There is an old Jewish tale about how two men dealt with the reality of temptation in their lives. Moshe, the drunk, and Fishel, the guzzler, were in a repentant mood when they swore never again to touch a drop so long as they lived. They shook hands on this oath and started home. Soon, they came upon the village tavern. Things were obviously merry in there. Bits of songs floated through the open windows.
“Sounds like a good time,” sighed Moshe, “My old weakness is drawing me.” “I thought we agreed never to set foot in there again,” Fishel replied. Moshe nodded, then suggested that they should close their eyes and run like crazy past the tavern. After awhile they stopped running and opened their eyes. They were past the tavern.
“Nobody is going to say that we are weaklings,” declared Fishel, the guzzler. “With our strong wills, we can overcome every temptation!” Then Moshe responded, “How about going back to the tavern and offering a thanksgiving over a glass of beer?”
On the first Sunday of Lent, we always hear about the three temptations of Jesus. Temptations are very much a part of being human. As this gospel relates, even Jesus was tempted. At times, they can be so seductive, luring even the most saintly among us into sin. When they surface, do we allow them to control us or do we control them, as Jesus did?
In the Lord’s Prayer, we ask our Father to “lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” I cannot imagine that God would ever lead us into temptation. What we are really asking for, according to the Catechism, is “Do not let us yield to temptation but save us from the evil one!”
We think of temptation as that slippery slope into sin, but in biblical times, temptation was seen as a time of testing, a time to choose between being faithful to God or not. In the gospel, we find Jesus passing the test with flying colors.
Because of our freedom to make choices throughout the day, each one of us is put to the test daily. Perhaps they are not as dramatic as the three we find in the gospel, but then our resistance to Satan is not as strong either.
Jesus’ experience in the desert hits home with every one of us. His temptations correspond to three basic needs we each have: the need for pleasure, the need for power, and the need for security. Sometimes, we go about trying to meet these needs in the wrong way or in the wrong place, which can get us into trouble and result in much suffering.
For example, in our quest for pleasure, some of us neglect our inner life. We are busy people, too busy as the saying goes, to slow down and smell the roses. Working overtime to earn the money, we spend too little time nurturing our relationships with God and those close to us. Look back on the past week. Did you spend any quality time with those whom you love?
Another temptation comes to mind that may strike you as odd, and that is the temptation to hold on to emotional baggage, viewing this as a form of power and control over others. We cling to memories that color the way we relate to others which in turn can lead to broken relationships. We ask God to forgive us, yet we are reluctant to forgive others and let go of the hurt, the guilt, the damage that arises from moments of conflict. What do we gain when we are tempted to hold on to our grudges?
A woman hired a professional mover to pack her things. When he asked what she wanted packed, she waved her arms and said, “Everything!” Imagine her surprise when she unpacked the boxes in her new home and discovered that he had followed her directions literally. Along with her furniture and other worldly goods, he had packed her trash bins. “There I was in my beautiful new place with all my garbage, including old newspapers, tin cans, and banana peels!”
What emotional and spiritual garbage are you carrying around as we venture into Lent? Lent is an ideal time to hand our hurts, betrayals, sins and guilt over to God through the sacrament of reconciliation and allow ourselves to experience affection and esteem again along with God’s divine mercy.
How often are we tempted to think that we are different from others? “I am not like those people,” we claim, acting like the alcoholic who judges others in attendance an AA meeting. Let’s not kid ourselves. We can easily dupe ourselves into believing that we are not sinners, but sin is part of our human nature. We have our desert full of trials, packaged just for us by the devil who knows our weaknesses and which temptations we have the hardest time resisting. He tempts us to serve our own needs at the expense of others. Like Moshe and Fishel, we sometimes close our eyes to how sinful some of our choices really are.
Temptation can be compared to the permanent but unwanted guest at our dinner table. When we find ourselves being tempted, remember that Jesus is also a guest at that same table, so we need never face our temptations alone. Paul assures us, “Everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Jesus reminded the devil that the heart of righteousness is commitment to God, not the performance of marvelous deeds. Like Jesus, we must make the ultimate decision to serve God and others as readily as we would serve ourselves. When we resist the temptations to do otherwise, then we know that we are passing the test with flying colors!