First Sunday of Lent February 10, 2008 Reflections on Genesis 2:7-9, 3:1-7; Romans 5: 12-19; Matthew 4:1-11 by Patricia Crowley, OSB.

I. Introduction

Today we look at a concise experience of Jesus willingly drawn into the desert facing his own weaknesses. Perhaps that experience can give us insight into our own inner reality.

II. What Jesus experienced just before this passage

The gospel for today is immediately following the vivid and imagery of John the Baptist in relation to a corrupt society and then, the brief and memorable description of Jesus appearing before John to be baptized.

Jesus’ baptism appears to have been a turning point in Jesus’ life. In that moment, it seems that Jesus experienced a revelation about who he was and what he was called to be. The Spirit spoke to him – “This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased.”

Following that moment of self-clarity, Matthew presents Jesus as being led into the desert by the Spirit.

It is sometimes, when we are very sure of ourselves, we become most vulnerable to insidious inclinations within ourselves.

III. The desert is said to be, a place where the world of the spirits is evident

The desert is known in Christian and other religious traditions as a place where holy people go to seek God. The desert can be a foreboding place where one does not have some basic resources for life: water, food, protection from the elements etc. I recall the books of our desert mothers and fathers and, in the 70’s I cherished the writings of Carlos Castaneda.

IV. Temptations…

So….there in the desert, Jesus experiences what we call temptations. I would suggest that temptation is a word that describes those things or inclinations that make us unable to be our best selves, to be who we are called to be… What is Matthew presenting of that experience in the moment of great positive energy for Jesus? Jesus has just come from a powerful moment at the baptism, where, who he was and to what he was called was very clear to him.

So, what are the things that might have kept him from truly being the Incarnate One, the utterly beloved of God become flesh. Temptations are always unique to the individual person!

a. The first, as we know, is the invitation to turn stones into bread. What in that invitation spoke to Jesus’? Perhaps it was that in his compassionate and caring way with people, he really wanted to get rid of hunger. Perhaps it was that, in his new sense of himself as “beloved” and “filled with the spirit” he was tempted to try to take away people’s hunger and to help them feel satisfied and “full”.

b. Jesus' response shows an awakening within himself that he is not really called to make people feel satiated and full. His call is of a different realm. It is so to speak in the Spirit. “One does not live by bread alone!”

c. The second invitation is to show off his new status – by throwing himself down and, then, dramatically being saved by God’s angels. What does this touch in him? Perhaps, in this new awareness of himself, he thought that he could take away people’s fears and help them to feel safe in the midst of oppression and fear of becoming powerless for that time was very much like our own….and people were often victims of fear and violence.

d. Jesus’ retort says he recognizes his own tendencies and can move on – “You shall not tempt the Lord, our God.” Let me be…… I know who I am before God. I am not called to be this showy.

e. The final experience is the invitation to be in control of the whole world, a world that was just as much a mess as our world is today. In the new awareness of his special relationship to God and his status of being the beloved, it must have been very appealing to try to set the world straight. Power and control can be such appealing things!

f. Jesus’ final command to Satan is “Get away from me!” He understands how seductive the false invitation to power and control can be. He understands that true power is in God.

g. These three things (the tendency to 1. fill the needs of all, 2. to help all feel safe, 3. to exert power and control to set the world straight) could have stood in the way of Jesus becoming who he was revealed to be in the moment of his baptism. They did not! He knew who he was and went on with life.

h. And so, we ask ourselves…..What are the things, the habits, the inclinations that pull us away from being who we really are in our best selves? If we can name some of these in our own lives, we might be able to look at them in relation to who we are as beloved children of God. That is the invitation of the gospel today.

V. Nina Polcyn Moore for whom this Mass is being offered, was a woman who was her best self. She knew the world of the Spirit of God. She treasured the treasures of our Catholic heritage throughout her life. As an associate member of the Catholic Worker family and a friend of Dorothy Day’s, Nina faced the reality of poverty and injustice in our country and lived simply as a woman of God. As the manager, owner, and director of St. Benet’s book store, she disseminated writings of catholic authors to many. She called herself a “merchant princess and trafficker of crucifixes.” She used the forum of St. Benet’s book store to broaden Chicago’s access to good religious art and literature at affordable prices. Hers was a life that was able to face reality and keep smiling.

VI. Conclusion

Nina certainly resisted the temptations that would have kept her from being her best self. She was aware as a deeply spiritual woman with great sensibility and good humor.

We, as Nina, and as Jesus, are called to be fully conscious of who we are in our unique gifts and trials and to allow ourselves to be drawn into the desert (s) of our lives.

For…it is in such experiences that we each can grow to be the ones we are called to be.

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