Above you'll find a video of homily for February 21, based on this gospel passage. (If a video doesn't appear above, click here.) And here's the text of my homily...
So we have Jesus in the desert, going mano a mano, one on one - with the devil.
I wonder if in your mind's eye, you're imagining a creature with horns, sporting a red cape, and pulling a pitchfork. Well, Matthew doesn't tell us what the devil looked like, let alone, what he was wearing. But I know that when I'm tempted - I never see red capes and pitchforks. Although temptation CAN be right in my face, yet at the times, temptation seems to sneak up on me, as if out of nowhere, in the half-light of shadows indistinct and yet somehow, appealing.
What is temptation?
It's an urge or a desire to do something, or to have something - especially something that doesn't belong to me - or something that's unwise or unhealthy for me to have. That's why temptation is usually connected with sin.
Temptation is FLIRTING with what I know isn't good for me.
I tease out the possibilities of a temptation. What it would be like - what it would feel like - to fall into temptation?
I dream or fantasize about what pleasure or ease might be mine if I follow temptation's path.
In my mind's eye, I look at what tempts me, and I kind of “try it on for size” - see how it fits.
I consider my present burdens and problems, my wants and my needs: I imagine the relief and the comfort that giving into temptation might provide me. I allow that imagined relief to loom larger and larger - larger than any other solution to the difficulties at hand.
I begin to picture what the temptation promises. I see it as a kind of a cozy place, a getaway, an escape from what's troubling me.
Finally, I convince myself that what I'm tempted by: not only is it not WRONG - it might actually be GOOD - might be something I really need. Something I really want. Maybe something “I deserve.”
If I sound like somebody who's pretty familiar with temptation, that's because I am!
And I know that temptation is a con job. And there are two con artists at work in temptation. First, there's the power of evil in the world and in our lives. Some people call that the devil, Satan, Lucifer, the evil one.
But no matter how or whether or not you personify evil, there IS something afoot in the world, tempting basically good people to do things that basically good people ought not do. Things that are unwise, unhealthy. Things that aren't good for us.
I know that even when I'm sure of what the RIGHT thing to do is, what the GOOD thing to do is, what the KIND thing to do is - even when I know what's TRUSTWORTHY and HONEST - even when I know all of this, I'm still TEMPTED to think or say or do – that what's wrong, bad, mean, unfaithful, dishonest, unwise, and healthy - might be okay for me .
And sometimes I give in to temptation, and I sin.
Whoever, or whatever it is in our minds and hearts, that tempts us to do what offends God and hurts others and ourselves, I know that that power is strong, subtle, devious, cunning, and real.
So if the power of evil is one of the con artists in the business of temptation - the second con artist is ME, myself.
I do such a good job of convincing myself that what I KNOW is wrong - well, it's really not THAT bad - That in some ways, it might even be good for me. Besides - it's pleasing to consider, it’s desirable, and may even be helpful…
Something like a piece of fruit, hanging within arm's reach, on a tree in the middle of an ancient garden… Just go for it…
Lent is a whole season to spend time dealing with our temptations.
What are they?
Am I tempted to lie, or to cheat, or to take what doesn't belong to me?
Am I tempted to step beyond the boundaries of my life situation, my relationships, my responsibilities?
Am I tempted to eat, or drink, or buy or own - more than I need?
Am I tempted to envy what others have, to be jealous of what appears to be their happiness?
Am I tempted to think I know more than God? Or that I know BETTER than God?
Am I tempted to cheat others out of what's rightfully theirs?
Am I tempted to gossip about some juicy tidbit I just picked up?
Am I tempted to be biased and prejudiced in my opinions and my choices?
Or am I tempted by the biggest temptation of all?
Am I tempted to think, to believe - that I have no temptations!
Yeah, you know - if temptation did arrive, dressed in a red cape and wielding a pitchfork, it would be easier to deal with.
But temptation doesn't come in a Halloween costume.
It comes in everyday clothes.
It appears as normal, harmless.
It beckons with a feigned innocence. enticing us to accept whatever it’s offering or promising.
And temptation is patient and subtle…
Can't you just hear temptation's voice?
Oh come on...
Go ahead!
Just a little...
Who's gonna know?
Nobody's gonna get hurt~
You work so hard... You've waited so long.
You've been so good - you deserve this!
Temptation is smooth, subtle, seductive and convincing…
And if I resist temptation - is that the end of it? Does temptation then walk away, defeated, dejected, and disappointed? NO WAY!
When I resist temptation, it quietly slips away into a corner - just out of my sight - and hits the deck doing push-ups, getting stronger and stronger, biding its time with infinite patience - while I congratulate and pat myself on the back until my pride swells and renders me even an easier target for temptation's return with its muscle and it's cunning.
Well… this temptation business might leave us hopeless if it weren't for the story in today's gospel.
Jesus deals with the tempter and remains strong. He does not give in. Most importantly - Jesus teaches us something about confronting temptation.
Jesus faces his first temptation after 40 days with no food. And as the gospel tells us - he was hungry. 40 days…
We all know the that feeling that comes from stuffing ourselves on Thanksgiving Day. How that can dull our senses and make us drowsy, lethargic. Lenten fasting is meant to do the exact opposite. Lenten fasting is meant to HEIGHTEN our senses - make us more aware of what's going on around us.
Fasting in Lent is meant to sharpen my awareness so that I might see temptation for what it is - and learn to recognize it when it comes, regardless of its costume or disguise.
And the tempter invites Jesus to believe that if he gives in, things will be easier… painless… pleasant… pleasurable…
But I know from my past that giving into temptation has never yielded the happiness I thought it was going to bring me.
Oh, there might be a brief high - but the letdown from that high (and the pain it causes me and others) never equals the satisfaction and serenity I know when I'm faithful to God – and to the life that's already mine.
The three basic exercises of Lent are: prayer, fasting, and caring for the poor. Just exactly what we need to help us confront what tempts us.
Prayer helps us grow closer to the God - in whose image we are made.
Fasting helps us to see temptation for what it is - and to heighten our awareness of what's going on in our lives.
Caring for the poor is finding peace - not in satisfying myself and my own desires, but - in serving the needs of others.
These are the tools Lent gives to strengthen us in the face of those temptations - from which we pray, every week, to be delivered: Deliver us from temptation...
So let's go to the Lord's table and be nourished by the One who's victory is ours - in his mercy and in his love.
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