This is a short gospel passage, but it’s long enough to get us thinking. Jesus remained in the desert for forty days, tempted by Satan. That brings to mind a Native American adolescent who prepared himself for manhood by venturing into the desert himself. There he fasted and prayed. On the third day, as he gazed at the mountains, he noticed one rugged peak, capped with snow and decided to climb it.
He put on his buckskin shirt, threw his blanket over his shoulder and set off to climb the peak. When he reached the top, he could see forever and his heart swelled with pride at what he had accomplished. He then heard a noise, coming from the leaves near his feet. Looking down, he saw a slithering snake. Before he could move, the snake spoke.
“I’m about to die,” whispered the snake. “I’m freezing up here. There is no food and I’m starving. Put me under your shirt where I will be warm and take me down to the desert.”
“No,” said the youth. “I’ve been warned about you. You are a rattlesnake and if I pick you up, you’ll bite me, and your bite will kill me.”
“Not so,” the snake protested. “I will treat you differently. If you do this, you will be special for me, and I will not harm you.” The youth resisted for awhile, but this was a very persuasive snake with beautiful diamond markings. Finally, the youth tucked the snake under his shirt and carried it down the mountain to the desert. Once he was there, he placed the snake on the ground. Without warning, the snake coiled, rattled and struck, biting the young man on the leg.
“Ouch,” the young man cried, “You promised not to bite me.”
“You knew what I was when you picked me up,” the snake replied as it slithered away.
However we visualize the evil one, be it as a serpent, as Satan, or the devil, its mission is to lure us into thinking there is nothing dangerous about temptations. When we are tempted, we may rationalize, “What is wrong with a little sin?” On the surface, perhaps nothing, but as the ad for a certain potato chip used to go, “You can’t eat just one.”
Temptation is everywhere, supposedly offering us a better life with promises to take away our hurts and loneliness. Don’t kid yourself. We all experience temptations. They come in all shapes and sizes from white lies to lurid websites on the internet to multi-million dollar schemes offered under the counter and many shades of gray in between.
To be tempted is to be tested. This is what happened to Jesus shortly after his baptism. For forty days in the desert, Satan tempted him to no avail. With any temptation, Satan’s goal is to separate us from the love of God and others.
Obviously Satan is successful with us for there would be no need for the season of Lent if all Christians were in a close and intimate relationship with God. As Christians, we share the common experience with Jesus of baptism and through this sacrament; we entered into a covenant with God that promises us everlasting life. As was the case with Jesus, our journey following baptism has been and will always be filled with temptations, too numerous to count, but unlike Jesus, our temptations have and will lead us astray at times. Baptism does not make us devil-proof.
If anything, we become devil bait, just as Jesus did. Some of us are even tempted to assume a “what me worry?” attitude so far as our relationship with God goes. So what if I miss Sunday Mass? So what if I won’t forgive my brother? So what if I tell a lie? So what if support abortion? So what if I cheat on my taxes? So what if I don’t bother to pray? So what if I don’t share what I have with others? So what if I gossip? So what if I disobey my mom? Those aren’t mortal sins, so they won’t send me to hell. Maybe not, but no sin brings us any closer to God either. Temptation can seduce us into ignoring the danger that any sin has the potential to derail our relationship with God and others.
Fr. Killian McDonnell, one of my seminary professors, had this to say, “Many people do not recognize Christ, because they do not recognize themselves as sinners. If I am not a sinner, then I have no need of Christ. No man will celebrate the mystery of Christ in joy if he does not first recognize in sorrow that he is a sinner.”
Jesus knew first hand from experience how difficult the journey following baptism could be for us. He proclaimed to anyone who would listen, “This is the time of fulfillment! The kingdom of God is at hand! Repent and believe in the gospel.” His sound advice offers us the antidote for finding what truly matters in life, unlike Satan who will never take the blame for the consequences of our actions. Nor should he. George Eliot, an English novelist, wrote, “The devil tempts us not. It is we who tempt him, beckoning his skill with opportunity.”
Lent is a time for confronting our sinfulness and coming to grips with whatever separates us from God and one another. Those who were here on Ash Wednesday were told as the cross was traced on their forehead, “Turn away from sin and be faithful to the gospel.” We could not be given better advice for living, not just these 40 days of Lent, but every day of our lives.
My friends, as we begin these forty days of Lent, we are encouraged to become more aware of God’s love for us, evidenced by his son’s willingness to die for our sins. Imagining now, his outstretched arms we apologize for the times we have not resisted the temptations we encounter in life.