of food but can be seen as symbolic of all the fundamental needs that we humans experience in our lifetime. We have learned from Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs that our basic needs must be met before we can go on to higher needs and eventually to our spiritual needs. Typically these needs are met through the nurturing of others in our early years. But in this case, the tempter is telling Jesus to work a miracle, change these stones into bread without the need for work or reliance on other people.

Jesus rejects this shortcut to satisfying his need for sustenance and also teaches us that getting caught up in meeting our basic needs should not blind us to the fact that we do not live by bread alone. Bread may well be the staff of life but we need to see that the type of life provided by bread alone is deficient. There is a greater need that can only be satisfied by relying on every word that comes from the mouth of God.

Tempters of all sorts may try to seduce us that this or that need is urgent and that they have the shortcut to satisfy it. They are the false prophets who try to sell us a bill of goods that is not grounded in the Word of God.

The second temptation has to do with pride. The tempter appeals to Jesus' self image and says to Him, put yourself to the test. You are so special to God that He will protect you from all harm if you throw yourself from a great height. I think Jesus is warning us all to beware of the temptations to a pride that tells us we are the special children of God and therefore we can seek exemption from the ordinary laws of nature.

Pride is a pernicious vice that distorts who we are in our own eyes and makes us wonder how other people don't see how terrific we are. Humility, which is the opposite of pride, calls us to honesty. If there is something special about us, it really is not due to our efforts alone. Who we are and what we have, come from so many natural roots, such as family, school, teachers, society and opportunity that reflecting on these should help to keep us humble.

The third temptation centers around power. The tempter offers Jesus power over the kingdoms of the world if only he would worship Satan. All of us know, at some level, that power has a strong attraction. It has been the motive behind most of the great atrocities in our world. Wars and genocides have developed and scarred our world through the pursuit of power.

At a psychological level, we know that the lowest form of power is power over others. It is cheap and can be obtained and lost in a very short time. The highest form of power is power over ourselves. This is not easily obtained and once attained is scarcely ever lost.

Jesus' handling of these temptations is a lesson worth learning.