(Jesus + us) > (Devil + temptation)

GN 2:7-9; 3:1-7; MT 4:1-11   (1st Sunday of Lent, Year A)

The Temptations of Christ, 12th century mosaic at St Mark's Basilica, Venice

One of the most interesting books I have read is the Screwtape Letters, by C.S. Lewis. Lewis was an Oxford professor and author whose best known work is the Narnia series. The Screwtape Letters is a very unique work in which Lewis writes a series of fictional letters between two demons. The letters are all written by a senior demon, Screwtape, in order to mentor his nephew Wormwood, a junior tempter. Wormwood has been given the task of ensuring the damnation of a man who is referred to simply as “The Patient”. In his letters, Screwtape tries to advise Wormwood how to succeed in his task. What impressed me about the book were the incredible insights it gives into human nature - both our strengths and weaknesses - and the reality of temptation. So much of the book described things that I had experienced, just from a very different perspective, that of our enemy.

It is important that we have a realistic and balanced view of the Devil and temptation. In particular, it we need to avoid extremes when we consider Satan and his influence in our life. On one extreme, there are those who tend to see the Satan lurking under every rock. They too easily attribute problems in the world to demonic activity. Instead of taking responsibility for their own bad choices, they can pass the buck saying “the Devil made me do it”. In this extreme position, it is often forgotten that Jesus has defeated Satan and given us the power to resist temptation. Another extreme are those who ignore the Devil altogether. Some go so far as to call Satan a myth or a superstitious idea that we have now grown out of. They deny that there is some actual, personal evil that is trying to bring about our ruin through temptation. This way of thinking is also a problem. Imagine what would happen if a nation were under attack and the people lived in a sense of denial about the situation, refusing to believe that they were at war or even had an enemy. There is an interesting point about this point of view in a part of the Screwtape Letters in which Screwtape writes to Wormwood:

Our Master’s (the Devil’s) greatest triumph was in convincing men that he doesn't exist.

Clinging to either of these extremes views of the Devil and temptation hinder our ability to follow Jesus.

Satan does indeed exist and is trying to destroy us by telling us lies about our true identity. We may wonder, if Jesus has defeated the Devil, why does the Devil continue to battle? An analogy might help. Imagine a smoker who is addicted to cigarettes. Everyday when he goes to open a package of cigarettes, what do he read on the package? Smoking kills. The smoker knows this habit is killing him but he does it anyway because he are dependent on the nicotine. He needs it. Satan is addicted and dependent on hate. He knows he is defeated but he cannot but hate us and try to destroy us. He does this by lying to us about who we are as human being. The reality that we find in the book of Genesis is that we have been created in the image of God. We are all beloved sons and daughter of God, infinitely loved and precious to Him. We have been given a wonderful role in God’s wonderful creation: to build a world that reflects His values of love and justice. For these reasons, as human beings we need to have God at the center of our lives, it is just who we are. Satan attacks this identity. Just as in the case of Adam and Eve, he tries to make us push God outside of our lives and not without success. How many families today are so busy with work, school, and extracurricular activities that they do not have enough time to be together, let alone with God? In our busyness we forget about trying to build a world more reflective of God’s values. The Devil tries to make us forget that we are loved and precious to God. How many young people today, thinking that they don’t measure up to society’s standards for beauty and goodness, feel that they are worthless and unlovable? Satan is trying to destroy us by telling us lies about who what it means to be a human being.

In His temptation, Jesus shows us our true identity. Pope Emeritus Benedict explains that Jesus’ temptations are so significant because they

address the question as to what truly matters in human life. At the heart of all temptations, as we see here, is the act of pushing God aside because we perceive him as secondary, if not actually superfluous and annoying, in comparison with all the apparently far more urgent matters that fill our lives. (Jesus of Nazareth, vol. 1, p. 28)

In His responses to Satan, Jesus always affirms that as human beings, we can have no existence outside God – He must be at the center. The same temptations that Jesus experienced were undergone by Adam and Eve and the people of Israel, all of whom failed. Adam and Eve chose to eat the fruit, thereby pushing God outside their lives. The people of Israel, after being freed from slavery in Egypt, turned their back on God by not trusting that He would provide for their materials needs and instead worshiped idols. Jesus, during His temptation in the desert, conquers the temptations of the Devil to push God out of the center of our lives, thereby affirming what it truly means to be human.

       

Lent is a time to take strength in our fight against Satan. In different ways, the Devil wants to tempt us to push God outside our life. With Jesus at our side and with His strength we can fight this lie. I would like to offer four practical tips for fighting temptation.

1. Remember we have an enemy. Maybe this sounds simplistic, but recall what C.S. Lewis wrote: the Devil’s greatest triumph was convincing men he doesn't exist.
2. Know your weak spots and guard against them. St. Ignatius of Loyola reminds us that like any enemy the Devil attacks us in our weak spots. What is your weak spot? Pride? Vanity? Lust?
3. Show a bold face to the Devil. St. Ignatius explains that in tempting the Devil is like a barking dog, if you are firm and determined from the beginning, the dog will back off. When temptations come, we should resist them strongly the moment they arise. For example, if you feel resentment towards someone, try to forgive them right away. Do not let relive the hurt and allow it to build up.
4. Stay out of the Devil’s territory. St. Augustine says that the Devil is like a chained dog. This dog is powerful, but is confined by the length of the chain. If you enter the dog’s area it can hurt you, if you stay outside, you are safe.  The Devil’s territory is serious sin, un-forgiveness, occult practices (like consulting horoscopes and fortune tellers) and spiritism (trying to contact the dead). If we don’t want to get hurt, we need to stay clear of this territory.

These are just a few tools that can help us this lent to take strength for our fight against Satan with the help of Jesus.

When I first heard about the Screwtape Letters, I was hesitant to read the book. I thought that a book about imaginary letters between demons trying to figure out the best way to tempt someone would be sad and depressing. When I read the book, it had a very different impression on me. I found it encouraging because it helped me make sense of what I experienced in my own life. The reality is that we do have an enemy who tempts us and tries to make us push God outside our life thus ignoring our true identity as sons and daughters of God. The Good News is that Jesus has defeated the Devil and with Jesus by our side we too can resist temptation. As we begin this lenten season, strengthen ourselves by: 1) remembering we do in fact have an enemy, 2) knowing and guarding against our weak spots, 3) Showing a bold face to the Devil when temptation comes, 4) staying out of the Devil’s territory. With Jesus by our side we will surely be victorious in the battle against temptation.

Ash Wednesday: all projects have a deadline

Deadlines and due dates are an inescapable part of being a student. There is always an upcoming test on this day. There is forever an essay due on that day. When I was a student I lived deadline to deadline. I would check my calendar regularly in order to remind myself of what exam I should be studying for or which project I should be working on. Though deadlines could add stress to my life, in hindsight they helped me. Due dates ensured that I actually worker hard to learn new material and skills. Left to myself, I tend to procrastinate and fill my time doing things that that are easier and more enjoyable. Due dates were a blessing because they gave me incentive to work on something more difficult. In the end, this helped me to learn and become better.

Ash Wednesday plays the same role in our life as followers of Jesus as deadlines do in the lives of students. One of two phrases can be said when ashes are put on our heads:

1. Repent and believe in the Gospel.
2. Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return.

As Christians, we all students. The first phrase, "repent and believe in the Gospel", reminds us that we are working on a project of vital importance: our very self. We are trying to improve ourselves by changing the way we think and act so that we think and act more like Jesus. Our project is to transform ourselves to become more like Christ.  The second phrase, "remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return", makes us aware that this project is not something that is open-ended. It has a set due date: the day that we die. There are no extensions; after we die we can no longer repent. Though thinking about our future death can seem a little depressing, it should ultimately help us to live better in the present. Just as remembering the date of an exam urges us to study harder, remembering that we will one day die should motivate us to make changes in our life.

Ash Wednesday is a gift. We remember that we are one year closer to the due date of our greatest assignment and asses how we are doing on it. Often we give up things for lent: chocolate, social media or television. This can be a very helpful practice. In addition to this, I suggest we do something practical. Our lives are full of different relationships, with God, family, friends and coworkers. Today look at your life and see if there is one relationship that you would like to improve. Perhaps you would like to spend more time with Jesus in prayer. Maybe you want to be more attentive and a better listener for your spouse. Or perhaps you want to be more forgiving and patient with a coworker or classmate. Choose one relationship and focus on improving it this lent. Let this be our homework that will help us fulfill our most important project: becoming more like Jesus. Remember, we do not have forever. Each year the deadline to complete this project draws closer.

Worrywart? Listen to Jesus' message.

MT 6:24-34

Have you ever seen pictures of people tightrope walking? Recently I saw an old picture of someone walking a tightrope across Niagara Falls. I became anxious just looking at the picture. If it were me, I don’t know how I could ever do something like this. I would be so worried of falling I probably could not take one step and would just freeze in my tracks. How do tightrope walkers conquer their anxiety and fear? When I looked closely at the picture, I discovered the tightrope walker’s trick: they keep their eyes focused straight ahead towards their destination. When they focus on what is most important - their destination - they are able to continue walking in spite of their worries.

Though not as dramatic as the tightrope walker, we all - myself included - struggle with fear and anxiety. I am what you would call a worrywart. I tend to get anxious very easily and worry about all kinds of things: tasks I need to do, health and the future. In fact, I tend to become anxious if I am not worrying - it makes me wonder if I have forgotten something that I need to be doing! Often, well-intentioned people will want to ease the burden of anxiety that I feel. Their advice? Often it boils down to this: just stop worrying! Though I appreciate their thoughtfulness, this is hardly helpful. Today’s gospel is especially appealing for me because Jesus is advising not to worry. Jesus’ words, however, are not just well-intentioned fluff. He gives us both reasons and a method for coping with worry in our lives. This is an extremely important teaching as we all struggle with fear and worry.

Jesus it not promising to remove all the challenges from our lives that cause us anxiety. This point reminds me of a conversation I had years ago with another seminarian. We were talking about a challenging exam that we both had to take the next day. I had just explained to my friend that though I had been studying for some time, I worried if I would be able to learn everything in time. I explained that I intended to stay up late that night to prepare. My friend had a different strategy. He explained that he had basically given up studying and would go to bed early that night. If God really wanted him to learn the material He would infuse it into his mind while He slept. When I heard this I thought to myself, “good luck with that”! Jesus never said that He would remove all difficulties and challenges from our lives. We need to plan, be organized and work hard. As Mother Teresa would often say:

Pray like everything depends on God, work like everything depends on you.

Jesus does not claim to remove all fear and anxiety from our existence. In fact, feeling a certain degree of worry can be helpful as it spurs us on to do what we need to get done.  What Jesus does promise us in the gospel is that if we follow Him, our fear and anxiety should never become so large that it paralyzes us or becomes overwhelming. The tightrope walker will always have fear and worry when they are performing, however, they must ensure that it doesn't stop them in their tracks.   Jesus never promised us a carefree life.

If God is our master and we are working to build up His Kingdom, then we should never worry too much, because God will surely take care of us. At the beginning of the Gospel, Jesus explains that we are always serving one of two masters: God or mammon.

• Serving mammon means that our main concerns are about getting more and more things for ourselves. We worry about things like getting the best and latest smartphone or car. We are anxious about exceeding at work so that we can gain more power, prestige and influence.
• Serving God means committing ourselves to build up His kingdom by following the commandments and the Jesus’ teaching from the Sermon on the Mount. In our relationships, we strive to model the love, compassion and mercy of God. We are anxious about how we can be of service to other people: family, coworkers and the needy.

Here’s the point. If, and only if, we have chosen to focus on serving God and His kingdom, we can be sure God will take care of us. If God takes such good care of His creation, then surely He will take care of those who are working to build His kingdom. This knowledge should be a remedy against excessive stress in our life. We become like the tightrope walker. We will experience struggles and difficulties, but if we keep looking ahead, focused on God’s kingdom, then we should know that we will cross to the other side unharmed. We just need to focus on serving God and we can know He will take care of us. If, on the other hand, we have chosen to serve mammon, then we have no such guarantee. If all we are focused on ourselves and getting more stuff, then we have good reason to be anxious. When God is our master and we are focused on building His kingdom we should never worry too much because He will take care of us.

It become easier to live with reduced anxiety when we remind ourselves of how God has taken care of us in the past. It is so much easier to trust that God will take care of us in the future when we remind ourselves of the times He has taken care of us in the past. You have probably noticed that a lot of the Old Testament recounts the history of Israel. This happens in the psalms and in the so-called “historical books” such as the Book of Kings or Chronicles. The striking thing about these historical books is that they are not history as we talk about it today. It is not like a book about World War II, where the author tries to remain completely objective. Rather, in the Bible, Israel looks back at its history in order to see how God was active in it. Time and time again they found that when they turned from God they got into trouble. On the other hand, when they followed God’s plans, when He was their master, He always took care of them. Israel remembered and celebrated this fact so that they could look ahead to the future with great hope, trusting in God. We need to read our own history the same way. Can you identify moments in your past in which the challenges seemed overwhelming yet somehow God carried you through it, often in an unexpected way? When we remind ourselves of these moments it becomes easier to trust that God will take care of us in the future. This helps us to live with less anxiety and fear.

When we follow Jesus, we are all like the tightrope walker. We all face challenges and risks that can scare us and fill us with anxiety. It is imperative that we keep our eyes forward and do not look down. We need to remember that if we keep our eyes on God’s Kingdom, if God is our master and we are concerned to build His kingdom, He will take care of us and we need not be paralyzed by stress. Today let us strengthen our trust in God’s constant care for us. Do this simple exercise. Try to remember one moment in your life in which you are aware that God really took care of you. Call to mind this moment and give thanks for it. God has cared for you in the past, He is caring for you now and will take care of you in the future. “Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself”.