March 09, 2017

Tongue in cheek, Oscar Wilde once said: “I can resist anything … except temptation.”

Long before these words were uttered, Jesus knew the sad truth about temptation. He was tempted by the devil in the desert. The three temptations of Jesus in the desert, recorded by St. Matthew in chapter four of his gospel, refer to the universal temptations that everyone has to face in life. These temptations are the temptations of POWER, POSSESSIONS, and PRIVILEGE.

Jesus rejected the temptation of power by reminding us that it is God, not man, whom we “alone shall serve.” He also exposed the futility of the temptation of possessions when He declared that man does “not live on bread alone.” And, He rose above the temptation of privilege by insisting that you must not play God by putting “the Lord, your God, to the test.”

By confronting these temptations, Jesus showed He was not to be bound by attachments to any of them. This is not an easy message, and it should not be sugar-coated in any way. Ask yourself if you are controlled by any or all of these temptations? Are you attached to possessions or money, even if you don’t possess much of either? You don’t have to be wealthy to be tempted by money. Let me explain.

I was having coffee at a coffee-shop when a young assistant said to me: “how I’d love to be wealthy.” I asked, “Why do you feel that way?” He replied: “Well, I could do so much good.” “Like what?” I inquired. “I could help others,” he replied, with a self-assured shrug of the shoulders. “See that little old Lady over there?” I said. He nodded. “She could do with some help right now. Why don’t you start with her?” “Oh, I didn’t mean it like that,” he remonstrated. “What did you mean?” I responded. He fell silent. I continued. “Do you really think you are going to be more helpful to others when you have money than right now when you can go over there and help that little old Lady.” He said: “I never thought of it like that,” and the conversation ended.

The struggle against temptation is not for the weak and fickle. Surely that is why, in the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus included a petition: “Lead us not into temptation,” to help us steer clear of it. Navigating such a steady course is not simple. We are easily tempted by money, our heads are easily turned by privilege or fame, our attention is easily diverted by the lure of power. We need to be strong. It is easy to enjoy the luxury of the emotion of helping others, like the young assistant in the coffee shop, when you don’t have to pay the price.

Scripture reminds us how devious are the devices of the evil one. Jesus’ power to perform miracles and do good captured the attention of the Jewish people and the Jewish leaders. The leaders viewed Him as a threat to their power which they were not prepared to relinquish. They embraced that temptation wholeheartedly. They said He was mad, possessed by the very devil. Jesus countered their criticisms by labeling them blasphemers against the Holy Spirit. In other words, these accusers rejected Jesus, not out of human weakness, but out of bad faith. They wanted to hold on to power, at all costs, in spite of the evidence of what they were doing was wrong. This offense is so serious that Jesus says the perpetrator “has committed an eternal sin,” that is, a sin against the Holy Spirit, the spirit of truth.

Temptation wears many hats. It can manifest itself, as we have seen, in the lust for power, the lure of possessions, and the narcissism of privilege. It can appear in the guise of leaders and fair-weather friends who promise the moon but fail to deliver on their promises. Our generation is a generation that is far too easily led because it tends to follow whoever caters to personal self-interest rather than the common good. This temptation to follow the selfish path is all too real today.

Today’s scripture warns us about the dangerous temptations that surround us. We are reminded that we need to take careful stock by doing something about these temptations. This Lent is as good a time as any to start making changes to your life.

Why not confront the temptation of power by reaching out to the vulnerable and by visiting the sick in nursing homes, in hospitals or in their homes where they live alone?

Why not confront the temptation of possessions or money by giving to the poor or by helping charities, like Cross Catholic, which helps the very poor in over forty countries worldwide?

Why not confront the temptation of privilege by being generous to the underprivileged. They are all around you, in foster-care centers, in adoption centers, in homes for battered spouses?

By following the example of Christ who confronted these temptations, we follow the right leader who can free us from them.

Fr. Hugh Duffy