First Sunday of Lent (Mt. 4:1-11) “Who Am I”

            “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.”  The Gospel we read today follows on the heels of the story of Jesus’ baptism in the Gospel of Matthew.  If we remember that story, we recall that a voice that Jesus heard came from heaven and reminded Jesus who he was.

                After Jesus baptism, we are told that he was led into the desert. "Led" is kind of a deceptive word.  Really the connotation of the Greek is that Jesus was driven into the desert.  Another translation might be that he was pulled into the desert.  He was led to a place where he was completely vulnerable.  He had no food.  He didn’t have a comfortable place to stay. The desert was a wild place where animals roamed.  The desert was unsafe. Jesus was alone in the silence.  He was pulled into a spiritual wrestling match. 

                Being tempted is a very difficult experience for anyone. Why?  Tempters are the ones who have all the advantages. Tempters know the terrain. Also, they set the strategy.  One can ask why Jesus had to be put through this spiritual trial. 

                Often, holy people share that only when they make a heroic commitment to Christ do they struggle. Mother Theresa is an example of this.  When she was a younger sister, she was a teacher in an all-girls school who didn’t have many spiritual trials.  But when she felt a call to serve the poorest of the poor and started her religious order, The Sisters of Charity, she began to feel like she was under spiritual attack. At times she even doubted the existence of God. We remember how she persevered despite the spiritual pain she endured. 

                Jesus underwent his own spiritual struggle when he started his public life by going into the desert.  Satan springs his trap trying to disrupt the mission of Jesus.  The temptations were real.

                What does Satan offer Jesus? Jesus is always said to have had three temptations. And they are described in various ways.  One way the temptations of Jesus are described is that he is offered physical fullness.  He is also offered security. Finally, he is tempted with political power.

       In the first temptation, after 40 days of fasting, the devil tells Jesus he can feed Jesus whatever he wants to eat. He will even do it for the rest of Jesus’ life. Satan tells Jesus that surely the proof of the Father’s love is that he would never want Jesus to suffer depravation. Jesus rejects that idea. Jesus’ belief is that God loves those who are most in need.

                Secondly, Jesus is offered security.  The Father would never want you to live in fear, Satan says.  Jesus responds by saying that being able to play it safe isn’t his call.  At times the faithful servant must take risks.

                Finally, Jesus is told that the Father wants him to have political power.  "Might makes right", the devil says.  But Jesus rejects that saying, "those who have little influence are still the beloved of God".

                How Jesus overcomes his wrestling match with the devil is a lesson for us.  The first thing that is apparent is that Jesus is secure in his identity.  Satan tells Jesus who he should be as Son of God but Jesus responds by saying that he knows who he should be.  He is to be the servant leader, even a suffering servant.

                The second way Jesus responds to being pushed to compromise his ideals is to slow things down. One of the tactics of Satan is to push for quick choices.  Jesus wouldn’t be rushed. Jesus gave himself time so he could discern the right path in his life.  He waited 30 years before he began his saving work.

                During Lent we will be tempted to take an easy path. But we might challenge ourselves this Lent to ask the question, “Who am I meant to be?”  We might also find our path forward by slowing down these forty days and by listening attentively for the authentic voice of God which says repeatedly, “You are my beloved son/daughter.”