First Sunday of Lent

Identity Crisis?

Lent is a time for heightened self-awareness. Our journey is not unlike that of Jesus who was human like us. A journey into the wilderness, into the desert, often provides a stillness that facilitates our reflection on our relationship to God. In the “emptiness” of the desert, without normal, daily distractions, we examine who we really are in God’s eyes. We can be lured by the same temptations Jesus experienced. Do we have the same confidence that Jesus had? Do we believe and live as if we are God’s blessed ones?

In searching for an understanding of the temptations Jesus experienced and how he responded, I found this reflection from Ron Rolheiser.

During his baptism, he had heard his Father say: “You are my blessed son, in whom I take delight!” Those words then formed and defined his self-consciousness. Knowing that he was blessed, Jesus could then look out at the world and say: “Blessed are you when you are poor… and meek … and persecuted.”

But throughout his life, Jesus struggled to always believe that. For instance, immediately after his baptism, we are told, the spirit drove him into the desert where he fasted for forty days and forty nights – and afterwards “he was hungry”. Obviously what scripture is describing here is not simply physical hunger. Jesus was empty in ways that made him vulnerable to believe that he was not God’s blessed child. These were his three temptations:

First, the devil tempted him to this effect: “If you are God’s specially blessed one, turn these stones into bread.” In essence, the devil’s taunt was this: “If you believe that you are God’s specially blessed creature, why is your life so empty?” Jesus’ reply, “One doesn’t live on bread alone!” might be rendered: “I can be empty and still be God’s blessed one! Being blessed and special is not dependent upon how full or empty my life is at a given moment!”

The second temptation has to do with human glory and its absence. The devil shows Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and says: “All of these will be yours if you worship me!” The taunt is: “If you’re God’s blessed one, how come you’re a big, fat nobody? Not famous, not known, anonymous.” And Jesus’ reply might be worded this way: “I can be a big nobody and still be God’s blessed one. Blessedness doesn’t depend upon fame, on being a household name!”

The third temptation follows the same lines: The devil takes Jesus to the top of the temple and challenges him to throw himself down to make God catch him since, in faith, it is promised that God won’t let his blessed one “dash his foot against a stone”. Jesus responds that we shouldn’t put God to the test. The temptation and how we should resist it are both contained in his reply. In essence, what Jesus says when the devil challenges him to throw himself off the top of the temple to prove his specialness is this: “I’ll take the stairs down, just like everyone else!” Our blessedness is not predicated on having a VIP elevator, or on having any special privileges that set us apart from others. We are God’s blessed ones, even when we find ourselves riding the city buses.

And it is good to remember, namely, that we are God’s special, blessed sons and daughters, even when our lives seem empty, anonymous, and devoid of any special privileges because then we won’t forever be putting God and our restless hearts to the test, demanding more than ordinary life

https://ronrolheiser.com/our-three-temptations/#.YiElNXrMKUk