Lent has traditionally been understood in terms of Jesus’ forty days of fasting in the wilderness. It’s no surprise then that this is the Gospel reading appointed for this first Sunday in Lent. But we tend not to think of that story as “Jesus’ Forty Day Fast,” but as “The Temptation of Christ.” That is, what comes to mind most for us about this story isn’t Jesus’ fast but about the ways the devil tempted him while he was there. So built right into this foundational framing of Lent is the idea that in no matter what we set out to do during Lent we can expect difficulty and temptation.
This is important because whenever we set out to do something for God, we often expect (tacitly if not explicitly) fanfare and praise and are shocked when instead we face opposition and temptation. It’s almost laughable how consistent it is. For example, I regularly forget to eat breakfast and just end up having my first meal as an early lunch. But if I make a commitment to fast, you can bet I’ll feel like I’m starving by 9AM and want to give up by 10. Sadly, that’s just the way these things work. Facing temptation is the system working within expected parameters. If you commit to having a better attitude at work, you can expect your boss to be particularly awful. If you commit to giving up chocolate, you’d better believe your coworkers will start bringing chocolate in to the office to share. If you commit to meditation, you can expect your neighbour to start a building project just as you find your cushion.
In the story, Jesus defeats temptation by refusing to give in to its lies and half-truths. And he does this by reframing the temptation within his relationship with God. He’s tempted to turn stones into bread, but insists that God provides the true sustenance he needs. He’s tempted to show off his special relationship to the Father, but insists that putting God to the test is the opposite of faithfulness. And, he’s tempted to exchange the Kingdom of God for the kingdoms of this world, but insists that his only priority is God and God’s Kingdom. Our own temptations may have lower stakes, but the difference is one of scale rather than kind. Ultimately, Jesus was tempted with comfort, ego, and power, and a lot of our temptations will boil down to those things too.
But we might still ask why temptation is part of the mix at all. Some might say it’s just because the devil will always try to knock us off course. But the thing is Christians are not dualists. Even if we accept a literal personal embodiment of evil, this figure is not all-powerful. In fact, he’s defeated and ultimately powerless. If his temptation was really a threat, God could flick him away like a piece of lint. So that’s not really a good explanation. I think the reason why temptation is built into the system is because overcoming obstacles is part of what makes faithfulness and personal growth genuine and meaningful and not just one more area for ego to take over. By experiencing our own weakness in such obvious ways, we come to a richer understanding of our place in the world and just how dependent we are, and grow not just in faith but also in humility, which is a necessary condition for a faithful relationship with God.
That is the sense I get from the Anglican Collect of the Day, which will serve as the prayer for today’s Lenten call to prayer. It reads:
Almighty God,
whose Son fasted forty days in the wilderness,
and was tempted as we are but did not sin,
give us grace to discipline ourselves
in submission to your Spirit,
that as you know our weakness,
so we may know your power to save;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
I love how this prayer rejects the sense of temptation as some kind of test. God already knows our weaknesses. The point is that we might come to know better God’s power to bring us through to the other side. And that is Good News for us all.
“Give us grace … so we may know your power to save.”
Amen. Amen. Amen.
Matthew Root 