1st Sunday of Lent, Year C
Temptation is a do-without in the life of every Christian, which means that it is part of our daily living. Temptation is defined as the desire to do something, especially something wrong or unwise. A temptation by itself is not a sin, but becomes a sin when we agree to do or do that which is wrong or unwise. This is why in temptation we are shown by Jesus in today’s gospel reading to choose to do what is right and just in faithful obedience to our call to discipleship. Hence, if Jesus was tempted by the devil, then temptations will surely come our way.
Have you ever noticed or paid attention to the fact that temptations come in our most vulnerable moments in life. We are not the only ones, Jesus too was tempted in His most vulnerable moment, when He was very hungry and tired; when He was about to begin His public ministry and when He was about to use God’s blessings, graces and mercies given Him to proclaim and establish God’s kingdom in the world. It is in our lowest points in life or our most vulnerable moments in life that the devil tempts us the most, but let us not forget how Jesus resisted the temptations that came His way in today’s gospel reading from the gospel of Saint Luke 4:1-13 by renouncing Satan with all his works and empty promises as we professed or was professed for us by our parents during our Baptism. But have we ever thought about the causes of the temptations we face or its origin? The major causes of the temptations that we face originate from our “Concupiscences,” which everyone wrestles with everyday. “Concupiscence” is easily understood as the “inclination to sin,” so our temptations come from our inclination to sin as human beings. There exists the threefold concupiscence, which are - the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life, most of our temptations if not all our temptations originate from these concupiscences. These same threefold concupiscences were the origin of Jesus’s temptations by the devil as we heard in today’s gospel reading. What are the meanings of these threefold concupiscences:
The Lust of the Flesh - are sinful desires for pleasure that translate into actions. They are desires from our senses, eyes, mouth(glutony), hearing, touching, having what our flesh craves for.
The Lust of the Eyes - are sinful desires that result from looking and desiring unlawful things. It is coveting what you should not by sight and the door to lust of the flesh, greediness, coveting unlawful flesh. However, many sins start here and then transition into works of the flesh.
The Pride of Life - are sinful and selfish desires for wealth, honor, fame, attention, power/control, and prestige. It can be explained as giving yourself glory for what God has done in your life, that you are proud person and being preoccupied with the temporal things of this life and materialistic things.
My brothers and sisters in Christ, temptations will come our way as children of God in the most vulnerable moments of our life, but in those times of temptation, let us follow the example of Jesus in today’s gospel reading by rejecting sin and renouncing Satan with all his works and empty promises as we professed or as was professed for us by our parents on the day of our Baptism.
