Deut 26:4-10; Rom 10:8-13; Lk 4:1-13
One of the strangest monuments in the world is “The boot Monument” at Saratoga in America. It shows a boot with the inscription, "In memory of the most brilliant soldier of the Continental army, who was desperately wounded on this spot, winning for his countrymen the decisive battle of the American Revolution,
and for himself the rank of Major General." But the monument does not mention the general’s name.
This monument is the symbol of a man’s succumbs to temptation to wealth and power, memorial of a great treason that took place in the history of America. Benedict Arnold was an early American hero of the war. When he was tempted with the offer High Military rank and 10,000 pounds he was willing to accept terms from British Commander Sir Henry Clinton, and to betray his country. “The boot Monument” declares his treason to the posterity.
Today’s Gospel tells us about the three temptation of Jesus. Jesus was tempted to “turn a stone into a loaf of bread in order to appease his hunger; to worship in exchange for wealth, power and glory; and to throw himself down from the Temple top, so that he would get popularity, that people would acclaim him as messiah. But Jesus quotes the scriptures at each temptation and silences his tempter.
Our
temptations closely resemble those of Jesus.
The first
temptation was to “turn a stone into a loaf of bread.” God is always concerned
about the material food of his children. When the wandering Israelites were
hungry, God fed them with Manna from Heaven. When they were thirsty God asked
Moses to strike the rock and bring water for them to drink. When they longed
for meat God sent them birds to be caught and used. When Prophet Elijah was
hungry a raven brought him food. When Jesus saw that people were hungry he
multiplied bread and fed them. The scriptures testify that God will give it to
anyone who tries to know His will and does it. But when we procure the needs of
life in ways that go against God’s will, due to our insatiable greed through
unjust means, our possessions become our idols rather than God’s gifts. If it
happens, the devil has succeeded in his plans. As long as we get for our
sustenance we should be satisfied. “We have to eat to live, and not live to
eat.” Let us remember Jesus’ reply to the devil, “Man does not live by bread
alone.”
The second
temptation was the offer of power and glory. We are also tempted to consider
human power and glory as something so precious that we never hesitate to have
recourse to any means in order to attain them. The boot monument is an example
of it. There are many examples of people drifting away from God, in search of
power and glory. During the time of Solomon the Kingdom of Israel prospered and
reached the height of its glory. The thirst for more and more power increased
the social evils in the kingdom. In our daily life too this is a great
temptation we have to fight against.
The third temptation was to jump from the Top of the Temple so that
people would accept him as messiah. We are also tempted to gain popularity by
any means. Popularity is a psychological need of every man. It is good to be
recognized in society. We like to hear people speak good things about us. EE Cummings
summarizes our need for social recognition in the following words. “We do not
believe in ourselves until someone reveals that deep inside us is valuable,
worth listening to, worthy of our trust, sacred to our touch. Once we believe
in ourselves we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight or any
experience that reveals the human spirit.” But when it is gained at the cost of
others through unfair means, the devil succeeds in establishing his plans. With
His reply to the devil Jesus wants us to follow his ways. He went about his
work through humiliation, suffering and death, rather than a spectacular
display of divine powers as the devil wanted him to.
We can certainly overcome these temptations. This is the lesson that Jesus wanted everyone to learn when he allowed himself to be tempted. The weapon to overcome the temptations is prayer. Jesus’ prayer for forty days in the desert helped him to defeat the devil. Our own prayer too will assure our victory over him.
Satish