We just started the
season of Lent on
Ash Wednesday
with the adminis-
tration of ashes to
remind ourselves of our mortality and
the need for repentance. This spiritual
journey with Christ during this period
will last for forty days. And the route
which we shall trek with Jesus in this
liturgical year (A) will take us from
the desert to the mountain down to
the Samaritan town, along the street
of Palestine and finally to Bethany.
We must be very attentive during this
season of grace.
The first reading tells us how our first
parents, Adam and Eve were tempted
by the devil and how they fell. They
lost their ticket to heaven. After their
fall “the eyes of both were opened,
and they knew that they were naked;
and they sewed fig leaves together and
made themselves aprons” (Gen.3:7).
Before their fall “the man and his wife
were both naked, and they were not
ashamed” (Gen.2:25). Here nakedness
has not only a literal meaning. It does
not refer only to the body. It refers
especially to the soul. It means that
man is deprived of participation in the
gift of God’s grace, in the gift of God’s
love which had been the source of the
fullness of the good God intended for
man. He by committing sin is deprived
of the supernatural and preternatural
gifts which were his “endowment”
before sin.
St. Paul in the second reading reveals
the basic reason for the dogma of orig-
inal sin. For him, it was through one
person that sin entered the world and
this sin brought death to all mankind.
The death brought about by original
sin is both biological and spiritual. It
is a separation of people from their
Creator, God who is the unique source
of life. Into this decay comes Jesus. As
Adam was the root of all sin and death,
Jesus is the New Adam, the new man,
the root of all pardon and life. Jesus’
righteousness outweighs all that Adam
and Eve had done and gives human-
kind a new lease on life. The way Jesus
proved to do this is the way and meth-
od he handled his temptation.
The first Adam was tempted by the
devil and he succumbed to the devil’s
temptation. Jesus the New Adam was
also tempted by the devil (cf. Matt.
4:1). Jesus conquered the tempta-
tion. Jesus wanted to be like us in
everything except sin. Temptation is
not sin. Therefore Jesus Christ volun-
tarily submitted himself to temptation.
The central theme of Jesus’ temp-
tation is basically the same as for
Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden:
obedience to God. The first temptation
goes thus: “If you are the Son of God,
command these stones to become
loaves of bread” (Matt.4:3). Jesus
responded by quoting Deuteronomy
8:3: “It is written, ‘Man shall not live
by bread alone, but by every word that
proceeds from the mouth of God.”
Christ’s answer indicates that most of
our humanity’s needs are spiritual, not
material. The Gospel reveals that Jesus
will continue to fight this type of temp-
tation throughout his life. In all these,
Jesus rejects the temptation to use his
spiritual gifts to attain earthly power.
By contrast, Jesus’ most fundamental
nourishment must be God’s word. God
is not the means, but the end, the very
goal of life itself.
The first temptation of Jesus teaches
us to be particularly watchful over our-
selves and over those we have a special
obligation to help in their moment of
weakness and tiredness: to be alert when
we are facing difficulties such as when
looking for job, seeking for admission
into schools, seeking for life partner,
financial problems and having family
crisis such as looking for the fruit of the
womb and sickness. Note that the devil
came to Jesus at his weakest moment in
the desert where there is no help – water,
food or companion, and he was hungry
after long days of fast. Most of our sins
are committed when we are in need.
The devil is a coward. He does not face
us when we are strong. He comes at our
weakest moments.
The second temptation also centres on
a misunderstanding of how God’s power
works in the world. The devil said to
him: “If you are the Son of God, throw
yourself down; for it is written, ‘He will
give his angels charge of you,’ and ‘On
their hands they will bear you up, lest
you strike your foot against a stone’”
(Matt.4:6). This is the same subtle wrong
expectation that the Messiah would
be immune from suffering and death.
This temptation will be thrilling for the
crowds. It is a temptation of powers,
miracles and wonders. Our world
today seeks for this type of religion. It
is a wrong belief that God intervenes
in most extraordinary ways to perform
miracle providing proofs; above all to
protect us from danger and suffering. In
this temptation Jesus warned us that no-
body should demand miracles of God as
evidence of God’s care for His people.
The obvious lessons to learn in this
second temptation are these: the whole
battle with the tempter and Jesus is
internal rather than external. The whole
thing was raging in the mind and head
of Jesus. The devil is not what we see in
pictures and drawings portraying him
to be very ugly, with horns and hoofs,
and of course, always black in complex-
ion. The devil is always attractive, the
most beautiful thing around you. Those
things you like most, it could be your-
self, your friend, your child, brothers
and sisters, parents and life ambitions.
The devil is never too far from us. Just
open your eyes and watch. Just as you
see the devils, so you see angels around
you.
Jesus’ rejection of the third temptation
to worship something other than God,
for the sake of worldly success and
riches, echoes his constant teaching in
the Gospel. “All these I will give you,
if you will fall down and worship me”
(Matt.4:8).
This is a lie. This is something perverse
about our human condition. It is a
disaster for humanity. Later on Jesus will
tell his disciples: “What does it profit
them if they gain the whole world but
forfeit their life? Or what will they give
in return for their life?” (Matt.16:26).
The three temptations allude to concu-
piscence of the flesh, concupiscence of
the eyes and the pride of life. St. John in
his first letter uses these three categories
to classify the roots of all moral perver-
sion. In fact, Satan asks Jesus to change
stones to bread (concupiscence of the
flesh), invites him to make a spectacu-
lar show (pride of life) and shows him
wealth and power (concupiscence of the
eyes).
Jesus rejects these temptations with
the power that comes from the Word of
God: “It is written” (Matt.4:4). With this
weapon the Lord fights his victorious
battle in the desert.
For us, the Word of God should be the
sword of good spiritual combat against
the urgings of the Evil One, who never
ceases to trick us by urging us to sin. It
should be the soul of our Christian as-
ceticism, the “sharp, two-edged sword”
(Rev.1:16) which leaves aside what is
useless, cuts off the roots of the old self
and purifies the heart. In this season of
Lent we must experience the hunger
and thirst for the divine Word, which
we successfully discover, accept and
meditate on.
May God strengthen us us in our
weaknesses and trials to overcome the
temptations of the Evil One through
Christ our Lord. Amen. Wishing you
a happy new month, a happy Sunday
and a fruitful week ahead. Rev. Fr.
Christian Ehimen Usifoh.
