Homily for the First Sunday of Lent - March 10, 2019

Homily for March 10, 2019

First Sunday of Lent

Overcoming Temptation

            All of the saints experienced temptation. St. Anthony the Abbot, an early fourth-century hermit from the desert, was frequently tempted by the devil. One time he was walking along a deserted path when he saw a pile of gold in the middle of the path – a temptation to give up his vow of poverty! Another time the devil appeared to him as a beautiful and seductive woman. A third time, he was tempted by fear when the devil appeared to him as a pack of wild beasts, ready to attack him. In all of these temptations, he prayed and fasted and was able to overcome them, but one day he was so frustrated with being constantly tempted that he cried out to the Lord, “Lord, why do You allow me to be so tempted?” The Lord spoke to him clearly and said, “Anthony, I was present at your side, but I waited, observing your fight. And now that you are victorious, I will be your helper forever.”

All of us are tempted on a daily basis. Some of the temptations are small – to tell a little white lie, to steal office supplies, to cheat on a test. Some of the temptations are more serious – to cheat on one’s wife, to refuse to forgive an enemy, to skip Mass out of laziness. How do we overcome temptation? Let’s look at how Jesus did it!

            So Satan shows up in the desert and begins to tempt Jesus. This should teach us two things right off the bat – first, that every human being who ever lived was tempted, including the Son of God Himself! I doubt that Satan really thought Jesus could sin – being God, there’s no way He could be anything less than perfect – but Jesus allowed it to show that temptation is a part of life. Second, temptation is not a sin. Often we feel guilty for having been tempted – but that’s not a sin at all! Rather, God allows us to be tempted so that we can grow in holiness by choosing righteousness.

            It’s much like going to the gym. If we stick only to 10-pound weights, we will never get stronger. We need to stretch ourselves, to face bigger obstacles so that we can grow. In the same way, we would never need to choose Christ if we weren’t tempted. Faith that is tested grows stronger. Loving God in times of temptation is worth much more than loving Him in easy times, because it costs us much more!

            The first thing Satan does, even before the temptation, is question Jesus’ identity: if You are the Son of God… Of course He is the Son of God! Literally one chapter before this passage, at Jesus’ baptism, the sky opened and God the Father declared, “This is My Beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.” But Satan, the Father of Lies, tries to sow doubt in Jesus’ mind…are You really who You think you are?

            And this is the first step to our temptations as well! Who are you? You are a disciple, a Christian, a Beloved Son or Daughter of God. But Satan will try to tell you that you are nothing but an alcoholic, a liar, a thief, unloved, unwanted, all alone in this world. We must resist Him by standing firm on our identity as a Christian!

            The devil then goes on to the temptations. We Catholics like our things in “three’s”, so here we have three temptations.

            First, the temptation is to turn stones into bread. This is a temptation to seek physical pleasure. Now, pleasure isn’t bad. It’s not wrong to eat bread if you’re hungry. But there is a right way and a wrong way to pursue pleasure. If you’re supposed to be fasting, eating a feast would be wrong. If you’re supposed to be doing homework, then playing Fortnite would be wrong. If you’re not married, then pursuing sexual pleasure would be wrong. The temptation was for Jesus to give up the fast, to enjoy food at the wrong time and in the wrong way.

            The second temptation is to have the riches of the nations. This is a temptation to seek wealth. Again, wealth isn’t bad either. You should seek to be successful in your job. None of you in this church has taken a vow of poverty! But there is a right way and a wrong way to pursue wealth. The Evil One tried to convince Jesus to obtain the wealth of the nations by worshipping him – obviously not the right way! If we seek money by working hard and are generous with what we have been given, not attached to it, then we are seeking it rightly. But if we worship our jobs or our possessions, are greedy and envious and live self-indulgently, then we are doing it the wrong way. This temptation was for Jesus to pursue riches when He was called to live a life of poverty and sacrifice.

            The third temptation is the temptation to pride. If Jesus were to throw Himself down off the temple, expecting God to save Him, then He would basically be telling His Father what to do – “Father, You have to save Me! Do what I tell You!” But Jesus came in humility and obedience – He only does the Father’s will, not vice-versa. And this is the most insidious of all temptations – the temptation to pride. We are often tempted with pride when we think we’re better than others, when we boast about our own accomplishments or think we’re all that because we drive a nice car and live in a nice house.

            So these three temptations – pleasure, riches, and pride – correspond to the three sources of temptation – the flesh, the world, and the devil. We also have three antidotes to these three sources of temptation. If we are tempted by pleasure, we should fast – give up dessert or make some small physical sacrifice to help us grow in self-mastery. If we are tempted by riches, we should practice almsgiving – generosity to the poor to show that our money is not our god. And if we are tempted by pride, we should pray, because prayer recognizes that we are desperately dependent upon the Lord.

            These are the three practices that we often take on during Lent – prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. They help us to overcome the three-fold temptations of pleasure (the flesh), riches (the world) and pride (the devil). Don’t be afraid of temptation – it’s going to come! But use these weapons of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving to overcome these temptations so that when Easter comes you are not just ten pounds lighter for not eating chocolate – you are also holier and spiritually stronger.