The season of Lent launches us in a 40-day journey to the summit of the Easter Triduum of the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The temptations in the desert at the start of His ministry reveal to us Jesus’ fundamental option as against the self-interest the devil blandly tried to entice Him with (Luke 4:1-13).
Not by bread alone
“Filled with the Holy Spirit,” that is, in and aided by the divine presence, Jesus stayed in the wilderness for 40 days in prayer and fasting prior to His proclamation of the gospel of salvation. Identified in the Jordan as the Son of the heavenly Father (Luke 3:22), Jesus was targeted by the devil, pouncing on Him repeatedly to undermine His filial relationship with God. Each time in what appears to be a three-act drama, Jesus made a confession of faith to God as He affirmed His total obedience to the will of the Father.
Self-interest is what hinders complete submission to the divine will. And the devil knows that self-interest begins originally in the stomach. Terribly hungry after fasting so long, the personal need of Jesus clamored for satisfaction. The devil’s practical if taunting suggestion, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” The devil aimed to disorient Jesus. Jesus’ answer from Deuteronomy (8:3) made unmistakable that He would not seek bread only for Himself, because His food is to do the Father’s will (John 4:24); in fact, by the Father’s will, He would become the Bread from heaven for all.
Serve, do not tempt, the Lord
Next to food and at times even more urgent is the desire for wealth and power. Rebuffed by Jesus’ foremost concern to be doing the will of God, the devil proposed next another enticement to derail Jesus: secular power and worldly glory, but at the price of worshipping him. To aspire for political power in furtherance of self-glorification is common enough. But to worship the devil in order to become someone in this world is to self-destruct. Once more Jesus responded with the wisdom of Scripture that the Lord alone is to be worshipped and served (Deuteronomy 6:13). It is obviously part of the intoxication with worldly power to think that one has come up with a substitute for God Himself; against this ancient secularism, Jesus would remain wholeheartedly faithful to God.
The encounter between Jesus and the devil climaxed in Jerusalem at the temple, for Saint Luke the center of the unfolding mystery of salvation in Jesus for all humankind. Goading Jesus on to do what it takes to be popular, to impress and charm the public, the devil quoted Psalm 91:11 to dare Him to test the protection of God. But Jesus would not test God, unlike the Israelites who tested the Lord in the wilderness.
Alálaong bagá, as we begin our own 40 days (Kuaresma) of the Lenten season, in the light of what Jesus did against the devil in the desert, we Filipinos do have to face up to definite issues that demonize us as a people. Gnawing needs and poverty can really tempt people to sell themselves and even their children for bread. To survive, some are ready to betray all trusts, or to give up sacred birthright for a bowl of lintel, subscribing to the devil’s maxim that self-interest above all is simply common sense. Or, that nothing beats having power and being in control. Culturally, we Filipinos are fascinated with the malakas, the strong one, and the maganda, the beautiful one, which in the prostitution of power easily become the slopes to class domination, sterile dynasties and puerile self-perpetuation cluttering the pages of our history. The devil does not seem to have to work overtime in selling to us his addictive spiel; we have in abundance the garden varieties of self-interest: the hungry poor, the power-mad and the crowd illusionists. Amidst our claimed religiosity, so much seem in accord only with our self and vested interests. We need help. Jesus said He is the way, and He has run the distance.
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