Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.- Matthew 4:1

Let us consider the temptations of Jesus in the desert and what they mean in our daily lives as Christians. Our Lord came to show us how to live out our humanity in this world. These temptations are not foreign to the average person. They are present in our everyday lives and we need to learn to confront them. Failing to do so might create the risk of allowing them to dominate our spiritual life. However, before we dive deep into the temptations, we have to consider the fact that Jesus fasted in the desert. Fasting brought Jesus to a place of vulnerability and awareness of our weakness and limitations as humans. We often avoid being in this place but Jesus welcomed it. The desert is also a place of isolation and loneliness. It was usually a place one avoids. In the Bible, it is also a place where the people encounter God. The importance of these temptations will be meaningless for those who avoid the desert and the state of vulnerability in their lives. At the same, we cannot live to the fullness unless we confront these elements of our existence.

The tempter came and said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.’ But he answered, ‘It is written,
“One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”’ Matthew 4:3-4

I just returned from a short break at a touristic historic city in the state of Rio. We have been to this place several times. However, this time I was impressed by the overwhelming presence of the indigenous people. Maybe I paid more attention to them now because they have been in the news recently. There was a recent tragedy which caused the death and starvation of hundreds of indigenous people in the Amazons. It was due to the greed and corruption of high ranking officials. The case is being investigated but most of us are doubtful if any justice would come of it. Besides, the indigenous people have always been marginalized and considered irrelevant by society. Seeing them in this place reminded us of the grave injustice they have suffered throughout the centuries. They were selling their handicrafts but very few tourists seemed interested. One cannot avoid observing a tinge of melancholy in their demeanor. Finally, a young man took a guitar and started gathering all the children and they sang a song for the tourists. It was obvious that it was just meek attempt to gain some loose change. These once independent people who lived off the abundance of the land were now reduced to a state of almost beggars because their bread was stolen from them.

While waiting for Mary outside a cafe, I noticed a young indigenous man looking curiously at me. Finally he got up the courage to ask if I could speak Spanish. I told him that my Spanish was far from perfect but we could talk. He is from Peru and from the indigenous Quechuan community. He was selling his handmade jewelry and it was obvious that he was going attempt to get a sale off me. However, the conversation took a different route. He shared about his experiences traveling from Peru to Brazil. His country is in a state of political unrest and has been for several years now. One of the many conflicts is between the indigenous people and the powerful and dominating minority who persist in outdated colonial attitudes. However, it was not politics which he wanted to talk about. He wanted to share about his journey here. He started sharing about his most memorable times in Peru with his grandmother and how difficult it was for him to leave her behind to seek a better life. There was something special happening and then he became silent for a moment. He had to sell his wares and at the same time he did not want to it to ruin the moment. Furthermore, he needed to fill his belly with food but not at the cost of sacrificing something much more meaningful. We, in turn, were enriched by his openness and precious stories. He connected us with something real which is completely foreign and unattainable in our everyday life. Finally, he asked us if we were interested in his handmade necklaces. We were not. It wasn’t our style. He didn’t mind and gave us a hug instead. We thanked him for giving something special and we could see that he received something too. We also made sure that his belly wasn’t empty for that day.

He and the rest of the indigenous people came to this place seeking for bread but we need to know that there is more than bread involved. There is something eternal we can receive from them and they from us.

Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written,“He will command his angels concerning you”, and “On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.”’ Jesus said to him, ‘Again it is written, “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”’ Matthew 4:5-7

We went to visit a young homeless youth in intensive care. The way things are arranged here, only one person can be in the room at a time. Mary had gone in to see him and I was in the waiting room. The nurse who was coordinating the visits came and sat next to me. She knew that we ministered to the homeless children and teens and was curious about it. She was apparently a religious person and was curious to know what kind of results we saw in our ministry. I explained that there were no results involved because they are irrelevant. In fact, there was a time when we sought for results. We realized that the quest of results and impressive victory stories became our objective and not the children. Not too mention that often times these victories were short lived. Sometimes these “results” serve more to elevate our own egos than the Kingdom of God. Today, we learned that our faith is here to help us discern and discover what God is doing in our midst together with the children. Sometimes it means walking in the desert and being willing to be vulnerable like the children. Maybe this is the result that our faith brings us. It helps us discover what is special and precious in God’s eyes. The nurse listened attentively. She understood what I was talking about. She works in the intensive care, the place where much tragedy is witnessed. She knows what it means to be helpless and vulnerable and she also knows that in this state much hope is discovered too.

The devil brought Jesus to a religious place to disguise egoistic goals that are often portrayed as something meaningful and useful for the propagation of the good news. However, Jesus did not submit to such superficial notions. He knew faith has a higher goal than serving mere shallow sensationalist objectives.

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendour; and he said to him, ‘All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Away with you, Satan! for it is written,“Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.” Matthew 4:8-10

What can be said of this final temptation except that its warning is constantly ignored. We are quick to rush into an alliance of the ruler of this world. Jesus was tempted throughout his life to create an alliance. He was tempted by the religious authorities. He was tempted by an invitation to be a friend of Herod. Pontius Pilate tempted Jesus to reach out to him, Jesus only had to plead with him and his life would be saved. Jesus refused to submit even at the point of suffering a painful and tortuous death Today, many willingly and easily ally themselves with rulers of this world for a mere plate of lentil soup. It is not that they are all bad. It is that their values and principles have nothing to do with the Kingdom of God. In this world, violence, lies, slander and greed are essential for success. We cannot be unequally yoked with these diabolic values. We need to ask ourselves whether we, at a personal level, are allying ourselves with the world when we submit to the temptations of self promotion using the tools of social media. No doubt the social media have many good things but at the same time, they can be a vehicle to promote the values of this world. The temptation is to justify it as a means of creating a network. However, we have to ask ourselves whether it is worth creating a network and allowing principles so contrary to the gospel slip into our lives. Only a deep and thoughtful reflection will help us discern this. We need to go to the desert for this.