Matthew 4:1-11

 FIRST SUNDAY OF LENT – YEAR A

Commentary of Fr. Fernando Armellini

At that time Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. 

A good Sunday to all. 

The Devil has always been represented as monstrous and horrible. But if the tempter is always represented that way, how do you explain that so many people follow him? NO. The Evil seduces them because he is beautiful and attractive. 

Watch the Devil in the statue located at the back of the pulpit of St. Paul's Cathedral in Liège, Belgium. If it weren't for those bat wings, we would confuse him with an angel of paradise, a beautiful woman's perfection, or an Apollo! We all would like to resemble and be happy to possess that beauty. This is the danger. And this is how the Devil is presented: beautiful, fascinating. One who loves you, one who offers you joy and life and suggests what you should do if you want to embody that beauty. But he cheats on you. 

Today's Gospel text helps you to be on your guard because if you follow the advice of the Evil One, you will ruin your life; he muddles you because his beauty is ephemeral. He is a failure; he leads to destroy those who pay attention to him. Look at some details of that sculpture. He is tied up with a chain. He is a prisoner, and those who listen to him also become slaves, tied to the chains of their passions, of their vices, and tied to illusory projects. 

Notice that he does not have the crown in the head but in the hand. It falls because his kingdom is not lasting; his triumphs are always misleading. Also, look at the scepter: it is broken, half in hand and the other half on the feet. And there is also an apple with a bite, saying: "Do as you please – be your god." But the taste of sin is always bitter, and in the end, it disgusts you. Let's try to identify him well. It is not a ‘despicable devil’ that the heavenly Father has left free to do evil to his sons and daughters. If so, we would have asked him to chain him in the abysses and close this chasm with seven doors and under seven locks. 

Why does God not do it? This was the objection I made to the religious catechist as a child. She responded with great simplicity, saying that the Lord let him do this because, later, the Devil had to suffer a lot for all eternity. Naturally, this explanation did not satisfy me.

God cannot chain him with seven locks because the Evil is part of ourselves. It is present in all of us. That deceitful voice tells us: ‘Look how nice it is to be self-referential in your moral choices. Do what you want... Why worry about knowing what God thinks? God exists only for a minority that still lives in the Middle Ages. When you grow up, you make your own decisions and don't need God.’ This is the evil one, the one who gives us suggestions. This evil one is part of ourselves. It tells us that God impedes the realization of our lives. ‘Science and technology are the ones to decide what needs to be done; science and technology are the reference sources. The rest are cheap beliefs.’ 

So, the word of God is not received as a kind suggestion of a Father who wants us happy but as a heavy, arbitrary, meaningless imposition. Devil (diábolos in Greek) comes from the verb ‘diabálo,’ which means the one who makes us stumble. It prevents the relationship of love between God and people. This is the force of evil that ruins the person. It is the force later embodied in structures, groups of people, and things. 

In the gospel, we have an incarnation of this Evil in Peter, presented as an obstacle to Jesus's journey to donating his life. Peter wants to take Jesus another way. 

Notice that Peter presents himself as a friend of Jesus; he says: ‘Do not go to Jerusalem because you will end badly. You must succeed, become great, powerful.’ The Evil deceives you because he seems to be on your side and wants your good. And all humanity must consider this inner conflict as a force that takes them away from God. The Lord gives us his Spirit that fights against this opposing force because the Spirit wants us to unite with the Lord. 

Paul says to the Galatians in chapter 5 of his letter, ‘The flesh has desires contrary to those of the Spirit. The Spirit has desires contrary to those of the flesh.’ These two realities oppose each other frontally. And ‘flesh’ means this evil force; we must be attentive. 

And Jesus, who is a man like us, was not exempted. He has also experienced this inner conflict. How do we present on a page of catechesis this experience of temptation that, both for Jesus and for us, lasts a lifetime? Christian communities from the first generations have synthesized this experience, which Jesus has also done; this conflict between the forces of good and the forces of evil is synthesized in three parables. 

Let's listen to the first: 

“He fasted for forty days and forty nights, and afterward he was hungry. The tempter approached and said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become loaves of bread.’ He said in reply, ‘It is written: One does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.’”

 In the Bible, 40 indicates a whole generation, a lifetime. This parable also indicates the experience of our entire existence in this world. What happens in this life? What do we do? How do we use our time, our gifts, our energies? What objective do we give to our days? What is it worth living for? 

We have a misleading first suggestion that we feel within us. And it is this: ‘Think of material things, which are the only ones that count... these are the ones that should interest you: food, home, health, profession... Think only of these things; you will live well, feel fulfilled, and be happy.’ 

Indeed, they are important and indispensable things for life. But pay attention because this evil force, this evil compulsion, leads you to think that this is only what counts in life. And he tells you: ‘Put aside everything else. You will feel fulfilled when you're well and can feed on everything you like.’ The temptation: "If you are a child of God." This is: ‘If you want to be a god, use science and technology to get these material goods. To be happy, you don't need anything else. Your identity is that of the superman: you will be a god if you produce these goods.’ The value, the success of a person, in this context and according to this mentality, is measured by what the person produces. When the person does not produce anymore, they no longer mean anything; they are marginalized, don't count, and are not successful. 

The bread of which this parable speaks indicates the whole set of these goods that we need to live, and we cannot do without them. They are so important that, in the Bible, the verb ‘eat’ = ‘ajal’ appears 910 times. Many pages in the Bible have this verb... It seems that people are continuously eating. The person needs this for life, and God wants people to be satisfied. God has prepared a banquet that, if well managed, will always have food in satiety. God gave you everything you need for your biological life. 

But let's pay attention because this evil force leads you not to be content with what is necessary, with the essential ‘bread,’ and pushes you always to accumulate more, as if to defeat death, to maintain life, it is enough to retain these material goods. And so, some end up accumulating and living in luxury and waste while others live in misery and go hungry. 

Now we ask ourselves: Is the biological life, that life that we have in common with plants and animals, enough to feel fully fulfilled as a person? This is Jesus's answer to this dangerous temptation because you don't become fully human if you follow it. Jesus’ response: "It is written: One does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.” It means: ‘You are not just biological life. You have received another life, which makes you really and fully person; the biological life is still pre-human. And this divine life is fed with another bread, different from the material bread. It is the bread of the Word of God. 

If you do not stop to reflect in the light of this Word to seek the meaning of your life, you will not become fully human.' As we need this ‘bread’ to live, the temptation is 'to live for bread’: money, food, profession. These are good things as long as they do not become absolute. The Gospel tells us that the person is bigger than things. If you lose your mind about material things and consider them an absolute, you will remain disappointed because they will not satisfy you. After all, you are made for the infinite, and all these material things will never be able to meet your need for a life beyond this biological life.

You will realize that you went to a well to draw water, to a well that will dry one day, and your search for pleasure will dry up, and your professional successes will dry up. If you've propped up your whole life on this to have meaning, you will realize that all these wells dry out and will remain with your thirst for infinite joy that no material reality can quench. We can fool ourselves in how we relate to material reality, which is below us when we consider them absolute. But we can also be wrong with the way we relate with who is above us, with God. 

And now we have the second parable: 

“Then the devil took him to the holy city, and made him stand on the parapet of the temple, and said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written: He will command his angels concerning you with their hands they will support you, lest you dash your foot against a stone.’ Jesus answered him, ‘Again it is written, You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.’” 

"If you are the Son of God." It is the intention of the evil one to insinuate in the mind and heart of the person the doubt that God really loves you and also that God exists, that you have another father, different from the father that has given you biological life. Here is the doubt, the question: ‘Is there anyone above me, or am I alone in this world?’. 

If I think I only have one biological father, I will fall back on the material realities of this world, as if they were the absolute, the only "bread" for the only life. This is the doubt that the Evil insinuates to you: ‘Are you sure this material life is not the only life?’ And here is the temptation: ‘Perhaps no one is interested in you. And if someone is up there, ask him for proof that he exists and loves you, to show his presence and his love working miracles in your favor.’ 

God has promised to take care of his faithful, as Psalm 91 states and is quoted in temptation: “For he commands his angels about you, to guard you wherever you go. With their hands they shall support you, lest you strike your foot against a stone.” (Ps 91:11-12). God has insisted on protecting your life through his angels. And God has placed his angels by our side who are the mediators of His tenderness and favors. It is here that the leap into faith in God comes in. 

Faith must be reasonable. Our mind must be well informed, but at some point, the reason is not enough, and faith comes into play; the impulse of love towards the arms of the love of Him whom I have understood exists, and that loves me, and the person feels loved. And this person does not ask for proof because that request contradicts love. It is a clear manifestation of distrust in the other. ‘I know there is a Father above me; I understand He loves me, and I do not need to ask for proof. I know that He, with his angels, is by my side and wants me to be happy.’ 

The temptation of going after miracles is the wrong relationship with God. It means appealing to God to do what we are called to do with the great capacities He has made available to us. When we search for miracles, religion becomes superstition and magic. These veiled attempts to seize superhuman forces to put them at our service. This is not faith. Faith is reduced to prayers to saints to obtain favors, to recourse to relics, to objects that later are not very different from amulets and talismans…. miraculous waters... 

I do not want to despise simple faith, but faith must be ever more authentic. Faith is the certainty of feeling and knowing oneself loved and not seeking proof of the Lord's intervention to show us that he loves us well. If we underpin our relationship with God in the search for wonders, life will make us doubt that God does not fulfill his promises, and the need to have these proofs will be born. 

And who among us has not witnessed believers who are disappointed because their prayers have not been heard and who say, ‘What is the point of believing in God if afterward, he does not do what he is asked? ' If it were a God, he would intervene with a miracle in certain situations. Why doesn't he? 

It is the temptation that Israel also faced in the desert. When faced with their vital water and food needs, they asked themselves, ‘Is the Lord with us or not?' (Exodus 17:7). This doubt, this request, is an offense to God because it doubts his love. Jesus also went through this test. 

He wondered: Why did the Father not intervene to prove I was right? Why did He let events run as if He didn't exist? Why did the wicked triumph over the righteous? Why has God not intervened to unmask the falsehood of Annas and Caiaphas? These are questions very similar to those that people of all time have always asked: Why do the wicked prosper, while life is often unfair and cruel to the weak, and God does nothing? This is the temptation: ‘Do not trust the God who does not give proof of his love.’ 

Jesus' response: "You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.” This is an invitation to cultivate a pure faith that does not need proof or miracles. Jesus has shown how joyful, sad, and dramatic life can be lived without being dominated by doubt that God is not faithful to his love. 

And now, the third parable puts us on guard over the temptation to relate with those at our side in a wrong, dehumanizing way. Let's listen: 

“Then the devil took him up to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in their magnificence, and he said to him, ‘All these I shall give to you, if you will prostrate yourself and worship me.’ At this, Jesus said to him, ‘Get away, Satan! It is written: The Lord, your God, shall you worship and him alone shall you serve.’ Then the devil left him and, behold, angels came and ministered to him.” 

In the third parable, the Evil presents himself as the prince of this world, with everything in his hand. And really, what is the relationship that guides the behavior among the people and nations? Let's try to reflect. Is it not the strength of the Evil that governs the world? 

Everyone searches instinctively for what gives comfort, a ‘just do it’ mentality. The rulers think in the interest of their people, and to accomplish this goal, they listen to the Evil One; and what does he suggest? He tells them: ‘The world is regulated by competition; each one seeks to dominate and to be served by others. This is how the world works. Now, I will teach you how to beat it. Don't pay attention to anyone, don't be moved by the needs of others; and, if necessary, you must also be willing to crush those you want to serve you; if you manage finances or the economy, you should think only of profit; if necessary, exploit creation, pollute, destroy, waste natural resources. This is how things move; this is how the world functions. You get what you want by following these criteria.’ 

Jesus also received these suggestions from the Evil One. He told Jesus: ‘You can change the world, and I will teach you how to do it. Take on power. Listen to me because otherwise, you will fail.’ This means: “If you prostrate to worship me." If you accept my logic, my way of thinking, and my orders, follow my instructions. It is the suggestion not to serve but to dominate, to compete and not be supportive, to be served and not be servant of others. 

Whenever someone is forced to kneel or bow down in front of another, the logic of the Evil one works. How did Jesus respond to this proposal that the Evil made him? The same proposal is made to us because the alternative is to serve or be served by the other. Jesus said: “Get away, Satan! It is written: The Lord, your God, shall you worship, and him alone shall you serve.” 

Jesus did not lack the qualities to emerge and seize political and religious power. He was intelligent, lucid, and brave and knew how to charm the crowd. He certainly would have succeeded, but with one condition: that he worship Satan. That is, to adapt to the principles of this world and enter into competition. Jesus made the opposite choice. He became a servant. The Lamb has begun the kingdom, together with the ones who become lambs with him and donate their life for love, as Jesus did. This is the kingdom destined to remain, the royal crown that will never be removed from his head. This is the life of those who are free, free to love. 

I wish you all a good Sunday and a good week.