You’ve undoubtedly heard the bad news about the war. There’s a temptation sometimes with news like this to view it just as something that happened to someone else in a faraway place. There’s a temptation sometimes to say to ourselves, “Meh. Is this really relevant to me? How does this news have any impact on my life?” With this temptation in mind, imagine with me for a moment living in this place where the battle rages on. …
The once peaceful place you call home has been invaded and is now occupied by a ruthless regime, which is led by demonic tyrant. There seems to be no use trying to negotiate with this tyrant. Life in recent days, has been hellacious. It already seems like this battle has been going on forever. You have lost so many of your fellow men, women, and children. As far as you can see, there is no way easy way out from the hell on earth you’re living in. Life seems to be overshadowed by death and you are just trying to make it through the day. The future, well, you don’t even want to think about it. But as for the present, you know that it’s time to take a stand against the enemy, no matter what the cost might be. …
I’m speaking, of course, of the devil’s assault on Jesus in the desert from today’s Gospel reading. If this sounds similar to the news of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it makes me wonder, is the Gospel just news to us? Is the Gospel just something that happened to someone else in a faraway place that doesn’t seem relevant to our lives here today? If the Gospel is just news, it is tempting for us to say, “Meh. Is this news really relevant to me? How does this news have any impact on my life?” With this temptation in mind, let us go with Jesus, walk next to him, and watch him as he is led by the Holy Spirit into the desert for 40 days to be tempted by the devil. …
As Jesus is being led by the Holy Spirit into the desert, pay attention to how he looks to you. Is he going into the desert looking afraid or is he going into the desert looking eager to take a stand against the devil? As Jesus goes without food for 40 days, is Jesus bent over with unbearable hunger pangs or does Jesus look you in the eyes with resolve in his voice and say, “I could go for another 40 days without food, because I’m doing this for you.”?
As the devil comes at Jesus with the first temptation, does Jesus try to convince himself of the lie that what he does in private when there is no other person looking doesn’t really matter or does Jesus look right through space and time into your eyes today and tell you the truth that the decisions we make in these moments matter? As the devil assaults Jesus with the second and third temptations, does Jesus look weak and near defeat, or does he look over to you and say with strength in his voice, “I am doing this so that together, we can take the enemy down.”? …
As the devil departed from Jesus for a time, the devil actually retreated from this battle licking his wounds. It is important for us to know about this war. If we don’t know about this war, it is hard for us to make sense of what is going on in the Bible, the world around us, and inside each of us. If we don’t understand how the enemy operates, it is hard for us to understand the relevance all this has in our lives and the role we have to play. If we don’t know this bad news of temptation and sin, the Gospel is just news to us. Meh. If we don’t know the bad news of the war the devil started with temptation and sin, we have a hard time understanding that what Jesus has done for us and continues to do for us is in fact really good news. Out of the bad news of the war, come seven pieces of good news for each of us. You may say, “Seven! Come on Deacon, seven that’s a lot.” Yes, seven. You have one piece of good news to focus on each day this week.
- The first piece of good news is that Jesus has already won the battle on the personal battlefield. When the devil retreated licking his wounds in the desert, Jesus knew the initial victory had been won. Jesus could begin his public ministry knowing that even though struggles lie ahead, the enemy has been beaten on the first field that really matters: the personal battlefield. If Jesus hadn’t won the victory against the enemy on the personal battlefield, there would have been little point carrying on trying to win the victory against the enemy for all of humanity.
- The second piece of good news is even though battle still wages on, Jesus has already won the war for us. When Jesus died on the cross for our sins and rose from the dead on Easter Sunday, Jesus won the war for us dealt a fatal blow to the devil. This fatal blow has not stopped the enemy from trying to take down others along with him. So, yes, the battle that the devil picked with Jesus in the desert 2,000 years ago still rages on today in faraway places like the country of Ukraine, and right here in the hearts of you and I. The unfortunate reality that we have to deal with is that temptation is a part of life this side of heaven. Every one of us who follow Jesus will be tested at the points which matter most in our lives and vocations. The enemy knows that he is weaker than the one who makes his home in us, so the enemy doesn’t confront us where we are strongest, because the enemy knows he is too weak to win that battle. Instead, the enemy confronts us where we are weakest to try to distract us from focusing on the strength we have from God and the good God wants for our lives. The enemy tries taking advantage of our own insecurities and personal ambitions to trap us in a wicked web of slavery. Every day, the enemy tries to draw us into something that is not good for us, not good for others, and/or not good for our relationship with God. While our personal ambitions, physical needs and wants of us are important, loyalty to God is more important. The enemy wants to divide and conquer us. When the enemy tries to tempt us to sin, he does so thinking that with each sin, we are giving the enemy ammunition that can be used against us.
- The third piece of good news is that our savior can forgive all our sins. Friends, Lent is a great time to go to reconciliation so our sins can be forgiven so these sins cannot be used by the enemy as ammunition against us.
- The fourth piece of good news is that the disciplines of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving strengthen us in this battle. Even after going to reconciliation, if we are not disciplined, there’s the temptation to fall back in the trap of only focusing on our selfish desires. The disciplines of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving are like battle armor to help cover our most exposed vulnerable areas. These disciplines strengthen us so that no matter what environment we find ourselves in, we can stand strong with and for Jesus.
- The fifth piece of good news is that we Catholics who have been baptized and confirmed have been filled with the Holy Spirit and we can be led by the Holy Spirit into facing down the enemy’s temptation and overcoming the enemy’s lie. That’s all temptation is: a lie. It’s the enemy trying to deceive us, promising us more than he has to give us.
- The sixth piece of good news is that God gave us scripture to use in responding to the enemy’s temptations. When Jesus was tempted three times in the desert by the devil, Jesus didn’t argue with the devil. What did Jesus do? He responded by quoting scripture to the devil. The enemy tries to tempt us to use the divine power within us to serve ourselves, but Jesus quotes scripture as a reminder that we are to serve God first. Friends, if we are having a hard time resisting temptation in our lives, maybe it is because we haven’t taken the time to read and know scripture. When we read the Bible, we are able to know the word of God and use the Word of God. Whatever we are most tempted by, whether it be lust, pride, gluttony, greed, or something else, look for a Bible verse you can quote whenever the next time is that you have to battle this temptation. It is then we can confront the devil’s lie with God’s truth.
- The seventh piece of good news is the Eucharist. When we receive the Eucharist, we have within us the one who has resisted the temptation and defeated the enemy, giving us strength to do the same. In those moments when we are tempted by the enemy, let Jesus fight for you.
You see, it’s all personal. Every one of our stories borrows from the greatest story of all. When we make Jesus’ story our own story, it is then we discover the Gospel for what it truly is for each of us. It is then that the Gospel goes from being just some piece of irrelevant news to becoming life-changing very good news.
You see, it’s all personal. Every one of our stories borrows from the greatest story of all. When we make Jesus’ story our own story, it is then we discover the Gospel for what it truly is for each of us. It is then that the Gospel goes from being just some piece of irrelevant news to becoming life-changing very good news.
1st Sunday of Lent Cycle C – March 6, 2022
Mass Readings:
Reading 1: Dt 26:4-10
Psalm: Ps 91:1-2, 10-11, 12-13, 14-15
Reading 2: Rom 10:8-13
Gospel: Lk 4:1-13