This weekend’s Gospel tells us that Jesus fasted 40 days and then the intense temptations began. First about food – about self; then, about stones – the temple, Jesus’ immediate surroundings, His community. The third temptation was related to political power, the kingdom, the whole world.
Jesus enjoyed good food, a good meal with friends. Walking through fields of grain, he savored the wheat kernels. In Cana, He supplied first-rate wine. He sent his disciples ahead to arrange for supper the night before He died.
Years ago … many years ago, a retreat master from Atchison told this story – at least this is my memory of the story. Why I remember this particular story from among all the spiritual wisdom our retreat directors have offered – I have no clue. The story goes that a certain monk wanted to do something really heroic for Lent. From his earliest years, this man relished a good piece of sausage. He savored it, his mouth watered when he thought about a full breakfast with eggs and sausage. So, for Lent he decided to give up sausage. It was not too hard because they rarely had sausage in the monastery, and certainly not during Lent. So, he put a small sausage link in his room where he could smell it everyday. After a while, he hardly noticed the scent, so he hung the sausage head-high just inside the doorway so he’d run into it each time he entered his room. As that became commonplace to him, he decided to hang the sausage over his bed where he would see it last thing at night and first thing in the morning.
As the days of Lent went by, he gradually lowered the sausage until it was just above his nose. In a few days even that was no challenge, so on Palm Sunday he started lowering the sausage into his mouth for a few seconds – dreaming of the taste of sausage on at Easter Sunday breakfast. All through Holy Week, he lowered the sausage into his mouth for a few more seconds every day. Until on Good Friday this now holy, self-disciplined monk – ate it!
In Jesus’ first temptation, the devil is trying to entice Him away from his mission so he can avoid suffering and death. Aren’t we, too, sometimes tempted to turn aside from our Lenten mission? When we are tired, hungry, feeling drained of energy on many levels, it is then that the devil is grinning with glee at the prospect of getting us to throw in the towel on all our good resolutions. Beware the wiles of the devil – he is cunning.
In the second temptation, the devil insists that Jesus is entitled to divine safety and protection. Whenever you are tempted to amaze people with your grand ideas, remember Jesus’ reply: “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”
In the third temptation, the devil wants Jesus to compromise good by using the wrong means. We too, can be tempted to meet legitimate human needs using the wrong means.
The Gospel story of Jesus’ temptations occurs at the outset of his ministry, so to speak his first day on the job. He is confronted with three major enticements but he outfoxes the devil and goes on to win His crown. You know the saying “Today is the first day of the rest of your life.” Did you see the story about the deputy who landed his first job? A local sheriff was looking for a deputy, and one of the applicants, who was not known to be the brightest academically, was called in for an interview. “Okay,” began the sheriff, “What is 1 and 1?” “Eleven,” came the reply. The sheriff thought to himself, “That’s not what I meant, but he’s right.” Then the sheriff asked, “What two days of the week start with the letter ‘T’?” “Today & tomorrow,” replied the applicant. The sheriff was again surprised over the answer, one that he had never thought of himself. “Now, listen carefully. Who killed Abraham Lincoln?” asked the sheriff. The jobseeker seemed a little surprised, then thought really hard for a minute and finally admitted, “I don’t know, Sir.” The sheriff replied, “Well, why don’t you go home and work on that one for a while?” The applicant left and wandered over to his pals who were waiting to hear the results of the interview. He greeted them with a cheery smile, “The job is mine! The interview went great! First day on the job and I’m already working on a murder case!”
On Tuesday this coming week we (the Benedictine Sisters of Florida) will celebrate the 134th anniversary of that day in 1889 the “interview went great!” Those 5 Sisters hit the floor running their “first day on the job.” And, we’ve been running ever since. The heritage of our five founding Sisters has been our inspiration for good works. God bless them and all who have gone before us on their faith journeys – those who came as academy and prep school students; those who came and stayed awhile; those who discovered their life path elsewhere and those who spent their lives as life-members in our community.
~Reflection by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB
