Background on the Gospel Reading – Luke 4:1-13 In the desert, Jesus is tempted by the devil.
In each of the three Synoptic Gospels, after his baptism, Jesus is reported to have spent forty days in the desert, fasting and praying. In Luke and in Matthew, the devil presents three temptations to Jesus. The devil tempts Jesus to use his power to appease his hunger, he offers Jesus all the kingdoms of the world if Jesus will worship him, and he tempts Jesus to put God’s promise of protection to the test. In each case, Jesus resists, citing words from Scripture to rebuke the devil’s temptation.
Each temptation that Jesus faces offers insight into the spirituality we hope to develop as we keep the forty days of the Season of Lent. We can trust God to provide for our material needs. We worship God because God alone has dominion over us and our world. We can trust God to be faithful to his promises. Jesus’ rejection of the devil’s temptations shows that he will not put God to the test. Grounding himself on the Word and authority of Scripture, Jesus rebukes the devil by his confidence in God’s protection and faithfulness.
This Gospel highlights for us one of the central themes of the Season of Lent. We are dependent upon God for all that we have and all that we are. Anything that leads us to reject this dependency or to distrust its sufficiency, is a temptation from the devil.
Luke ends his report of Jesus’ temptation in the desert by noting that the devil departs for a time. The implication is that the devil will return. Jesus knows that he will be tempted again in the Garden of Gethsemane. The depth of Jesus’ trust in God is shown most fully when Jesus rejects the temptation to turn away from the task God has given to him. Jesus’ final rebuke of the devil is his sacrifice on the Cross.
Jesus’ responses to the temptations of the devil teach us how we can respond to temptation. As we start our journey through Lent, this Sunday’s Gospel calls us to adopt the same confidence that Jesus had in the face of temptation: God’s word alone will suffice, God’s promise of protection can be trusted, and God alone is God.
Filled with the Holy Spirit Jesus left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit through the wilderness being tempted there by the devil for forty days. During that time he ate nothing and at the end he was hungry. Then the devil said to him ‘If you are the Son of God tell this stone to turn into a loaf.’ But Jesus replied ‘Scripture says: Man does not live on bread alone.’
Then leading him to a height the devil showed him in a moment of time all the kingdoms of the world and said to him ‘I will give you all this power and the glory of these kingdoms for it has been committed to me and I give it to anyone I choose. Worship me then and it shall all be yours.’ But Jesus answered him ‘Scripture says:
You must worship the Lord your God and serve him alone.’
Then he led him to Jerusalem and made him stand on the parapet of the Temple. ‘If you are the Son of God ’ he said to him ‘throw yourself down from here for scripture says: He will put his angels in charge of you to guard you and again: They will hold you up on their hands in case you hurt your foot against a stone.’ But Jesus answered him ‘It has been said: You must not put the Lord your God to the test.’
Having exhausted all these ways of tempting him the devil left him to return at the appointed time.
REFLECTION
Introductory Prayer: Lord Jesus, in this season of Lent, I want to draw closer to you. I believe that you truly became one of us to save us as an act of love beyond all human understanding. I know I can count on you to carry me through each day. I know that in all circumstances you are with me. I want to love you more than myself and say “yes” to your will in every moment. I trust totally in your grace. Thank you, Lord! This Lent, I want to learn to love you as you deserve by being the person you want me to be.
Petition: Help me, Lord, to take advantage of this Lent and draw closer to you.
1. Holiness and Temptation: Have you noticed in the Gospels that the only times we see Jesus being tempted by the devil are those in which Christ was in prayer or was doing penance? It’s when he’s in prayer or fasting that he is assailed by the devil, as in today’s Gospel reading or in the Garden of Gethsemane on Holy Thursday. A similar pattern frequently appears in our lives, too. We decide to do something good and then promptly find it hard to do. What can we conclude from this? The fact is that when we’re mediocre, we run no risk of becoming holy and spoiling Satan’s plans. Thus, he has no concern for us. It’s when we start to strive for holiness that we will find ourselves face-to-face with temptation, because the devil begins to put all sorts of obstacles in our paths.
2. Detachment from Self: Lent is a time for us to renew our awareness of the suffering Jesus endured for our sake. That awareness should lead us to action. In this Lenten season the Church invites us to a greater self-sacrifice. Sacrifice helps us to be more detached from the sources of temptation that can keep us from reaping the full fruits of Christ’s redeeming work and from loving God with an undivided heart. That’s why our Lenten sacrifice should really be something that purifies our hearts and makes us more generous with others. Our sacrifice should make us less self-centered. It should make us better followers of Christ.
3. God as Our Point of Reference: Overcoming temptation is not an easy business. In fact, it’s impossible without God’s grace. When Jesus was tempted, he showed us what our reference point should be: God. All three times the devil tempted him in the Gospel, he answered by putting God’s word and God’s will first. In order for us to persevere in our Lenten resolutions, we must center ourselves on God and rely on his grace. That means living close to Christ in Scripture—especially the Gospels. It means staying close to him in the Sacraments, especially the Eucharist and Reconciliation.
Conversation with Christ: Lord Jesus, help me to know myself better so that I can see what I need to do in order to live a holier life. Give me resolve, perseverance to keep up the good fight and carry through, and humility to seek your grace. Without you I can do nothing.
Resolution: I will offer my Lenten sacrifice with enthusiasm and constancy today, relying on God’s grace.
Click this link to Hear Bishop Barron’s Podcast on this week’s gospel:
Three Levels of Temptation BISHOP ROBERT BARRON MARCH 6th 2022 CYCLE C 1ST WK OF LENT
Friends, we come now to the great and holy season of Lent, a time to get back to spiritual basics. This First Sunday of Lent, we hear Luke’s account of the temptation of Jesus. What Jesus faces in the desert are three classical substitutes for God—three levels of temptation, three types of diversion from the ultimate good. Can we look honestly and directly at those things that will cause us to deviate from the path the Lord has for us?
