1 Sunday of Lent Temptations of Jesus

Four minute homilies

Lent 1 Temptations of Jesus

Every Lent we try to accompany Jesus into the desert. We don’t like it, but it is the best way for us to return to God, to have a small conversion. We go down from Jerusalem towards the Dead Sea, the lowest place on earth, below sea level. Jesus wanted to stoop down to our human level, surrounded by a very rough terrain. It is a place of open spaces, silence, constant blowing of the wind, harsh conditions and a brown landscape. We are going there to spend time with Jesus alone, without anything that could distract us from him. He spent forty days of penance to prepare himself for his public life. We need to prepare ourselves for the temptations we are going to face this year. Close to Jesus, strengthened by our penance, we can overcome any temptation.

After forty days of fasting, Jesus was weak. The devil took advantage of this moment to tempt him, to discover who he was. He does the same with us. He knows our weaknesses and always comes in the same way. We need to be sincere and learn from our mistakes. God allows us to be tempted, for us to show him that we love him more than ourselves, to become stronger in our virtue and to be humble. It helps us to realise that we, like little children, need his power, and we cannot do it alone. We are in the desert with Jesus, and we need to be very close to him.

The first temptation is to convert stones into bread, to fix our problems, to make our lives more comfortable and smooth, with no obstacles and traumas. God is not a butler in our service or a plumber to fix our leaks. It is the other way around; we are at his service. It is the temptation of pleasures, food and entertainment. The Roman Caesars used to give people bread and circuses, to keep them entertained. The devil does the same with our soul, to lull us to asleep and suppress our desire for God. The desert, fasting and abstinence, rekindle our thirst for God. The internet could be a technological drug that keeps us stoned, addicted to screens. Silence, solitude and recollection, will bring us back to life.

The second temptation is to jump from the pinnacle of the temple and let the angels save us. It is the allure of fame, prestige and glory. Vanity makes us think that one day we’ll be famous. If I get a million hits when I upload my silly video on YouTube, I’ll be very happy. I’m counting very carefully my likes and dislikes in my Facebook page. I have so many people following me, so many groups in WhatsApp; I’m an influencer. My moods change depending on what’s happening on my smartphone. Lent is a good time to take a break from whatever is trying to feed our pride. Maybe it is a time to delete the app that’s taking too much time in our lives, or put some order into our use of our little gadgets.

The third temptation is to worship the rulers of this world. We think that money and power are going to make us happy. We like to control people, to have a job that make us somebody, to look at our bank account and be pleased by what we see. We forget that we come from God and that we go back to him, sooner than we think. We cannot take anything with us when we go. This is what the Church reminds us at the beginning of Lent, when the priest places the ashes on our forehead saying: “Remember that you are dust and unto dust you shall return.”

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