The Call of Evil

Gospel: Matthew 4: 1-11

The temptations of Jesus in the desert are the gaps that exist between that to which we are called to be and that which we currently are.  Jesus successfully rejects the call of evil presented to him in his life - not just in this episode but throughout his life.  These temptations are not one time events in his life or ours.  They continually recur in the life of Jesus and in ours, presented and repackaged into a variety of different manifestations.

The temptation to change stones to bread has us ask ourselves whether we are led by our appetites and passions or by something deeper.  The temptation to the city and its riches is the constant struggle to overcome the desire for power, influence, and material things.  And the temptation to fling oneself off a cliff is the tendency to turn religion into a spectacle of our own ego rather than a pursuit of wisdom and grace in our lives.

Both the devil and Jesus use scripture in their back and forth with one another, but they use it very differently.  Satan uses it to justify self-interest and that which we already want.  Jesus uses it as a means of wisdom to consider our calling as human beings to relationship with God and with one another.  This story is our constant measuring stick in our spiritual life: am I growing closer to the ideal of Jesus, am I using scriptures as means of wisdom and grace, or am I seeking my own self-interest and ego?