Scripture Reading: Luke 4:1-13 – Jesus’ Temptation in the Wilderness
We’ve heard this story many times. Perhaps as a child whose great temptation was to sass one’s parents, pummel one’s younger brother or sneak some candy. Or hormone infused teen and young adults, career building where money was a constant concern. The nature of desires and temptations can shift as we move from youth through adulthood and into old age. While some temptations might diminish, others can intensify or emerge. Here’s a breakdown of how these changes are often understood:
Diminished Physical Desires: Some physical desires, such as those related to youthful vigor, may naturally lessen.
Increased Vulnerability to Other Temptations:
Concerns about financial security and the fear of dependence can lead to increased temptations of selfishness and hoarding. Experiences of loss, declining health, and feelings of being marginalized can foster bitterness and resentment. Facing mortality and the accumulation of life’s hardships can tempt individuals to despair and question their faith. Social isolation and feelings of worthlessness can create a strong desire for attention and validation, potentially leading to unhealthy behaviors. Older people may dwell on past hurts, or past glories, to a point that it distracts from the present, and from their relationship with God.
The struggle against temptation is a lifelong process. While the specific nature of temptations may change, the underlying human inclination toward sin, toward falling short of the glory of God in which God wants us to share, remains.
But we have the Hope of Grace: We are swept up in the victory of Jesus over the devil, the hope of God’s grace, which provides forgiveness and strength to overcome temptations. But we can cultivate this hope of grace in our lives by recognizing a distinction between temptation and desire made by John of the Cross, 16th century Spanish mystic and master of understanding the spiritual life.
Temptation: Temptation is generally understood as an external or internal prompting toward something that is considered sinful or disordered. It’s an instigation, a suggestion, or an enticement. The key aspect of temptation is that it presents an option, a choice, to veer away from what is right. Simply experiencing a temptation is not, in itself, a sin. The moral weight lies in the response to that temptation.
Desire: Desire, in the context of John of the Cross, often refers to an internal inclination or appetite. It can be a natural human longing, but it can also become “disordered” when it’s directed toward things that are harmful or that take precedence over God. Harboring a desire implies a degree of internal consent, a leaning toward the object of that desire. It suggests that the individual is giving some level of acceptance or fostering that inclination within themselves. John of the Cross emphasizes the importance of purifying desires, as they can become obstacles to spiritual union with God. He highlights that even seemingly small or subtle attachments can hinder one’s progress.
Solitude the spiritual practice of solitude can be a powerful tool for the purification of desire, offering a space for introspection, detachment, and realignment with one’s deepest values.
Connecting the Temptations to John of the Cross:
Turning Stones to Bread: This temptation aligns with John of the Cross’s concept of sensual desires. Jesus is tempted to prioritize his physical needs and comfort over his spiritual mission.
Worldly Power and Glory: This temptation relates to both spiritual desires and desires for security and control. The offer of worldly power could be seen as a desire for a certain kind of spiritual influence, while the desire for dominion over kingdoms reflects a desire for security and control.
Testing God: This temptation primarily connects to the desire for security and control. Jesus is tempted to demand a sign from God, seeking reassurance and proof rather than trusting in God’s plan.
Fasting is primarily a spiritual discipline designed to tame the body so that we can concentrate on higher things. We oftentimes think of fasting from food but in our day and age there are a number of Types of Non-Food Fasting that can be of great spiritual benefit: fasting from Media, technology, entertainment, speech, comforts, certain social interactions:
The common thread among these forms of fasting is the idea of setting aside something that typically occupies our time, attention, or desires, in order to create space for a deeper connection with God. The key is that the thing being fasted from, is something that is taking up too much space in your life, and is distracting you from your relationship with God.
How Fasting “Tames” the Body:
By intentionally denying ourselves of Physical, mental, psychological, social, and emotional desires allows for Heightened Awareness of spiritual desires:
Cultivating Discipline: A disciplined life enables us to prioritize spiritual practices like prayer, meditation, or study, even when we don’t feel like it. This consistency strengthens our spiritual foundation.
Experiencing the emptiness, we feel in fasting can be a humbling experience, reminding us of our dependence on sustenance and fostering gratitude for the blessings we often take for granted.
Prayer and spiritual reading, especially that which connects us to the life of Christ is a spiritual discipline with tremendous spiritual potential. The following verse from St Bonaventure’s The Tree of Life offers a closing summary for today’s sermon:
Come now, disciple of Christ,
search into the secrets of solitude
with your loving teacher,
so that having become a companion of wild beasts,
you may become an imitator and sharer of
the hidden silence, the devout prayer, the daylong fasting
and the three encounters with the clever enemy.
And so you will learn
to have recourse to him
in every crisis of temptation
because we do not have a high priest
who cannot have compassion on our infirmities,
but one tried
in all things as we are,
except sin.+