First Sunday of Lent

Luke 4 : 1 - 13

The temptation of Jesus is read every year on the first Sunday of Lent (each year from one of the synoptic gospels).

This time I was struck by the subtlety of the temptations - all three being evil in the guise of a seemingly good purpose. This is one of the most dangerous plots of the Evil One - and one that committed Christians are more likely to be confronted with, than gross evil.

Sometimes, things seem ok - or so we rationalize. Pragmatism is often a trap because we may choose the easier way out to our goal, rather than be willing to walk the harder way, taking up the cross, individually or as a community. A desire for signs and wonders is another trap for those who gradually begin to seek God on their own terms; rather than "God alone" it is "God and....". Coupled with this is the expectation to be fulfilled all the time, as if our faith is a 'feel good' channel we can turn on at will.

How much we need the Lord to help us get a closer look at these traps and how we might have stepped into them or are liable to......

Lord, may you have mercy on us in your unfailing love....

Lead us in the way everlasting.....Amen.