AUDIO MEDITATION:

Fèlix Joseph Barrias (French, 1822-1907), The Temptation of Christ by the Devil. Public domain.

FULL TEXT:

In Luke’s version of this scene, the devil took Jesus up to a high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and said, “I shall give to you all this power and their glory; for it has been handed over to me… All this will be yours, if you worship me.” Jesus replied, “It is written: ‘You shall worship the Lord, your God, and him alone shall you serve.’”

In this painting, the devil points to a city, but Jesus turns away and points heavenward, as if to say, “Only one thing matters.” This single-minded faithfulness allows him to descend to Galilee later to proclaim the kingdom of God without distraction. How might we turn away from the concerns of this world today so as to more directly orient ourselves towards the one thing that matters?