Temptation

Gospel MT 4:1-11

At that time Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert
to be tempted by the devil.
He fasted for forty days and forty nights,
and afterwards he was hungry.
The tempter approached and said to him, 
“If you are the Son of God, 
command that these stones become loaves of bread.”
He said in reply,
“It is written:
One does not live on bread alone,
but on every word that comes forth
from the mouth of God.”

Then the devil took him to the holy city, 
and made him stand on the parapet of the temple, 
and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down.
For it is written:
He will command his angels concerning you
and with their hands they will support you,
lest you dash your foot against a stone.”
Jesus answered him,
“Again it is written, 
You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.”
Then the devil took him up to a very high mountain,
and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in their magnificence, 
and he said to him, "All these I shall give to you, 
if you will prostrate yourself and worship me.”
At this, Jesus said to him,
“Get away, Satan!
It is written:
The Lord, your God, shall you worship
and him alone shall you serve.”

Then the devil left him and, behold,
angels came and ministered to him.
Here Jesus demonstrates faith, strength, and resilience that goes beyond what is humanly possible.  After fasting for 40 days and quite literally running on empty, he is able to resist temptation by the devil.  How easy would it have been for Jesus to cave into Satan's temptations under these circumstances.  Would we have blamed Him?  How often do we settle for less than our best self when the stakes are much lower?  But Jesus held fast by focusing on God - His word, not testing Him, worshiping God alone.  He was completely exhausted, spent.  The angels had to come to him and revive him.  In an earlier reading, Jesus was talking about "denying ourself" and in today's reading we see very clearly what that means and what is expected of us.  It's a tall order but God is with us.  Even at my weakest and most vulnerable moments, God gives me the faith, strength, and resilience to do His will.