We read something into the Temptation in the Desert. That Jesus is being tempted by the devil. I don’t think it fits.
For Sunday
The First Sunday of Lent
Collect
Almighty God, whose blessed Son was led by the Spirit to be tempted by Satan: Come quickly to help us who are assaulted by many temptations; and, as you know the weaknesses of each of us, let each one find you mighty to save; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.
Amen.
Reading
From Luke 4:1-13
“When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.”
Reflection
We refer to this week’s reading as The Temptation, because that is what the devil is trying to do. He’s trying to tempt Jesus into accepting what he is offering.
It is also clear that Jesus isn’t really tempted. Like at all. Not even a little bit.
Which, in a sense, drains the story of its central conflict. It seems super exciting. And given the name we give it, super demanding. We imagine Jesus resisting and struggling with the wiles of the devil. Maybe he’ll break! we think.
But that isn’t anything close to what’s happening here. Jesus simply bats it all away.
Which, I think, reveals something deep about us and what we think about this “temptation”. In a real sense, calling it The Temptation is a misnomer, because there isn’t any. It doesn’t even seem true to say he is resisting temptation because he doesn’t seem to be tempted in the slightest.
But the fact that we would be tempted remains abundantly true.
Similarly, Jesus seems to rest his confidence in Scripture. Which we might find ourselves doing the same…until the devil shows the way Scripture can conflict with itself. But that doesn’t seem to confuse Jesus either.
Lastly, we may confuse Jesus’s resistance for a rigid certainty of conviction, rather than the flexible understanding of belief.
This story isn’t Jesus’s Temptation in the Desert. It’s ours.
Because the devil keeps offering Jesus power, opportunity, certainty, understanding, pleasure, fame…all the things we worship and demand. An end to confusion. Clear communication and understanding of all things. Power to have our way. Controlling the response of others.
Time and again we are tempted by these things. And that is why it is so notable that Jesus isn’t! It is remarkable that the human Jesus can resist what we struggle with over and over. But…it also proves that we don’t have to struggle with it. The lust for power isn’t inevitable.
I used to drink incredible amounts of Diet Coke. It is fair to say I was addicted. Then I gave up artificial sweeteners for Lent. Started drinking coffee with cream. Hated it for a week. By the end, I was drinking my coffee black. I now go days without a Diet Coke.
Lust for power isn’t a permanent condition. It’s an addiction. And we have ways of helping each other neutralize the craving itself.