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