Daily Gospel Reflection
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March 1, 2020
Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.”
But he answered, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’”
Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor; and he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.”
Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! for it is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.’”
Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.
For the longest time, I had the wrong idea about this passage. I always thought that Jesus, being tempted in the wilderness by the devil, had an easy time of it. But I don’t think it was easy for Jesus, because that is not what temptation is. Plus, if it was easy, then it wouldn’t make for a great story. It is Jesus’ humanity that is key to this passage.
We all face temptation, often many temptations over the course of a day. These can be hard to resist. We might be tired, or hungry, or grumpy. We might be worried about school, or work, or our families. In the past, if I was facing temptation and thought back to Jesus’s time in the wilderness, I brushed it off: “Yeah, well Jesus was Jesus. I can’t be like him.” But we can. Jesus was human and, in his humanity, he suffered through his temptations to show us that it can be done.
Jesus was truly tempted in the wilderness. It’s this idea that really changed the passage for me. Simple, I know. He was torn when the devil came to him and whispered in his ear. He didn’t simply tell the devil to get lost and carry on. Not only that, but his temptations came after 40 days of fasting which surely had an impact on his willpower. But even though, in hindsight, it looks like it was easy for Jesus to be strong against the temptations of the devil, in reality, each temptation was just like our temptations. Each one was a choice that he deliberated over. And the response from Jesus was the same as ours should be: “No.”
Now, I can relate to Jesus as he was being tempted. And I can use the exact same response that he did when he faced his temptations when I am facing mine: “No.”
Prayer
Almighty and everliving God, as we step into this holy season of Lent, show us the way. Bless and guide our every effort that we might navigate the tempest of temptation. May our hungers, our ambitions, and our misguided affections not distract us from your promise and our purpose revealed in the life, death, and resurrection of your Son Jesus, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, God forever and ever. Amen.
Saint of the Day
St. Albinus was so well known for working miracles that faithful people all over Europe, from Spain to Poland, prayed for his intercession. Many French parishes are named after him to this day.
He was born in northern France to a family who landed there from England or Ireland. As a young man, he entered a nearby monastery. By the time he was 35, he was elected abbot of the monastery, and when Angers, France, needed a bishop in 529, the people turned to him.
As bishop, Albinus preached every day, and took great care of the sick and the poor. He had a special care for widows who were raising large families. He also was famous for his work ransoming captives. Nearby barbarian forces would raid the cities, and he spent large amounts of money to buy back prisoners who had been enslaved.
Once, the king himself carried off a beautiful young girl and locked her away for his own pleasure. When Albinus heard about it, he went directly to the castle and demanded her freedom. The guards dared not oppose him and handed her over. The king did not pursue, but had the gall to demand a ransom for her freedom, which Albinus paid himself.
Albinus healed the sick and restored sight to the blind, and even was known to raise from the dead one boy named Alabald. Albinus died in 550.
St. Albinus, you were the French bishop who freed captives, cured the sick, and even raised the dead, pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of St. Albinus is available for use under a Creative Commons license. Edited from the original. Last accessed January 30, 2025 on Wikimedia Commons.
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