Tips for fighting temptation

26th Sunday of Ordinary Time, year B | Mk 9:38-48

Some years ago, I was visiting a Church with my nephew, who was about four at the time. When he looked at the crucifix behind the altar, he became quite troubled. He started asking questions like “why is that man nailed to the wood?” and “why is he bleeding?” His response made me realize that it is a troubling and surprising thing to have a crucified man displayed so prominently in our Churches. I had seen the image so often, however, that I lost sight of this fact. We run into problems as Christians when we become overly comfortable with Jesus. His actions and words shocked and unsettled those who witnessed them. Because we have heard his words so often, we can forget how truly provocative they are. Today in the Gospel, we heard some shocking words from Jesus that help wake us up to the radical nature of his message.

Using some incredible strong and startling language, Jesus instructs us to get serious about rooting out sin in our lives. If your hand causes you to sin… cut it off! If your foot causes you to sin… cut it off! If your eye causes you to sin… tear it out! Although Jesus is certainly not commanding us to literally maim ourselves, through the use of this hyperbolic language, Jesus is conveying an urgent message about the severity of sin. Sin harms us. It prevents us from entering into the kingdom of God. It stops us from enjoying the fullness of life. Because sin is so harmful, Jesus commands us to take decisive and even radical action in order to root it out from our life. When we hear Jesus’ strong admonition in the Gospel today, it is impossible not to reflect on our own lives. What sin might Jesus be asking me to pay attention to rooting out? A tendency to speak badly about those around me? Greed that prevents me from sharing what I have with those in need? A habit of giving into lustful thoughts or actions?

By U.S. Air Force Photo by Josh Plueger [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

In order to root out sin in our lives, we need to have a strategy for fighting temptation. Over the years I have heard some tips for fighting temptation that I have found helpful.

• Tip 1: Counter temptation when you are first aware of it. Imagine that someone makes a small snowball and releases it at the top of a hill covered in snow. As the snowball moves down the hill, it gathers more and more snow to itself as it rolls down the hill. Eventually, it will become a great big ball. At the top of the hill, while the snowball is still small, it is easy to stop its progress. As the ball makes its way downhill and grows, however, it becomes harder and harder to stop. Temptation is like this. When it first arises in our mind it is easier to stop. The longer we entertain a temptation, the more it grows and the harder it becomes to stop until it can simply run us over like a large snowball plowing down a hill.
• Tip 2: When we take strong and decisive action in the face of temptation, it can be more easily overcome. As Jesus explains in the Gospel, when it comes to battling temptation, half measures will not do. St. Ignatius explains that in tempting us 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 not only resist them right away. We should resist them strongly.
• Tip 3: Move in the opposite direction that the temptation prompts. St. Ignatius called this strategy of going against what we are feeling agir contra. Are you tempted to say something negative about someone? Don’t just say nothing, compliment them instead. Feeling lazy and not wanting to spend 10 minutes to clean your room? Clean your room for 12 minutes instead. Frustrated with a particular individual? Go out of your way to be kind to them. By not simply resisting the temptation but actively going against the way that temptation prompts you helps to more completely defeat the temptation. If the devil realizes that you pray longer when you are tempted not to pray, then this temptation will probably not arise as often!
• Tip 4: Stay focused on the positive reasons for fighting the temptation. We want to stop sinning not only in order to avoid what Jesus calls the “unquenchable fire” of gehenna, but also so that we can have life and enter into the kingdom of God. We should want to fight temptation not only in order to avoid the ugliness of sin, but also because we are drawn by the beauty and goodness of virtue and holiness.
• Tip 5: Do not grow discouraged. Even when we are actively trying to overcome a particular sin, we will fall. What is important is that we trust in the love and mercy of Jesus and keep trying. In struggling against temptation, the expression “fall six times, stand up seven” certainly applies. When we fall, we need to get up, seek God’s mercy and keep trying.

It is good when Jesus’ words shock and disturb us because they can lead us to action. Jesus speaks strongly in the Gospel about the need to uproot sin from our lives. Without a strategy for fighting temptation, overcoming sin may remain wishful thinking. What practical step can you take to work towards battling temptation in your life?

Law of the Gift

25th Sunday in Ordinary Time, year B | Mark 9:30-37

I recently read an article from someone who quit his job spent the last year travelling around world. The writer explained that he made the decision to travel because he had had enough of the cycle of waking up, going to work, eating dinner, going to sleep and waking up in the morning only to do it all over again. He was unable to find meaning in this daily grind and thought to himself that surely there must be more to life than this. We can all probably identify with the writer’s attitude. At times, our routine and responsibilities can weigh us down. We can feel like our life is without meaning. Unlike the writer, however, most of us probably cannot leave everything and travel the world for the year in search of purpose! What then are we to do? Today’s Gospel would suggest that what can be more important than changing what we do each day is changing the attitude or spirit with which we do the things that we do.

Jesus teaches us that a meaningful life is one in which you live your life as a gift for others. We find purpose when we work, study and serve our family and others because we want to make of ourselves a gift to those around us. We have all probably experienced the joy and sense of meaning that comes when we freely choose to give of ourselves (our time and talents) to others. Can you remember the last time that you felt this way? Maybe you helped a family member or friend when they were in trouble. Perhaps you volunteered in your community in some way. That we find joy and purpose when we give ourselves to others is sometimes called the “law of the gift”. St. John Paul II would often explain this law by saying that every human being cannot fully find themselves, except through a sincere gift of themselves. This is the logic of the cross that we see in the Gospel. Jesus explains that he will only gain life for himself and for others after he has given himself over totally to be killed. Further, after Jesus learns that his disciples were arguing among themselves about who was the greatest, he instructs them that whoever wants to be first of all must be the servant of all. Jesus teaches us that we find our true purpose when we live our lives as a gift for other.

Martyrs lived in a special way the law of the gift and are powerful examples for us. This coming Wednesday (September 26th), we will celebrate in Canada the feast of the Canadian Martyrs. Among these martyrs is St. Jean Brébeuf, a Jesuit missionary who travelled from France to New France (now part of Canada) in 1625 in order to serve as a missionary to the indigenous. Although it could be argued that some of his writings are tinged by a certain attitude, which unfortunately was all to common at the time, of the superiority of European over indigenous culture, it is impossible to read his writings and not be struck by the genuine love and devotion that he had for those he served, especially the Huron people. Brébeuf devoted himself to learning the language, culture and spirituality of the people that he was trying to introduce to faith in Jesus. Ultimately, he was captured by a hostile indigenous group, and, along with some converts from the Huron people, was horrible tortured and ultimately killed. Brébeuf died alongside the very people he had given his life to serve. During his life, Brébeuf had various opportunities to choose a different, more comfortable life, however, he found his purpose and joy by making his life a gift to others in a radical way.

By Thwaites, Reuben Gold, 1853-1913 [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

In order to live the law of the gift and experience a deeper sense of purpose in our life, we may need to change our attitude towards work, school or other difficult or monotonous tasks. Instead of doing more, we may need to think differently about what we do. I am not going to suggest to you that you need to spend more time serving others. Although there may be some of us who do need to help others more, most of the people I have met in parishes spend much of their lives serving others. There are parents who make sacrifices constantly to care for their children. There are those who work day in and day out at a job that can often be unfulfilling in order to provide for their family. There are grandparents who do so much to help care for their grandchildren. There are people who, though already busy, give what little free time they have to volunteer in their parish or around the community. Although we have all at some time felt the joy that comes from living the law of the gift, in our daily routine it can be hard to experience this. Even with tasks we know are important and meaningful, a certain heaviness can sink in. When this happens, it is important that we evaluate the reason why we do difficult tasks and perhaps make an adjustment. Are we motivated by a sense of obligation or necessity? We can regain meaning in our life when we choose to have the attitude that the things we do each day, whether it be at work, school or in the family, are our way of making ourselves a gift to others.

The Greek word used for “conversion” in the New Testament, metanoia, literally means to change one’s mind. Living the law of the gift requires such a change of mind. We can find purpose and meaning in the midst of our daily grind by changing the spirit with which we approach our work and responsibilities. Is there an aspect of your life, whether it be in your family, school or at work, that you find particularly difficult? Can you begin to think of this as one way that you are making your life a gift to others?

Peter gets it right. Sort of...

24th Sunday of Ordinary Time, year B | Mark 8:27-35

If you were to type in “Jesus” into a Google image search, you would see a wide variety of representations of Jesus. Images range from a regal-looking Jesus in a Byzantine icon, to a painting of Jesus from the 1970’s where he looks a lot like a surfer. People have always pictured Jesus differently Since our goal as Christians is to become like Jesus, that is, to imitate Jesus, the way that we perceive the identity of Jesus will greatly affect how we try to live. In the Gospel today (Mark 8:27-35), Jesus asks Peter a direct question about his identity: “who do you say that I am?” In his answer, Peter gets the identity of Jesus right. Well, sort of.

Peter is correct to say that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah. He got that much right. The location, the region of Caesarea Philippi, in which Peter made this assertion is significant. Caesarea Philippi was a city built by Philip, the son of Herod the Great, in a place of great natural beauty to the North of the Sea of Galilee. This area was closely associated with two figures who many revered as gods and bringers of salvation. First, in the region of Caesarea Philippi there was a famous shrine to the Greek god pan. It was an important place of pilgrimage which people visited to seek assistance from this god of the wild. It was a kind of pagan Lourdes. Second, this area was also home to a shrine to Augustus Caesar, a ruler who was referred to by titles such as “Son of God”, “Lord” and “Saviour”. It is, therefore, significant that it was in Caesarea Philippi that Peter made his declaration about Jesus. In a place saturated with devotion to the god Pan and to Caesar, figures some looked to as saviours, Peter claims that Jesus is the Christ, the anointed one sent by God to save his people. Peter asserts that Jesus, and not Pan or Caesar, is the true saviour.

The remains of the Pan sanctuary
(source: EdoM [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons)

Although Peter is right to say that Jesus is the Christ, he has misunderstood completely what kind of Messiah Jesus is. He therefore failed to grasp how Jesus would accomplish God’s work of salvation. Have you ever had the experience when you use a particular word for quite a while only to discover some time later that you misunderstood what the word meant and were using it incorrectly all along? Whenever I visit an elementary school classroom to talk about the priesthood and vocations, I usually ask the class if anyone can explain what a “seminary” is. Without fail, one of the students will shout back, “the place where they bury dead people!” Peter is right to call Jesus the Christ, but he clearly has the wrong idea of what it means for Jesus to be the Christ. Peter, like many Jews at the time, was probably expecting the Messiah to be a mighty ruler who would cast off the burden of Roman oppression with military might. When Jesus explained that he would suffer, be rejected and put to death, Peter cannot accept it. This was not the kind of Messiah that he expected Jesus to be. A Messiah could not suffer in this way! In response to Peter’s protests, Jesus rebukes him, calling him Satan, the adversary. Jesus makes it clear that Peter has not yet grasped what kind of Christ he truly is.

If we, like Peter, misunderstand what kind of Messiah Jesus is, then we misunderstand what it means to follow him. If the purpose of our life is to imitate Christ, then the way we picture Jesus will shape the manner of our life. We go seriously astray as Christians when we have the wrong idea about Jesus’ identity. For example, a popular movement in Christianity preaches the prosperity gospel. In a nutshell, this teaches that if we follow Christ we will obtain material prosperity. In order to justify such a claim, adherents convince themselves that Jesus himself was actually quite rich (e.g.). Sure, Jesus was born in a manger, but he received expensive gifts, didn’t he? Or, if we picture Jesus as some kind of prototypical hippie wandering the countryside (like in the “surfer Jesus” image), then we might understand Christianity to be just another means to self-actualization and fulfillment. In the Gospel, Jesus is clear about what kind of Christ he is and therefore what it means to follow him. He is a Messiah who will lay down his life. He will rise, but first he must die. If we want to follow him, then we too must lay down our life. Following Jesus requires sacrificing ourselves out of love for others. The path leads to life, but it is radical, challenging and costs everything.

The image that we have of Jesus is important because it determines the type of Christian that we strive to be. In our tradition, we have a great custom that is meant to powerfully remind us what kind of Messiah Jesus is and what it means to follow him: the sign of the Cross. Whenever we make the sign of the cross, we are meant to remind ourselves that Jesus was a Messiah who suffered and died for us. When we trace the sign of the cross over our body, we are meant to remind ourselves that as followers of Jesus we are called to deny ourselves, take up our cross and lay down our lives for others. The next time you make the sign of the cross, remind yourself what kind of Messiah Jesus was and therefore kind of life following him entails.