Gospel Reflection for Sunday March 6th, 1st Sunday in Lent

By Brian Maher OMI

I read recently that if all the miracles, parables, and stories we have about Jesus happened one after another they would account for about seven days of his life!

Put another way John tells us at the very conclusion of his Gospel, “Now there are many other things that Jesus did. If they were all written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.”  (John 21:25)

There is so much about the life of Jesus that we do not know. So many moments, conversations, encounters, teachings that are lost to us forever. How often do I read something that Jesus said or did and wonder, “what came next? What did he say or do after this?” I suppose the beauty of this is that in prayer we can ask the Holy Spirit to help us fill in some of the blanks.

The ‘Temptations of Jesus’ fall into this category. John makes no mention of them, Mark deals with them in one short verse, simply saying that Jesus was tempted, and it is left to Matthew and Luke to outline what these temptations were, though they change the order of the second and third temptation for their own theological reasons.

Our temptations are probably not on the top of the list of things we share with others. They are fairly personal to us, often touching the darker aspects of our lives, things we grapple with internally before overcoming or giving in to them.

It must have been that same for Jesus. Somehow, I cannot imagine him gathering his disciples together and saying, “You’ll never guess what I was tempted to do yesterday?” No, in his life, like us, he would grapple with his temptations, fighting them as best he could, praying for the strength to overcome them. Isn’t it interesting that at the end of today’s Gospel Luke tells us, “When the Devil finished tempting him in every way, he left him, to return at another time.”

“..to return at another time.” The temptations Jesus faced were not once off events, things to be faced, shrugged off and then left behind. The Devil returned again and again to tempt him and Jesus, like us, had to battle with them each time.

So, where then, I ask myself, did these accounts of three different temptations come from? Each one of them is given a narrative, a setting, to make them clearer for us, but the nature of each temptation is not difficult to find: The first (stone into bread) is about wealth, Jesus allowing himself to be in a position where he always has what he wants at his fingertips. The second (offering him all the Kingdoms of the world) is about power, having authority, becoming a King. The third (bringing him to the top of the Temple in Jerusalem) is about seeking cheap popularity and success through stunts, miracles and ‘magic’.

Put together, the common thread is the temptation to seek power, wealth, popularity for himself, losing sight of the Mission he outlined for himself in the synagogue at the beginning of his ministry, being “sent to the poor, the captives, the hungry, the downtrodden.”

Most temptations we face strike at things which are possible for us to achieve. I could never be tempted to seek to become Pope! That is not possible and therefore not a realistic temptation. But I could be tempted to use my status or my ministry as priest to, maybe, get a bigger car, upgrade my aging computer and phone or simply being able to eat out whenever I like. These are real temptations because they are possible to achieve. I won’t afford any of them if I dedicate myself to the poor and downtrodden. But if I forget them and move in the ‘right’ circles, being seen in the ‘right’ places, then of course they are possible. That’s the temptation!

What of Jesus? How real were those temptations for him? The answer, I think, is very real.

There was a growing unrest in Israel. The Jews (among them Jesus and his disciples) were living in their own land – the Promised Land given to Moses after their forty years lost in the desert – but they were still not free. Rome occupied them, set their laws, collected their taxes.

The Promised One, the Messiah, must come to save them and set up the Kingdom of God, and he must come soon. The people of Israel were looking, waiting, impatiently. Jesus was both likable and popular. Unlike John the Baptist who was austere and eccentric, Jesus attended weddings, ate and drank with both the poor and the wealthy, was popular and sincere and, above all, his healings and miracles gave him something others did not have. If he played his cards right, he certainly could become wealthy and popular. If he tried a bit harder, he might even present himself as the ‘Messiah’, the King coming to save his people from Roman occupation and ushering in the Kingdom of God.

What is more, as he reflected on his Mission and his call from God, the Gospels are clear that Jesus himself began to see himself in possibly this role. The difference being that the Kingdom of God would not be for just Jews, but for all people – even Romans! – and the King would not rule through power and authority but through gentleness and authenticity.

I feel certain that in those many conversations Jesus had with his friends and especially his Apostles, those conversations we know nothing about, they must have discussed together what he could do and what he could achieve. I am sure his friends would have put to him the advantages of becoming wealthy and powerful: “…think of what you could do for the poor if you were wealthy?” “Someone has to take on Rome. You’re liked and popular. Why not you?” Was he tempted? of course he must have been, and he must have wondered many times if there was an easier way to fulfil his mission.

In modern language Jesus must have had to constantly ‘discern’ his way forward. In prayer, in solitude and with others, step by difficult step, he kept to what he knew was right and, in the end, was prepared to die rather than betray the mission of love, forgiveness and compassion he knew within himself were the true values of the Kingdom of God. Through his resurrection two days later, God announced that Jesus was the Messiah and that the Kingdom of God had come, made visible in Jesus, and now passed on to us.

But at the time all of these things were happening Jesus did not know this and so, yes, the temptations of today’s Gospel must have been agonizingly real for him.

The Gospel makes clear that Jesus did not succumb to his temptations, he managed to remain strong, right up to death, making visible for us the Kingdom of God.

This is an example we can carry into Lent this year.

We too are tempted, constantly, to do what is popular, be liked, seek wealth and comfort, and often not even see the poor and downtrodden sitting on our streets, holding out a paper coffee cup for the small change we might have in our pockets.

We must also, at this time, open our hearts to the downtrodden caught in Ukraine or seeking to flee from there. No matter where we live in the world, we can find something we can do ‘to be’ the Kingdom of God for them.

As we begin this Lent, we can turn our backs on temptation by choosing to love, to heal, to forgive and have compassion, just as Jesus did when he was tempted.

Many thanks,

Brian.

If you have any comments, questions or thoughts on this scripture reflection you would like to share, I would be delighted to hear from you – please feel free to email me at b.maher@oblates.ie