The gospel reading every first Sunday of Lent tells about the temptation of Jesus. Before commencing his public ministry, Jesus spent forty days of prayer and fasting in the desert where he was tempted by the devil.
Temptation is a reality which we all experience. It is a given fact of life, and no one is exempted. Even Jesus, whom the devil acknowledges and addresses as “the Son of God”, was not spared. We thank the evangelists for recording the story of Jesus’ temptation because it offers us valuable lessons on how to face our own temptations.
To overcome temptation we need first to acknowledge the reality of the Evil one. “The devil is real,” Pope Francis often reminds us. “In this generation, like so many others, people have been led to believe that the devil is a myth, a figure, an idea, the idea of evil… But the devil exists and we must fight against him.”
Ignoring the reality of the devil can only spell doom and disaster. “This mistake would leave us to let down our guard, to grow careless and end up more vulnerable. The devil does not need to possess us. He poisons us with the venom of hatred, desolation, envy and vice.“ (Gaudete et Exultate, 161)
As one author rightly puts it, “The devil’s most cunning trick is to convince us that he does not exist.” Indeed, the most dangerous enemy is the hidden enemy.
Another lesson we can derive from Jesus’ temptation is to avoid arguing with the devil. Satan is an inveterate liar and a shrewd seducer. Moreover he is much more intelligent and powerful than us. Jesus himself never engaged in dialogue with Satan. He simply responded to the devil’s temptation with the Word of God.
Our catechism teaches not only to avoid sin but also the occasion of sin. Any circumstance, whether a person, place, thing, or situation, that can incite or entice us to sin is an occasion of sin. It may be a bad barkada, a morally dangerous place, a company of gossipers, sleazy entertainments… Remember what happened to Eve in the garden of Eden? Even before she engaged in that disastrous dialogue with the tempter, she had already put herself in danger by approaching the forbidden tree.
We avoid occasions of sin because we are born with concupiscence, an innate inclination to evil, which we inherited from our first parents through original sin. We all experience how hard it is to be good and how easy it is fall into sin. Thus St. Paul laments, “What I do, I do not understand. For I do not do what I want, but I do what I hate.” (Rm 7:15)
Our gospel reading opens with an interesting verse, “Filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the desert for forty days, to be tempted by the devil.” Jesus was not alone in the desert. The Holy Spirit led him to the desert and remained with him all the while.
Every month I administer the sacrament of confirmation to several groups of young people and adults. I make them understand that through this sacrament God gives them the Holy Spirit for two reasons: to help them grow as strong adult Christians and to equip them for the mission of sharing their faith to others.
The confirmands are usually high school students who at their tender age already face enormous difficulties in living their Christian calling. In today’s highly secularized and hedonistic world, they are bombarded with all sorts of temptations. Their cell phone alone can give them easy access to pornography and other dark sites.
Today there is much discussion about mental health issues among the young (something unheard of in our time). The rise of depression and suicide attempts among high school and elementary pupils is frightfully alarming.
In this context, I tell the confirmands that the Father sends his Spirit to be their strength. The Holy Spirit is the power of God. It was through the Spirit that God created the world. Throughout the Scriptures, it was the Holy Spirit who empowered the prophets and the apostles to prophesy and to make miracles.
Even today, the Holy Spirit continues to perform the great miracle of the Eucharist. Before consecration, the priest extends his hands over the bread and wine praying, “Make holy, therefore, these gifts, we pray, by sending down your Spirit upon them like the dewfall, so that they may become for us the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Yes, the devil is definitely more intelligent and powerful than us but with the Holy Spirit in our heart, we hold the power of God himself.