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Gospel: Luke 4: 1-13
Filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus returned from the Jordan
and was led by the Spirit into the desert for forty days,
to be tempted by the devil.
He ate nothing during those days,
and when they were over he was hungry.
The devil said to him,
“If you are the Son of God,
command this stone to become bread.”
Jesus answered him,
“It is written, One does not live on bread alone.”
Then he took him up and showed him
all the kingdoms of the world in a single instant.
The devil said to him,
“I shall give to you all this power and glory;
for it has been handed over to me,
and I may give it to whomever I wish.
All this will be yours, if you worship me.”
Jesus said to him in reply,
“It is written
You shall worship the Lord, your God,
and him alone shall you serve.”
Then he led him to Jerusalem,
made him stand on the parapet of the temple, and said to him,
“If you are the Son of God,
throw yourself down from here, for it is written:
He will command his angels concerning you, to guard you,
and:
With their hands they will support you,
lest you dash your foot against a stone.”
Jesus said to him in reply,
“It also says,
You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.”
When the devil had finished every temptation,
he departed from him for a time.
The Gospel of the Lord.
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Do you remember learning how to ride a bicycle?
I’ve seen pictures of myself peddling my plastic tricycle in our family driveway as a toddler. Then I became a “big boy,” graduating to a real bicycle with training wheels. Eventually, I outgrew those, too, and had to learn how to pedal on my own.
That’s the scary part.
I’m sure many parents have had that heart dropping feeling of watching your child wobble without training wheels. At first, you hold onto the back of their seat as they struggle to find their balance.
Soon enough, children develop a sense of confidence, insisting that you let them go as they push and pedal on their own. For some, that command leads to a crash landing.
For others, newfound freedom.
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That’s what Lent is all about.
Learning how to wobble. Pedal. Push. Balance.
Spiritually speaking, how to grow up.
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Most of the year, we fight with the Lord, trying to wrestle control of our lives, without really wanting God to let go. Think of a child trying to pedal on their own, while finding comfort knowing that Mom or Dad is still holding on.
During these days of Lent, in a sense, God lets go.
He puts us to the test.
He allows us to pedal on our own, discovering for ourselves what we’re made of, how spiritually mature we are.
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In today’s Gospel, Jesus is put to the test; he’s tempted.
At his baptism, the heavens are torn open as God affirms Jesus, saying, “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.” Immediately afterwards, the Spirit drives him into the desert, where Jesus must learn how to resist the devil – and, you might say, pedal on his own.
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Generally, when we think of the word “temptation,” we think about it in a negative sense. Temptations are those people and things that are not really good for us, yet we allow them to exercise control over our lives.
As Mark Twain once said, “The best way to get rid of temptation is to give into it.”
However, in the bible, the word “temptation” has a double meaning; it’s not only used in a negative sense, but also in a positive sense.
While it does imply the trickery of the devil, or things that lure us away from virtuous living and the Lord, the word “temptation” also implies a divine “test.”
God tests our hearts – not to make us fail; rather, to strengthen us to do his will. In the case of Jesus, the desert is the place where he prepares for his public ministry.
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During the course of his ministry, Jesus does many wonderful things for others, but his own personal journey is riddled with difficulty.
He is criticized by the religious authorities, misunderstood by his own family, betrayed by Judas, abandoned by his friends, and eventually left for dead, beaten and bloodied on a cross.
Yes, the devil attacks him. Yes, Jesus is confronted by evil. But through it all, he perseveres and does his Father’s will perfectly because of the strength he cultivates during those forty days in the desert.
Humanly speaking, you might say, that’s where Jesus learns how to ride. He wobbles. Pedals. Pushes his way through those desert temptations.
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As we prepare for yet another Lent, perhaps God is calling us to dive deeper. Not simply to give up chocolate, coffee, or social media for forty days, repressing a particular appetite, but to really examine our conscience, asking questions like:
How important is God in my life? How much control do certain temptations have over me? How rich is my prayer life? How considerate am I of others?
Spiritually, have I learned how to ride my bike? Am I truly free to choose good and reject evil?
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May God cast out any fear from our hearts, allowing us to wobble our way through Lent. To push. Pedal. Strive. Balance.
To discover that freedom, which allows us to do our Father’s will, to Calvary and beyond.
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Image credits: (1) (2) Today’s Parent (3) istock