Lent I

Lent I (Matthew 4:1-11) “It is written”.

Jesus responded to temptation by quoting scripture.

Satan initiated temptation  by raising doubt. Satan also intensified temptation by misquoting scripture.

Only one person knew scripture almost as well as Jesus. That one person was (and continues to be) Satan. Satan has the knowledge but rejects the understanding.

Certainly, in Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness we see the pattern of temptation for ourselves. Jesus entered the desert to fast and pray before he began his public ministry. Jesus moved from the height of spiritual experience in his baptism immediately into the rigors of spiritual discipline in the desert, through the intensity of Satanic temptation and then into the comfort and strength of ministering angels. This is a pattern.

There are three portals of temptation for human beings: the mind, the heart and the will. There are three channels of temptation for human beings: the world (culture) the flesh (human desires) and the devil (Satan.) There is only one defense against temptation: love.

That love is divine love. It is the very essence of divinity and so it forms the foundation for who Jesus is. Jesus demonstrates for us that divine love is grounded in truth. Temptation always is a distortion of truth and a subversion of truth.

In the three temptations Jesus met we see the pattern of temptation.

The first temptation is the temptation of the flesh. It comes at a moment of physical weakness after Jesus fasted. Fasting has its benefits only in the context of the inward and spiritual grace of divine love. If you fast ( and I hope you will) dedicate the time of abstinence to God. Ask the Father to strengthen you in the love of the Son by the indwelling real presence of the Holy Spirit.

The temptation channel of the flesh appeals to the desire to meet legitimate needs by inappropriate and ultimately self-destructive means. It is the temptation to focus on short term benefits and ignore long term consequences. It can be summarized in the cynical statement: the ends justify the means.

Jesus meets the temptation by quoting scripture.

The next temptation is the temptation of the world culture. More specifically, it is the temptation to become the Messiah the people were looking for. That Messiah would manifest power.

In this temptation, Satan adjusts to Jesus’ prior defense by meeting him where he is. Jesus quotes scripture so Satan quotes scripture. Jesus quotes scripture from the context of divine love. Satan quotes scripture from the place of pride and deceit.

It is important for us to memorize scripture. It is vitally important we memorize scripture in the context of Divine Love in union with the Beloved, Jesus Christ. Otherwise, Satan will use Scripture to confuse us.

The temptation of culture is always to take the short cut of power. Such a short cut seems reasonable. Is seems desirable, It even feels good.  It never works. And for Jesus, who voluntarily surrendered his divine prerogatives – including his power- it would have subverted the Plan of Salvation for short term political and military gains. It is important to note that the temptation of political power can and often does misuse scripture in our society.

The third temptation is the most profound. It reaches into the deepest level of our souls. It is the temptation that distorts and subverts worship. It is the reason Lucifer became Satan. And since worship is the highest form of love, this temptation is a distortion and corruption of love.

Satan formed the temptation for Jesus to distort love in the same manner he presented the temptation to the angels in heaven. Once again, Jesus shows us the way to resist this temptation by quoting scripture in the context of Divine love.

All of us will from time to time experience the temptations of the world (culture) and the flesh (desire) in much the same way Jesus did. Few, if any of us, will experience the third temptation in the same manner. All of us experience the underlying principle of this third temptation.

The temptation to subvert worship is the key to Satan’s plan of damnation for humanity. Satan’s first priority is to convince people that worship is merely an option of culture. His ultimate goal is to replace the worship of God with the worship of self.  This plan has two aspects. The most blatant is to convince people to abandon worship altogether. The more subtle is to convince people to argue and fight over the details of worship. The underlying voice that Satan seeks to cultivate in our souls is: “my will be done.”

Worship is also the key to implement Our Heavenly Father’s Plan of Salvation in Jesus Christ. Worship at God’s time in God’s way with God’s people shifts our focus from self-will to Divine Will in the unconditional universal love of Jesus Christ. The voice in our soul that Jesus seeks to cultivate is always: Heavenly Father, not my will but Thy will be done.

Temptation is a threefold attack on the meaning and purpose of life. Temptation uses pride and pleasure to subvert and to corrupt the original blessings of virtue God placed in our souls. We can only discern temptation and respond to temptation by readying, studying and memorizing scripture in union with Divine Love in Jesus Christ.

The Way of Salvation is the Way of Life. The Way of Life in this Church Age manifests at the altar of sacrificial love in the Real Presence of sacramental love. So it is written. So shall it be. Now and forever. World without end. Amen.