Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. The devil took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written, 'He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you,' and 'On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.'" Jesus answered him, "It is said, 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'" When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.

Luke 4:1-2a, 9-13

What is temptation? Is it simply the desire or urge to do something unwise or possibly even something evil? Well, we know that life is never simple, but thank God we have the actions of Jesus to guide us. Immediately after his baptism where a voice from heaven declared him to be the Son of God, Jesus found himself alone in the wilderness. While there in the wilderness, he was tempted by the devil. The devil was unlikely an impish-looking demon with horns, sharp teeth, a tail, and a pitchfork; instead, Jesus was probably facing some kind of inner struggle between desire and duty. Having eaten little or nothing for forty days, he was undoubtedly famished. The desire for food must have been enormous! I've been to the Judean desert just outside Jerusalem where Jesus would likely have gone. It is dry with little vegetation and is often hot beyond comprehension. But one of the unusual features of it is that the rocks are shaped like large loaves of bread. If it had been me, and I had the power, I sure would have turned those stones into a nice loaf of sourdough and while I was in a bread conjuring mood, I'd have conjured up some butter to go with it! In other words, I'd have taken the matter into my own hands and succumbed to my own will. This lesson refocuses our attention away from thinking that we are able to provide what we need, to depending on God to meet our needs.

In addition, for Jesus, the meaning of the struggle that he was going through was not about willpower, but about purpose. His struggle in the wilderness wasn't simply a test to see if he could resist the taunts of the devil; Jesus was being put to the test to help him clarify his mission on earth as the Son of God. In fact, the story told in its original language of Greek says exactly that: his temptation was really a test, a test to see if he understood his mission here among humans, or if he was going to take the easy way out. That's why he wouldn't just force us to love him or worship him like the devil urged him to do. Heck! He certainly could have chosen the easy path. He was out there alone; nobody was looking. What difference would it make? A lot. See, this desert experience would test a human Jesus as to whether he would take the easy way out and use his divine power. In the desert, it was just a matter of satisfying his hunger pains with bread. But one day, his pain would be the agony of nails in his hands and feet as he hung on a cross. Would he take the easy way out then when the redemption and salvation of humanity was at stake? No. Because he knew that his power was not by using his divinity to take the easy way out, but to endure the struggle, face the ultimate end, make it look as if the battle was lost and the forces of evil won. Then he would rise triumphantly, showing his divine power in glorious majesty! The temptations were ways to hone his ability to handle what life had in store for him.

That's the teaching point for us as we confront the temptations of our own lives. When we are tempted, we are being tested, and our strength in resisting temptation helps to hone our ability to handle whatever life has in store for us. Our struggle of self-denial in whatever form that might take, our struggle in resisting the immediate satisfaction of our wants and desires that may shape our temptation reminds us not to take matters into our own hands, but that we are to depend on God to get us through the struggles of life. There is no easy way out for us; we don't have the divine power that Jesus had--and he chose not to even use it! We must rely on his divine power to help us with our battles over Satan. We must rely on his divine power to help us overcome the temptations that we face in our own lives, which will strengthen us to tackle the challenges in our lives that we have yet to face.

Click here for the full text of Fr. Whitmire's sermon.