Lk 4:1-13
Dt 26:1-10
Rom 10:8-13
focus: The temptations of Jesus in the desert describe basic dangers for all of us.
function: The Season of Lent is an opportunity to face them and, with the help of God’s grace, to overcome them.
I was amazed to see what has become of our Stations of the Cross, here outdoors, East of the lake and beyond the bridge. In the course of twenty-five years, they had turned very dark and also were dirty from bird droppings. Now our good maintenance and grounds keeping team, Harold and Dan, have cleaned them, put a new coat of bronze on them, glazed them – and they look like new!
They are very good art, made by the late Lore Friedrich in Germany. However, the cleaning and do-over was needed so one can see again what they depict; and even though most of them (except for the Easter station #15) point us to very sad and sorrowful events, there is also real beauty in some of them, for instance, in Jesus’ standing uprightly and with great dignity before Pilate, and in Veronica’s holding the sweat towel of Jesus.
Looking at these Stations, now again so shiny and beautiful, raised the question in me: Do I, do we, need such a do-over on occasion, too? Can it be that we, who are fearfully, wonderfully and beautifully made by God in God’s image, sometimes don’t show this beauty anymore as we used to, that we need, as it were, some cleaning and polishing?
St. Benedict, the founder of our order, thought so. In his Rule, in the chapter on The Observance of Lent, he writes: “The life of a monk ought to be a continuous Lent. Since few, however, have the strength for this, we urge the entire community during these days of Lent to keep its manner of life most pure and to wash away in this holy season the negligences of other times.
Does today’s gospel speak to us about this task? In we find Jesus in the desert, where he goes in order to prepare for his public ministry, fasting for forty days. He has returned from the Jordan River, from his baptism, where he has experienced himself as God’s Beloved. He is filled with the Holy Spirit. It is the Spirit then that leads him into the desert. Apparently, it’s a Divine necessity that he goes there and experiences “temptations.”
The temptations, which Jesus was a faced with, he who became in all things like us except for sin, are fundamental dangers for every human being: being caught up in material things, greed and consumerism (“Turning stones into bread”), exercising power and control over people (“I shall give to you all this power and glory”), and seeking prestige and the acclaim of the people (“Throw yourself down from here”). Jesus faces the temptations, but doesn’t give in to them. God’s word, which he throws against them, helps him to overcome them.
What is important for us is honesty. When does it happen that we fill the hole in our chest, that may well also have to do with old childhood wounds, with things like food, booze, our accomplishment and our reputation, having to be in control, refusing to forgive or being selfish with our time, talent and treasure? The truth is that we can make good choices. We always have a choice (2x). The truth is that we can do what is right instead of what is easy. The truth is that, in spite of everything, we can take over responsibility for ourselves. As the Holy Spirit guided Jesus in the desert, so the Holy Spirit guides us, too, in our decision making.
Dear sisters and brothers in the Lord, the temptations of Jesus in the desert describe basic dangers for all of us. The Season of Lent is an opportunity to face them and, with the help of God’s grace, to overcome them.
This can happen though prayer, fasting and acts of charity, to which the church calls us during this Holy Season of Lent. One important form of prayer is praying with Holy Scripture. Jesus knew the Sacred Scriptures and could draw from them words to combat the suggestions of the tempter.
In regards to fasting and abstinence, St. Benedict writes in his Rule: “Let each [monk, during Lent,] deny himself some food, drink, sleep, needless talking and idle jesting – and look forward to Holy Easter with joy and spiritual longing.” There is a connection in Benedict’s mind between these two things: abstinence – and the joy that comes from the Holy Spirit. Abstinence is not a goal in itself. It is meant to create inner space, inner openness and freedom, so that the wellspring of the Holy Spirit can gush forth within us more easily.
Acts of charity: When I think of acts of charity, Veronica comes to my mind again. She practiced charity toward a suffering person along the way of the cross and encountered Christ. The same can happen to us when we assist people in need today.
Let us pray this morning: O Loving Christ Jesus, we come to you with our wayward hearts. Teach us through your word and example so that this Lent will become for us a time of cleansing and of conversion, a time in which the beautiful image of God, according to which we were lovingly created, shines forth anew in us. AMEN.
~Fr.l Thomas Leitner, OSB