Temptations of Jesus

We are meditating on the Life of Jesus so we can have a deep friendship with Him. Today - the Temptation of Jesus in the Desert which in turn unveils our own temptations.

one

The first temptation of the devil is to turn our priorities, upside down – get them out of order.

The devil says to Jesus: 'If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to turn into bread.'

Jesus responds, Man does not live by bread alone but by listening to God.

Jesus says, the top priority is a relationship with God, talking to him from the heart, listening to Him and just spending time with him every day – then everything else will fall into place.

The devil says “No, that is totally unrealistic; you must take care of your material responsibilities first, because no one else will take care of you. And then make sure you take care of your health – if you lose your health you have nothing left. Oh, and don’t forget that you need down-time, time to veg and rest – you need entertainment. You will always have time for God later.”

That is the temptation of the devil.

Do we fall into this trap? Do we take care of the tyranny of the urgent and leave God for later? When we do this – are we really happy, at peace and content?

two

In the Second Temptation the Devil says:

'If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; because Psalm 91 says: He will put you in his angels' charge, and they will support you on their hands in case you hurt your foot against a stone.’ Jesus said to him in return, 'Scripture also says: You must not put the Lord your God to the test'.

Satan says: Make God prove he is God.

Jesus responds: You must not put God to the test. You must not demand that God prove He is God.

Pope Benedict writes:

We try to make God submit to experiment. He is “tested,” just as products are tested. He must submit to the conditions that we say are necessary if we are to believe…The arrogance that would make God an object and impose our laboratory conditions upon him is incapable of finding him. For it already implies that we deny God as God by placing ourselves above him…by no longer acknowledging as real anything other than what we can experimentally test and grasp. To think like that is to make oneself God…Christ did not cast himself down from the pinnacle of the Temple. He did not leap into the abyss. He did not tempt God. But he did descend into the abyss of death, into the night of abandonment, and into the desolation of the defenseless. He ventured this leap as an act of God’s love for men. And so he knew that, ultimately, when he leaped he could only fall into the kindly hands of the Father. This brings to light the real meaning of Psalm 91…If you follow the will of God, you know that in spite of all the terrible things that happen to you, you will never lose a final refuge. You know that the foundation of the world is love, so that even when no human being can or will help you, you may go on, trusting in the One who loves you.

three

The Third Temptation

In the final temptation Satan offers Jesus an earthly kingdom if he will forget about the Kingdom of God.

Again Pope Benedict writes

No kingdom of this world is the Kingdom of God, the total condition of mankind’s salvation. Earthly kingdoms remain earthly human kingdoms, and anyone who claims to be able to establish the perfect world is the willing dupe of Satan and plays right into his hands…Well, what did Jesus actually bring, if not world peace, universal prosperity, and a better world? What has he brought? The answer is very simple: God. He has brought God, and now we know his face, now we can call upon him. Now we know the path that we must take in this world. Jesus has brought God and with God the truth about our origin and destiny:

God created us not for this world. This world is just a passage-way. This life is simply the time we choose whether we want God and His Kingdom of Heaven or ourselves and Hell.

The only point of this world and this life is to make our choice and help as many people as possible to the Kingdom of Heaven. Period! That is why we must be the Donkeys of Mary who carry Jesus to all people and the best way is through friendship, good conversation and the Rosary.

four

The mountain on which Jesus faced the first temptation of the Devil is at Jericho, the oldest continually inhabited city in the world. Before Jericho began – people were hunters and gatherers

·       Too busy to think, ponder and pray

Then at Jericho they became agricultural

·       Which gave them the time to think about the most important questions in life: Where do we come from; what is the real purpose of life; where are we going after death? This led to thinking and wonder and philosophy, and to prayer and religion.

·       Humans evolved from hunters and gathers to those who think and pray and talk and worship God.  

But now we have De-volved

·       We’ve gone back to the busyness of the hunter-gatherer

·       Now we have no time to think, no time to pray, no time to talk to or worship God.

This is the temptation of the devil – “Hey, Jesus – get busy and make bread.” To be BUSY is to Be Under Satan’s Yoke.

five

The temptation of Jesus ends with the Gospel of Mark telling us:

Jesus was with the wild beasts, and the angels looked after him.

This last line caught my attention this morning in meditation because we are with the wild beasts, we are surrounded by temptations, but we are never left alone. However, we make the mistake of trying to fight our temptations alone. Jesus, who is both God and man, did not fight them alone. The angels looked after him. We often feel alone. We forget who is with us.

When we come to heaven we will see that we were never alone – not even for a moment. And then we will be amazed that we did not take advantage of the help we had. Jesus promised He would be with us until the end of time. In fact, we have the entire Holy Trinity dwelling in our soul. Mary our Spiritual Mother, the Queen of Heaven and Earth watches over us; St. Joseph the Terror of Demons has been commanded by God to take care of us…God has entrusted us to the care of a Mighty Guardian Angel. We are a part of a great family, a might army. You are not a solitary soldier. When the storm of temptation strikes, immediately turn to them for help and keep asking until the storm subsides.

Sometimes you are not ready to be helped so you do not accept the help He has sent. God understands and waits, watching for another opportunity when perhaps you will be more open to Him.  Be joyful. Your Heavenly family will never leave you. There is nothing left to chance, particularly with heaven’s work. Cast away fear, little children of God’s family. You have no reason to be afraid. Their promises will not be forgotten, as often happens with earthly promises. You can rely on these words from heaven and you can rely on them.