“Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the Lord God had made” (Genesis 3:1).
“Jesus said to him, «away with you Satan!»” (Matthew 4:10).
This Sunday in the readings of the Mass, we heard about temptation, beginning in the Garden of Eden. We hear about Satan as well – as the Tempter, as the one doing the tempting.
Now, in today’s secular world, it is easy to adopt the idea that the devil does not exist, driven by the idea that humanity has progressed far enough to have ‘outgrown’ the devil. There is an opinion that says we are smarter than that now, and that the authors of the Bible who wrote about Satan were misguided by simplistic understandings. Because of our superior modern understanding, therefore, we have somehow been set free from the burdens of sin, evil or a character called the devil. This may be the opinion of some, but it is not our opinion as Catholic Christians.
In both the first reading from Genesis and the Gospel, Satan is mentioned: first as a serpent and then as the devil – but in both forms he is the deceiver. He is the Tempter. He covers up the truth, and misdirects attention away from it. He plays on weakness, or fatigue, or misunderstanding, to bend his victim away from God. Satan, according to sacred scripture and our constant tradition, is very real – and the account of Jesus being tempted in the desert is one of the strongest examples of how we understand the devil.
It is important to know that Satan is not equal to God; he is not an equal negative force in opposition to God’s positive force. Instead, Satan is a creature, a being created by God like all others, who turned away from his Creator along with the Divine Will and Love. Since that choice, or his call from grace, Satan has taken up the task of trying to lure all of us away from God, the Truth, and away from the salvation we have been offered.
In the Gospel we hear the three temptations of Jesus: the temptation to satisfy his own hunger; to test God; and to disobey his heavenly Father for the sake of worldly power. These are the classic temptations of Jesus, and we recognize them because we too know temptation in our lives. Satan and his helpers try to wiggle their way into our minds and hearts, drawing us away from the good, the true, and from God. This is what temptation is – tries to convince us to put ourselves before others and before God. For example:
- “You are better than these people, deserve more or you deserve faster service.”
- “You don’t deserve to be spoken to that way, you should put them in their place!
- “How dare they sit in your seat! Don’t they know who you are?”
- “Take that last piece of food – you were here first, so you deserve it!”
- “God doesn’t want your freedom, you are just God’s slave if you follow Him.”
- “Most of what the Bible says about Jesus is just stories – it’s not really true.”
- “If you are not wealthy, God obviously doesn’t love you.”
- “You are not good enough to be successful – you might as well give up now.”
- “God isn’t there – your prayers are just empty words in an ear that does not exist. There’s no point praying because God doesn’t answer prayers.”
- “If God knew you and loved you would he let you be alone or hurt or scared?”
- “Look at all the bad in the world, do you think that if God exists, God would allow all this?”
- “You don’t need God – you can do it yourself – look at how far humankind has gotten through the liberating power of intellect! You are too smart for God.”
- “Look at all the good and helpful things you are doing – and no one is noticing – you should tell someone because you definitely deserve recognition.”
These are some common temptations. Recognize some of them? We all experience them, and if not these ones then others. They are ways that Satan takes opportunities, on his own or through the influence of others, to cast doubt, increase pride, to plant fear, suspicion, or discord. In short, Satan strives to drive us further and further away from God.
But do not be confused about temptation; to be tempted is different from committing a sin. Sin can be the result of how we respond to these temptations. While temptation is a proposal, then sin is the action. A sinful act does put ourselves above or before others and God. We know that Jesus is like us in all things but sin. Jesus is fully human, but did not sin. But we know too that Jesus was tempted. How could this be, if he did not sin? This knowledge of Jesus helps show that they are different things.
We have control, with the help of God, over temptation. Free will allows us either to soften and succumb to temptation, or reject it and push it away. Jesus pushed his temptations away by clinging to the wisdom of Scripture and to his Heavenly Father, with his divine nature. In having this ability to reject temptation, Jesus pushed Satan away too.
And so in these first few days of Lent, we hear a message of triumph: Jesus went into the desert for forty days and triumphed over the hardships and temptations he encountered there. He won, and emerged from the wilderness ready to begin his public ministry. This message, if it does anything for us today, should fill us with encouragement about our own forty day journey through Lent – which will carry its own share of challenges and temptations. If we continue through Lent with a spirit of humility and a watchful diligence, knowing that Jesus understands where we are and is ready to help us, by the grace of God, we will be triumphant too!
Fr. Matthew Emmelkamp