First Sundayof Lent, 21 February 2010

Every Passionist religious takes a vow consecrating them to the Passion of Jesus. “Through this vow we bind ourselves to keep alive the memory of the Passion of Christ”. (Passionist Constitutions N.6) By the same token you share in this consecration by worshipping in this Passionist Church. You are called to keep alive the memory of the Passion of Jesus. It was the conviction of St Paul of the Cross, who founded the Passionists in 1720, that it was forgetfulness of the Passion that is at the root of sin and evil. To forget the Passion of Jesus is to forget God; it is to fall out of love with God who is Love.

The people of Israel (First Reading) came back into love with God when they remembered their history and how God had always led them to safety. It was when they strayed from God’s ways and trusted in themselves that they got lost in a wilderness. When you feel lost, you know how they felt and how awful it can be. But there is a way back.

Jesus too found Himself in the wilderness. He was led there by the Holy Spirit. He chose to go there to meet the Devil and to face temptation. Moses had led the Chosen People through the wilderness with great difficulty. Jesus is the new Moses and will lead us through our wilderness. Jesus could have simply assured us that victory over temptation is possible without going there Himself. But He wants to show us the way. He is the Way.

Hunger links the three temptations in today’s Gospel. Jesus doesn’t deny the need for bread. But He says it is not absolute. There is only one absolute – God. When we make absolute what is in fact relative, we give into this temptation. Once we know that the only absolute is God, true freedom is ours. There are many false gods that can trap us as if they were true. It is a form of idolatry and a sin.

At the beginning of Lent, a question I ask myself is whether I have made something that is really relative into an absolute in my life?

The second temptation refers to the hunger for power. Jesus is clear that God His Father is the holder of all power. There is a danger that I may forget this, and place myself at the centre and make my judgements from my own perspective. Once I do this, then my moral guidance is judged by what will suit me best even if it goes against God. Sometimes I may compromise my conscience in a small way that over time grows to more serious matters. Lent is a time to truthfully ask if I am following what I believe God is asking of me?

The third temptation is about the abuse of religion. Jesus is tempted by the devil at the most sacred place – the pinnacle of the Temple – to choose a personal interest over the sacred. Jesus will not put God to the test. Religion is not the ultimate value except as leading to God. We are faced with this third temptation many times.

You might imagine that after conquering all three temptations that Jesus would have done enough. The last line of the Gospel today tells us, “Having exhausted all these ways of tempting him, the devil left him, to return at the appointed time.” (Luke 4:13) In Luke 22:3 we read, “Then Satan entered into the Judas called Iscariot, who was of the number of the twelve….” Satan is back as if nothing had happened and finds a way to get Jesus by means of one of the Twelve.

This brings home to us that even one who had spent three years in the company of Jesus fell for the devil’s temptation to betray Jesus. It is sad. The same can and does happen today whenever any of God’s children are harmed or violated in any way. That is when we see the frightening work of the devil continuing in our world and church today. Lent is the time of turning back to God with our whole heart.

Aidan Troy, C.P. [Aodhán ó Troighthigh, C.P.]