The Gospel for Sunday, February 29, 2004 (The First Sunday in Lent)
Luke 4:1-13
Filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the desert, for forty days being put to the test by the devil. During that time he ate nothing and at the end he was hungry. Then the devil said to him, ‘If you are Son of God, tell this stone to turn into a loaf.’ But Jesus replied, ‘Scripture says: Human beings live not on bread alone.’ Then leading him to a height, the devil showed him in a moment of time all the kingdoms of the world and said to him, ‘I will give you all this power and their splendour, for it has been handed over to me, for me to give it to anyone I choose. Do homage, then, to me, and it shall all be yours.’ But Jesus answered him, ‘Scripture says: You must do homage to the Lord your God, him alone you must serve.’ Then he led him to Jerusalem and set him on the parapet of the Temple. ‘If you are Son of God,’ he said to him, ‘throw yourself down from here, for scripture says: He has given his angels orders about you, to guard you, and again: They will carry you in their arms in case you trip over a stone.’ But Jesus answered him, ‘Scripture says: Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’ Having exhausted every way of putting him to the test, the devil left him, until the opportune moment. - The New Jerusalem Bible. 1995, c1985. Doubleday: Garden City, N.Y.
A Study
Once again the synoptics are in general agreement on this incident, while John never mentions it. The authors of Matthew, Mark, and Luke seem to need to assert Jesus' humanity as much as John asserts his divinity. Interestingly John barely mentions a "ruler of this world" like the Evil One, who could make an offer of "all the kingdoms."
Although the New Jerusalem Bible is universally accepted as one of the most accurate translations of the many sources edited into the New Testament, the very British understatement "During that time he ate nothing and at the end he was hungry" does not do justice to nearly six weeks' complete starvation. As Maslow's "hierarchy of needs" develops human motivation, physiological needs lie at the basis of all human actions. Being tempted while at the bottom of the Maslow ladder is temptation, indeed.
So showing Man-also-God a loaf-shaped stone, and offering him the opportunity to be fed, surely hits home for anyone who has every been really starving. The other needs probed, for power and for esteem, are also in Maslow's ranking, although the need for power is in reality a part of the last tier, corrupted from the desirable need for making a difference to society.
A Reflection
That we are so often tempted to do the wrong thing does not make us evil. Acting on the temptation is well into the boundary of evil. Working out how to achieve the goal of the temptation is just inside the boundary of evil. It is clearly a very steep, very slippery slope.
The synoptics' depiction of the four temptations of Jesus -- three here, one in Gethsemane (the "opportune moment") -- remind us of just how fragile we are and just how powerful God is. Overcoming temptation to do evil through "willpower" is probably the worst thing we can attempt! Not eating a chocolate bar while on a diet is not evil, but trying to maneuver an office enemy into trouble? That even sounds evil, doesn't it? Jesus commanded us to love our neighbors, and we have an enemy in the workplace? Jesus said that the goal of his mission is the ultimate unity of God, Jesus, and humans, and yet we are tempted to practice division. Trying to use something of our selves, our power of will, is the first step towards putting ourselves on the altar to worship. We don't belong there.
The use of willpower to overcome the Evil One is futile, anyway. Even Jesus, very God, quoted Scripture to overcome evil. When we rely on our selves, we are using a fragile, puny, damaged and irrelevant-to-Satan weapon. Our only value to the Evil One is in statistics, body count, in taking us away from the One Who Loves us. Our value to God is that He wants us to be in Him and with Him in unity.
When we hear people talking about "those people," do we snap into attentive caution? Words like that are intended to separate us from each other; and that is the first step that the Evil One wants us to take, away from God. It is a challenge to battle, and when we are fighting for the prize of Unity with God, we need to have the best weapons at hand, not our own flimsy armor of "will".
9:31:45 PM 
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