First Sunday of Lent B.
March 5, 2006. Our Lady of Grace 7:30, 9:30, 6PM.
Genesis 9:8-15. 1 Peter 3: 18-22. Mark 1: 12-15.
The young man was almost always in trouble. His
parents had picked him up at the police department several times. They
had sat in the principal’s office with him at school more than once. They
had seen him starting a fight with other kids in the park as they waited to
pick him up. In desperation his mother said to him, “Is there any
thing that you will not do to get into trouble? Is there any temptation
that you can resist?” The young man felt bad about how he was
acting. He thought to himself, “Maybe the way to avoid temptation is
to stay in bed and cover up my head so that I see, hear and do nothing. Maybe I
should just take a long vacation from life.”
He was sure that he had heard in church that the way to avoid
getting into trouble is to avoid temptation. But then, the First Sunday
of Lent happened and much to his amazement he heard that Jesus was driven into
the desert by the Holy Spirit to be tempted by the devil for 40 days! He
said to himself, “If we are supposed to avoid temptation, why would Jesus
allow himself to be tempted for 40 days?” New questions ran
through his head. He asked himself, “Is temptation always bad?
Does temptation always lead to sin? What kind of people would we be if we
kept ourselves safe from all temptation? If we were never tested in
the real world and never struggled with evil in daily life, would we be the
faithful, strong and courageous people God wants us to be?”
Recently I have been having problems with one of my
knees. Part of the problem is an old injury. Most of the problem is that
I have been protecting that knee and not getting enough exercise. The
trainer the doctor assigned to me taught me that I had to strengthen my knee by
exposing it to physical exercise and work. Sitting talking to people all
day and at the computer is not good for my overall physical health.
Exposing our bodies to the tension, stress and hard work of physical exercise
is a necessary part of a healthy life. The doctor warned me that as we
grow older the discipline of regular exercise is even more necessary if we
don’t want our muscles and joints to deteriorate. Couch potatoes run the
risk of having neither healthy bodies nor a long life. Too much exercise
can damage the joints. Too little exercise and a too comfortable life can
damage our bodies, too.
The spiritual life is much the same. Why did Jesus go
into the desert to be tempted by the devil for forty days? There is no
doubt that temptation exposes us to the danger of sin. Temptation is
always serious business for the Christian. At the same time, temptation
has a positive value in the Christian life. Temptation tests us and
strengthens us in the struggle against evil. Jesus went into the desert
to be tested by the devil. His human nature grew in strength and his
human mind and will grew in firm purpose and dedication as he struggled with Satan.
Those who have met evil face to face and have struggled with it have a
spiritual toughness and resolve that endless hours of quiet prayer alone can
not give. Being tested is an important part of growing in faith, strength
and conviction. The person who has never encountered the spirit of evil
and has never faced opposition for others or the raging impulses of his or her
own desires may well be the person who has not grown spiritually. Lack of
exercise of our minds and wills in practicing the virtues that make us strong
may leave us weak and spiritually out of shape.
In dealing with temptation we need to be careful to trust in
God’s power, not in our own. Yet a life without testing is a life without
strength. A prayer life without struggle is a prayer life without
power. A Christian that avoids the trials and struggles of the real world
is a Christian who will never find Jesus as he walks the way of the
Cross. Jesus went into the desert to be tested by Satan. Temptation
is serious business. It is always dangerous. That is why Jesus taught us
to pray “Lead us not into temptation.” Yet an overly safe and
comfortable life without the struggles that strengthen and deepen the faith,
the virtues and the commitments that make us Christian is also dangerous.
Jesus began his journey to the Cross and Resurrection by
meeting the devil face to face. What is the devil that needs to be faced
in your life and in my life this Lent? Are their weaknesses, sins
and demons in our hearts that we need to face? Do we need to take
responsibility for a marriage that needs attention? Do we need to battle
with faulty values and endure opposition at work, in our neighborhood or in
government? Jesus went into the desert for forty days to be tested and
tempted by the devil. It was only after he had learned to face evil
honestly and squarely that he was able to embrace the rest of his life,
including the Cross.
One of the great prayers of our Catholic tradition was
written by St. Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits. It was
written during the great religious and political struggles that accompanied the
Protestant Reformation. Ignatius could have retired to a quiet life at
home, or even to a peaceful monastery, if such a thing existed. Instead
he chose to expose himself to the trials and temptations of life in his
day. This is his prayer:
Lord, teach me to
be generous.
Teach me to serve
you as you deserve;
to
give and not to count the cost,
to
fight and not to heed the wounds,
to
toil and not to seek for rest,
to
labor and not to ask for reward,
save
that of knowing that I do your will. Amen.
May the temptations and trials of life purify and strengthen
us as we embrace the way of the Cross during the season of Lent.