A very overweight man decided for Lent to go on a diet. He even changed his usual commute to work in order to avoid passing his favorite bakery. One morning he arrived at the office carrying a large, sugar coated coffee cake. His colleagues chided him, but he only smiled, shrugged his shoulders and said, “What could I do? This is a very special cake. By force of habit, I accidentally drove by the bakery this morning and there in the window were trays of goodies.
“Well, I felt this was no accident that I happened to pass by so I prayed, ‘Lord, if you really want me to have one of those delicious coffee cakes, let me find a parking space right in front of the bakery.’ And sure enough on the ninth time around the block, there it was!” Sin and temptation are not the same thing but both are as much a part of the human experience as death and taxes. As the readings suggest, temptations always attract us to something that looks good, even when we know it will not be good for us in the long run. That is the nature of temptation.
After 40 days of fasting, the devil reminds Jesus of his hunger and tempts him to use his divine power to change stones into bread to prove that he is the Son of God. The second temptation dares him to throw himself down from the temple parapet to test if God will protect him. The third temptation is the most dangerous. The scene he saw was overwhelming yet Jesus knew that all the kingdoms of the world did not compare to the kingdom of heaven.
His temptations were no different than ours. Being like God is what so much of life is about. That is what Adam and Eve were trying to achieve with their first transgression. Modern society has chosen to tolerate standards of conduct that undoubtedly would make Adam and Eve blush. In the quest for power and wealth, ethical principles are often ignored. All of this is idolatry in one form or another, the temptation that leads many to sin.
Like Adam and Eve and everyone who followed them, we wrestle daily with the fact that we can and do introduce evil into this good world created by our benevolent God when we sin. We sin because we aren’t satisfied with what we already have. When that happens, more often than not, we are too attracted to the prize being dangled before us to consider the consequences. Instead of happily enjoying what they had, Adam and Eve were lured into believing that God was preventing them from being all that they could be, so they ate the fruit that opened their eyes to good and evil. Before giving in to this temptation, they never considered that God was trying to protect them from the consequences of evil.
Too often we see God in the same way, not as a loving parent who seeks to protect us, but as a rival, who limits our freedoms. We fail to appreciate and understand the fact that if God prohibits something, it is because God knows what will harm us. Not until we have committed the sin and experienced the consequences do we begin to appreciate the wisdom behind God’s commandments.
Temptations always lurk around the corner, waiting to strike when they are least expected. Any one of us can be tempted at any stage of life, at any age, with any degree of sanctity. Believe me, even Pope Francis wrestles with temptations as often as you and I do.
The question to consider is this: how much of a fight do we put up when temptations arise? Like the guy who circles the block nine times, we may give into temptation without much fuss. Many of us discount our ability to resist temptation with the lame excuse, “The devil made me do it.” While our surroundings, circumstances, psychological weaknesses and/or peer pressure may contribute to the temptation, ultimately the choice to give in and sin stops with us.
The underlying message we are given today is “Just say no.” We can say no to our bad habits, our inclination to blame others, our impulse to put down others or any other disposition that leads us to the brink of temptation. We can be as resistant and stubborn as we want to be and say no to anything we want. After all, we often say no to the things we don’t like or want.
Resisting temptation takes effort. God wants to help us overcome them so consider praying for his grace to resist temptations when they arise. Remember the closing line of the Lord’s Prayer, “lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.” Secondly, take practical steps to avoid the occasion. If it is an addiction that leads you to sin, then tackle that addiction a day at a time just as those in AA do, recognizing their dependence on God to do so. Third, look at the situation from God’s perspective. God wants us to be holy; so see that your holiness is far more valuable than whatever appears attractive in your temptation. The fact that a thought enters our mind is not sin. Being attracted to something evil is not sin. Saying yes to this evil attraction is sin. Overcoming temptation makes us stronger not weaker.
Jesus resisted each temptation, citing scripture each time as he did so. His final response is the decisive one, “The Lord, your God, shall you worship and him alone shall you serve.” We can act much like the man who circled the block nine times or we can embrace a new way of life and be obedient to God. May Jesus strengthen our resolve to be holy through out Lent as we journey toward the joy of Easter.