The Son of God is also a son of Adam.  So, he goes through the temptations that we humans face.  And he shows us how to overcome them, so we may be true to ourselves and our mission.

Jesus’ temptations are essentially the same as those of Adam and the Israelites wandering in the wilderness.  They are also the same temptations that beset us today.

Yes, we worry about our well-being.  And the greater the worry about basic needs, the stronger the tendency to forget that life is more than meeting these needs (see Lk 12, 23).  This is what happens to the wandering Israelites.  Dying of hunger and thirst, they miss Egypt and forget their slavery.

Bent on providing for ourselves, we end up looking out only for our own interests (Lk 12, 16-21).  Such worry can also lead us to want to lord it over others.  At any cost, to selling, yes, even our soul.

To have enough, then, means to have more than what we already have.  Adam does not settle for what God has made available to him.  He sets his eyes upon becoming like God, but against his will, knowing what is good and what is bad.  So then, we human beings are never wholly satisfied.  Does not this tell us that God has made us for himself and our heart is restless until it rests in him?

Jesus shows us how to overcome temptations.

For Jesus, life is about listening to God’s word, doing his will, carrying out his work.  This is what nourishes and sustains life (Jn 4, 34).

He does not focus on his hunger.  He heeds God’s word, instead, and stays true to his mission.  That is why he will later “multiply” loaves to feed the hungry crowd, not himself.  He seeks the kingdom of God first and his righteousness.  He wants bread for everyone (Pagola).

God’s justice will also prod Jesus to speak out against lording it over others.  And he shows that he is true to his word.  And so, he turns down the offer of power and glory.  He bows down only before God.  Not before the rich and powerful who lie and bring suffering to the poor.  Interestingly, there is no mention in Luke’s account of angels coming to minister to Jesus.  Is there not a suggestion, then, that Jesus comes to serve, not to be served?

Service—even unto the giving up of the body and the shedding of blood—is Jesus’ greatness.  Being small, he is great.  He is strong because he is weak.  Humbly and fully human before God—not showing off, not testing, not forcing his hand—Jesus is divine.

It bears asking (see SV.EN X:166), “Which Christian would want to be other than who or what Jesus is?”

Lord Jesus, we are weak and capable of giving in to temptations (see SV.EN IX:284).  Give us the grace to persevere until death.

10 March 2019
First Sunday of Lent (C)
Dt 26, 4-10; Rom 10, 8-13; Lk 4, 1-13