By Jeff Schinstock
Director of Evangelization and Catechesis
Catholics are good at reminding ourselves of things. When we enter church and dip our finger into the holy water and make the sign of the cross, it is a reminder of our baptism. That baptism unites us to God as sons and daughters, letting us know just who we are and how we are loved. Jesus introduced us to baptism by allowing John to baptize him. At this moment, the heavens proclaimed that “This is my beloved son, with whom I am well pleased.” (Mt. 3:17).
Jesus is immediately moved by the Spirit into the wilderness where he fasts for forty days and forty nights. This is where we get our basis of Lent, so it is important we see what Jesus is doing. Lent is one of those things we Catholics do that “remind” us. This reminder points us to an understanding of the need to prepare ourselves for our spiritual mission.
Jesus is aware that this time in the desert is going to end in being tempted. Even in his weakened state – we are told he is hungry – Jesus shows us the way. Let’s take a look at how he does it. Satan approaches Jesus and says, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread” (Mt. 4: 3). Just as God the Father proclaims Jesus as the son at his baptism, we also hear God say “Israel is my first-born son” (Ex. 4:22). Israel fails the test of hunger and God sends the Israelites manna. Here a hungry Jesus responds to the tempter by quoting Deuteronomy, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” (Mt. 4:4, Deut. 8:3).
Another fascinating layer of this is that St. Paul tells us that this moment of Israel being claimed as the first born son was also preceded by a baptism (1 Cor. 10:1-5).
Why does this all matter? We, the adopted children of God are shown two paths. We can follow the Israelites who try to go on their own and constantly complain. They spent 40 years wandering the wilderness before entering the promised land. The other option is to follow Jesus who uses the 40 days in the wilderness for strength and chooses faithful obedience. God is always faithful and he rewards our faithfulness. With that in mind, let’s see how the rest of the story plays out.
The devil himself is quite the scripture scholar. He moves from the Lord’s response to quoting scripture himself. Taking Jesus to the top of the temple he speaks to him quoting Psalm 91, “If you are the son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written, ‘he will give his angels charge of you,’ and ‘on their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’” Jesus goes right back to the law and quotes Deuteronomy again: “You shall not tempt the Lord your God.” (Mt. 4:7; Deut. 6:16). Jesus rejects Satan’s interpretation of Psalm 91. The psalm encourages us to be faithful, and the enemy uses it to subtly try to lead the Son of God to selfishness.
Finally, the devil goes for the jugular. He shows Jesus all the worldly power we could imagine. Satan offers it freely to Jesus if he will worship him. While offering kingship of worldly kingdoms, the devil seeks the highest price. Our first commandment and therefore, the foundation of our relationship with God, calls us to recognize his divinity and worship him alone. Jesus stays on script. He remains in Deuteronomy 6 (13) and rebukes the father of lies, “Be gone Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him alone shall you serve.’”
Our Catechism of the Catholic Church describes this whole scene beautifully in paragraphs 538-540. We see that Jesus shows us the way Adam failed and Israel failed. Let your Lent strengthen you to choose like Our Lord. Temptation comes to us all. Satan will seek us in our weakness and offer us things that seem like they would satisfy. Why then do we give up things and deny ourselves in Lent? Shouldn’t we be making ourselves as strong as we can in order to stand up to the enemy? For that answer, I recommend that we go back to the words of St. Paul: “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” I will rather boast most gladly of my weaknesses, in order that the power of Christ may dwell with me. Therefore, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and constraints, for the sake of Christ; for when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Cor. 12:9-10).
