Five
days into Lent, I am sure some of us have been tempted to give up our
Lenten promises. Perhaps we've felt the sting of our sacrifices and
we already asked ourselves, “Is it too late to change my penance?”
This
is okay. Temptation is normal for us humans. And today, as we follow
Jesus into the desert in a game of “follow the leader” that
really isn't a game, we look toward our future with confidence
knowing that He was Himself tempted and overcame the sting of that
temptation.
Today,
in the desert where we have to face-up to ourselves, we see Jesus in
a sort of duel - a wrestling match between Himself and the Devil's
cunning temptations. And the lesson for us today is that we don't
defeat the Devil at his own game. If we play his game, we lose no
matter what.
Look
at Christ. Jesus doesn't beat Satan by doing what he tells Him:
turning stones to bread to satisfy his physical wants; worshiping him
to receive power and dominion; or hurling himself off the temple to
receive the praise and adoration of others. Rather, Christ conquers
these attacks by His lowliness, by His humility, by His trust in God
His Father. Not that he couldn't have shown the Devil who's who, but
He responded this way to leave an example for us. And in that
victory we are shown a way to win in our own struggles and
temptations, whatever form they take (for me right now it is in the
form of yummy looking sweets and snacks between meals!). We have to
follow our leader.
The
desert reminds us that we will fail on our own. This is why Moses
commands the people of God to proclaim the story of their ancestors,
of how God saved them by mighty works: so they never forget that they
are nothing without God. We must confess our trust in God over these
next 40 days as Paul reminds the Romans. We see today the truth in
the words of Saint Paul, who said in 2 Cor. 10:12 I am content
with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and constraints,
for the sake of Christ; for when I am weak, then I am strong. Here's
one example of that. If on Ash Wednesday we cannot survive the
16-or-so hours of fasting (or at least Fr. Terry cannot) without
being either irritable, grumpy, or lazy, then how do we expect to
survive the forty days of Lent ahead of us? No, Lent is not a
muscle-building program for us to be self-sufficient; Lent is a
habitual re-orienting of the eyes of our hearts and minds towards God
so that we find in Him our only true strength. When we are weak,
then we are strong. This is the humility that Christ exemplified for
us today, and this is how he defeated the Devil in that challenging
competition.
So
whether we have already stumbled in our Lenten program or have
survived the first days of Lent, we know that we must trust in God
our Father, after the example of Christ in the desert. With absolute
humility, let us creatures acknowledge Our Creator and Defender, and
find ourselves strong in our weakness. CCC 2097 To adore God is
to acknowledge, in respect and absolute submission, the "nothingness
of the creature" who would not exist but for God. To adore God
is to praise and exalt him and to humble oneself, as Mary did in the
Magnificat, confessing with gratitude that he has done great things
and holy is his name. The worship of the one God sets man free from
turning in on himself, from the slavery of sin and the idolatry of
the world.
This
humble adoration is the way to victory. This is the program for our
entire Christian life, and especially for our next six weeks. Let us
follow our leader with His humility and His strength to the desert
and the cross, and so receive the promise of eternal life that we
taste in this Mass.
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