Dear Christ the King Family,
Happy Lent! It might seem like a weird thing my family does but on Ash Wednesday whether we’re talking on the phone or texting, we say “Happy Lent” to each other (credit to my Dad for starting that many years ago). Lent is, of course, a serious time of preparation, but this season is not a punishment but a blessing—an opportunity to embrace the deeper joy and life of Christ. We always begin our Lenten Journey on the First Sunday of Lent with a Gospel account of this episode where Jesus, led by the Spirit, goes out into the wilderness, into the desert, fasts for 40 days, and is confronted by temptations posed by Satan. First of all, this is a reminder of the importance of solidarity in our Lenten journey because God was not afraid to be in solidarity with our human condition, with our human weakness in confronting temptation.
A number of years ago, I heard a homily by an older brother of mine, Fr. David Scheidler, CSC, that was incredibly powerful and I find myself returning to each 1st Sunday of Lent ever since. That Fr. David had this very powerful insight: The devil is a master manipulator and the prince of lies. He has no power over us unless we allow ourselves to do what he suggests. It is said that the best lies are those that contain a grain of truth. And that is certainly the case here, because the truth is that while Satan is a master liar, he is wholly unoriginal. He cannot create, he can only destroy. The temptations Satan poses, then, are so insidious because they aren’t his original words. They are our words. They are the words we plead and implore upon God when we are in the throes of suffering and anguish:
-“Turn these stones into bread.” – We have all been hungry. We know what hunger feels like. And Jesus was hungry too after those 40 days of fasting. And that hunger can take many other dimensions beyond food. We can thirst for something to drink. We can hunger for recognition, for praise, for affection, for knowledge, for control. There are many ways we can feel hunger. And in the midst of that hunger we cry out, “God, make this go away! You’re God, aren’t you? You can do anything you want. Why can’t you take this hunger away? Why can’t you turn these stones into bread?” Jesus had compassion on those he encountered who hungered, but he didn’t turn stones into bread. When he fed the 5,000, he could have made bread appear, but instead he took what little some people had and miraculously multiplied that into enough to feed all. When Jesus encountered sinners, he didn’t just instantly transform them into saints, but he welcomed them, called them, and brought them back into relationship. Ultimately, our hunger is for God, and Jesus came to reconcile us to the Father so that we could come to the eternal heavenly feast.
-“Jump from the parapet of the temple, the angels will catch you.” – When is the time of year that the most students visit the Grotto the most at Notre Dame? Midterms and Finals weeks. There have been times where we have been in freefall, and often the things that led to that freefall were our own doing. And we pray with desperation, “God, catch me! Save me!” And if you catch me, it will be a sign of how much you love me.” Or perhaps we want God to do something amazing to astound people into belief. It’s an indirect version of the last temptation, but it goes something like this: “God, why don’t you demonstrate how amazing you are so that people will believe in you! If only they saw that, they would believe!” And yet again, is being entertained and astounded the only way our faith should grow? Isn’t there something deeper than that?
-“All of the earth is yours if you bow down and worship me.” – I remember a high school student who once asked me, “If God didn’t want us to sin and be bad, why doesn’t God just strike down someone the instant they sin? Wouldn’t that make everyone else get their act together pretty quick? A strange question, for sure, but one that gets to the heart of another way we cry out to God: “God, why don’t you just dominate and take control? You have the power to do so, why don’t you just come down and use your power to destroy sin and evil?” God could very well do that and yet, where is there room for love and freedom in a world that is dominated by power and fear?
We see in all three of these temptations legitimate pains and trials we all face in this life, but mixed with self-centeredness. Satisfy my hunger. Amaze me into belief. Give me control. Where in those requests is room for the dignity, agency, freedom, and love with which God made us? I think a point of timing we tend to forget is that the temptations the devil presents to Jesus come after those 40 days of fasting in the wilderness. Brothers and sisters, the temptations we hear in today’s Gospel are an invitation for reflection throughout this Lenten journey because when these 40 days are completed after facing our own inner temptations, we will arrive there with Jesus at the foot of the Cross and behold the Messiah that God reveals Himself to be—not on our terms but on His terms of love beyond all telling. I pray this journey of Lent we make together this year is one of blessing deeper encounter with our Lord Jesus Christ, whose Paschal Mystery truly sets us free.
In Christ our King,
Fr. David
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