Sunday Reflection with Canon Robin Gibbons: 9 March 2025

Saint Alban's Psalter - Temptation of Christ - Wiki Image

First Sunday in Lent

Temptation

The three temptations of Jesus in the desert begin in what might seem a curious way, for they occur after Jesus, as Luke puts it,

'was led by the Spirit into the desert for forty days, to be tempted by the devil'.(Lk 4: 1-2a)

In other words Jesus is being led by the guidance of the Holy Spirit into a situation where, away from the crowds, alone by himself, he faces the devil, who in this tale appears as cunning, clever, bold and powerful, very much in the style of certain human beings. The best way to try and understand Luke's concept of the devil is to see him as the great figure of a tempter, who will in the end be defeated by Jesus, a fact we should take note of.

The attributes Luke gives the devil are exactly what we are still being told successful people need to get on in life. You and I can see this being played out by characters in our own world, celebrities, politicians, business people, and leaders in various fields of work and influence, but for us it is meant to be taken as a lesson in learning to cope with the burden of these attributes, in order that we may become like the Jesus of the temptations. It is ironic, but so true, to find that after fasting and prayers, self-reflection and silence in order to listen to God, in the temptations, Jesus like us has to face key aspects of our human nature which are all to do with the self, the inner part of our world.

The geography of this gospel is important, for it is one of oscillation between the wilderness of the desert valley and the mountain where Jerusalem is built, if you like the ups and downs of daily life!. Two distinct spaces which reflect the story of Israel; firstly having met God at Sinai, the people of Israel wander in the wilderness where they are shaped by God into a Covenant people. Secondly in Jerusalem, the place where the Temple was located, where the cultic setting of worship took place, a city of religion and power! It is easy to visualise a dialogue in our own spiritual life between our desert places where we are stripped down to the minimum and wrestle with our inner selves in front of God, and those 'city' areas where power and religion become uneasy companions. This is a constant dialogue in our own lives, the tension between the self and God.

Humility as an antidote to the Temptations

So what of the three temptations? We notice that these come after Jesus had already been tempted in those forty days of desert experience, a reminder that they are obviously connected to inescapable key temptations in our own lives, each of them challenging us from within. The devil in the story has no need to produce something new, the latent capacity to place self above God and others is part of our human nature, the antidote to this triumph of self we find in this story lies in the humility of Christ, who became as one of us, though without sin, but who also knows because he becomes as one of us , exactly what we are capable of . This humility of Jesus is called kenosis, the emptying out of self which is the gift of Christ at the heart of the Incarnation, described in stark terms in Philippians 2:8, 'And being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross'.

In other words humility is the recognition of our earthly rootedness and capacity for the choice we have to do good or evil. On another note, this hymn of kenosis comes as a phrase we hear in the chants of the solemn liturgies of Holy Week as an encouragement for each of us to share in Christ's obedience unto death, which is not slavish adherence to the whims of God, but as with the temptations, is a series of dialogues, this time with God, in the situations of our own life. We are called as Jesus was, to discern by listening and responding to the promptings of that inner voice of the Spirit. This is humility as a tool for good, a positive move towards knowing and dealing with our 'self' in order to become more like Christ.

The choice of the three temptations!

The question we face on this first Sunday in Lent is not an easy one.

At the heart of the dialogue between the devil and Jesus are two competing stories. The devil offers a story of three issues easily identifiable in ourselves, self-indulgence (bread from stones), self-aggrandizement (worship me and all the nations in the world are yours), and a thoroughly self-serving religious identity (if you are the son of God cast yourself from the top of the temple). These as I have already pointed out are temptations from within , not from without, and what is also very important for us to note, is the way the devil is seen quoting scripture to support this choice, much, alas, as many of us do when we cherry pick bits of the scriptures to support out own point of view. It's a lesson in the ways of the world, a reminder that each one of us has the capacity to deceive ourselves-or not! The choice given us is clear, for it lies in the way Jesus deals with this inner turmoil.

Firstly in answer to the devil's own use of psalm 91, Jesus teaches that scripture must be read and understood rightly. It is not a tool for polemical utterances, nor partisan religious politics, the scriptures are the oracles of God telling the story of `God's dealing with humanity, and of a covenant relationship of salvation offered freely, renewed in Christ! This has to be lived out in true obedience and humbleness of heart. Secondly Jesus listens to the devil and what he says, suggesting that we too must face the difficulties and temptations in our life realistically, knowing what they are, but then to respond in terms of this faithful obedience, not reliance on our own wit and cleverness. Twice the devil challenges Jesus' self -identity and in the third temptation suggests he should do miracles to prove who he is. We fall into this trap quite often, demanding all kinds of proof from God, but neither listening nor discerning the the deeper, wider picture.

The phrase of Paul, in 2 Corinthians 5:7.

' We walk by faith and not by sight', is something to hold on to in this kind of circumstance . And lastly, these three temptations can be overcome if we are aware of them and place our trust in the Christ of the Temptations , as found in the words of our second reading :

"The word is near you,

in your mouth and in your heart"

(that is, the word of faith that we preach),for, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved'. (Romans 10: 8,9)

Lectio Divina

Psalm 91, the psalm of the tempter in todays gospel

A Compline psalm

You who dwell in the shelter of the Most High,

who abide in the shade of the Almighty,

Say to the LORD, "My refuge and fortress,

my God in whom I trust."

He will rescue you from the fowler's snare,

from the destroying plague,

He will shelter you with his pinions,

and under his wings you may take refuge;

his faithfulness is a protecting shield.

You shall not fear the terror of the night

nor the arrow that flies by day,

Nor the pestilence that roams in darkness,

nor the plague that ravages at noon.

Though a thousand fall at your side,

ten thousand at your right hand,

near you it shall not come.

You need simply watch;

the punishment of the wicked you will see.

Because you have the LORD for your refuge

and have made the Most High your stronghold,

No evil shall befall you,

no affliction come near your tent.

For he commands his angels with regard to you,

to guard you wherever you go.

With their hands they shall support you,

lest you strike your foot against a stone.

You can tread upon the asp and the viper,

trample the lion and the dragon.

Because he clings to me I will deliver him;

because he knows my name I will set him on high.

He will call upon me and I will answer;

I will be with him in distress;

I will deliver him and give him honour.

With length of days I will satisfy him,

and fill him with my saving power.

Extract from an Anglo Saxon Poem

Christ and Satan

So they praised the Warden of Glory wordfully, the thanes around their Lord-
there is great majesty, a song at his throne, and he is himself the king,
the Lord of All, in that eternal creation. (659-62)

That is the Lord, he who suffered death for us, the Prince of Angels.
Likewise, he fasted for forty days, the Measurer of Mankind
through the power of his mercy. And then it happened that the Accursed,
who was previously cast down from heaven and who sank down into hell,
then he tempted the King of All Beings. He brought to his lap broad stones,
and commanded him for his hunger to create loaves, saying:
"If you have a power so great…"
Then the Eternal Lord answered him… (663-73)

"Don't you know, cursed one, that it was written, 'But for me alone…?'
Yet you have set it down, O Owner of Victory, the light of the living,
reward without end, in heaven's realm, and holy delights." (674-78)

Then he took Jesus Christ up with his hands, the terrible one
through scorn, and heaved him upon his shoulder,
the spirit of evil's harm, and mounted up to a mountain,
setting him upon its peak, the Saviour Lord:
"Look now full wide, over the land-dwellers.
I shall give you into your own power the people and the earth.
Take from me in this place both city and spacious dwelling
into your power, of the rule of heaven, if you are the rightful king
of angels and men, as you have before thought." (679-88)

Next the Eternal Lord answered him: "Depart, accursed,
into your cavern of pain, Satan yourself. For you is surely torment
prepared, not at all the realm of God. But I command you
through the highest power to announce no hope unto the hell-dwellers
but you can speak of the greatest sorrow to them, that you met
the Measurer of All Creatures, the King of Mankind. Turn yourself behind me!