Father John Cusick, ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Chicago in 1970, is the Director of Young Adult Ministry for the Archdiocese. He is responsible for the Church’s outreach to women and men in their twenties and thirties, married and single. The Young Adult Ministry Office and his residence are at Old St. Patrick’s Church in downtown Chicago.
Temptation is one of those “religious” words. We don’t use it much. But we do use it each time we pray the Our Father … “And lead us not into temptation….”
Temptation is usually about something bad or sinful. As kids we might have heard someone say, “You will be ‘tempted’ with impure thoughts.” There is a temptation to have just one more drink. I can handle one more! We are tempted to be less than honest. It’s only a “little” lie. There is the temptation to go a little further. I can stop it. Our best intentions can easily fall victim to temptations. How about those Lenten promises?!
Be careful! At mass Sunday you will be tempted. The Gospel is about the 3 temptations of Christ by Satan: If you are really the Son of God turn these stones into bread… Jump - You won’t be harmed… All these kingdoms are yours. Just worship me.
To appreciate what is going on, it is important to know what happened in Mathew’s Gospel right before Jesus was led into the desert. At his baptism he came out of the water and the voice (God) in the cloud said: “This is my son, my beloved.”
Aren’t you a beloved daughter or son of God? Of course you are. These are our temptations, too! See yourself in each of the 3 temptations.
These temptations (also called tests) are what it really means to be the beloved of God. If you really are so love by God, you should never be hungry. Everyone knows that. All of your human needs will be cared for. So turn these stones into food and fill your hungry belly.
We are loved by God when our bellies are empty or full, on good days or bad, working or looking, single or married or single again, when we pray, when we panic, when we believe and when we aren’t quite sure anymore. We are loved, pure and simple. We can’t earn it and God’s love won’t go away – even if we do for a while.
If we are really the beloved of God, nothing bad will happen to us. Right? Jump, Jesus. God’s angels will carry you down. If tragedy strikes when someone dies, or cancer races through a too young body, or we are riffed on a Friday afternoon or our best dream comes crashing down, then surely we must be getting punished by God. God certainly must not love me. If God did, this would never have happened.
If you believe that, you just gave into temptation! Sadly, those and similar moments are the times when many people walk away from their faith. Even when we get beat up in life (we all will!), when our heart gets stomped on (it will), or when our best effort fails (just a matter of time), or when are dream is shattered (we don’t always get our way), we are still the beloved of God. That is the revelation and the teaching of the Lord Jesus, the Son of God. Jesus still believed He was loved – even to the ignominy of a death on a cross. Do you believe that…that you are loved no matter what happens to you? Be honest! Do you?
Listen carefully for your third temptation on Sunday. All this is yours if you worship me. It’s that power thing and maybe the money thing that guarantees power and influence. It might be that temptation to get ahead at all cost – to say practically anything or do anything. It might be the temptation not to get involved when an injustice is spotted. It might damage your career path. So we wind up worshipping money or career or our very own self-image. Remember: What we worship is really our God.
On Sunday you will hear that Jesus worships just one God, the God of the first commandment, the One Jesus called Father, the author of all life, the One who forgives us all our screw-ups, loves us no matter what, stays with us even if we choose to move away. Now isn’t that a great God to worship?!
So, what is this all about? These temptations are about determining our fundamental, basic and ultimate identity. In this Gospel, Jesus passed each test. He said “No” to each temptation. In doing so, it became clearer and clearer who he was: the beloved Son of God. And that was his identity until he breathed his last on the cross – and forever. He never gave into all the pressures and lures of everyday life. He taught us that it is truly possible to be faithful to the plan of Abba, his Father and our Father, too.
It’s “Temptation Sunday.” Take the test. Let yourself be tempted.
Here are a few “tempting” questions:
· Do you believe that in good times and bad, hungry or full, you are the beloved child of God – and that will never change?
· Do you believe that even on your worst day, when there is practically no light at the end of the tunnel, you are the beloved child of God – and that will never change?
· Do you believe that powerful or powerless, rich or poor, have or have not, you are the beloved child of God – and that will never change?
The first full week of Lent lies ahead for us all. Good luck with it.
Temptation is usually about something bad or sinful. As kids we might have heard someone say, “You will be ‘tempted’ with impure thoughts.” There is a temptation to have just one more drink. I can handle one more! We are tempted to be less than honest. It’s only a “little” lie. There is the temptation to go a little further. I can stop it. Our best intentions can easily fall victim to temptations. How about those Lenten promises?!
Be careful! At mass Sunday you will be tempted. The Gospel is about the 3 temptations of Christ by Satan: If you are really the Son of God turn these stones into bread… Jump - You won’t be harmed… All these kingdoms are yours. Just worship me.
To appreciate what is going on, it is important to know what happened in Mathew’s Gospel right before Jesus was led into the desert. At his baptism he came out of the water and the voice (God) in the cloud said: “This is my son, my beloved.”
Aren’t you a beloved daughter or son of God? Of course you are. These are our temptations, too! See yourself in each of the 3 temptations.
These temptations (also called tests) are what it really means to be the beloved of God. If you really are so love by God, you should never be hungry. Everyone knows that. All of your human needs will be cared for. So turn these stones into food and fill your hungry belly.
We are loved by God when our bellies are empty or full, on good days or bad, working or looking, single or married or single again, when we pray, when we panic, when we believe and when we aren’t quite sure anymore. We are loved, pure and simple. We can’t earn it and God’s love won’t go away – even if we do for a while.
If we are really the beloved of God, nothing bad will happen to us. Right? Jump, Jesus. God’s angels will carry you down. If tragedy strikes when someone dies, or cancer races through a too young body, or we are riffed on a Friday afternoon or our best dream comes crashing down, then surely we must be getting punished by God. God certainly must not love me. If God did, this would never have happened.
If you believe that, you just gave into temptation! Sadly, those and similar moments are the times when many people walk away from their faith. Even when we get beat up in life (we all will!), when our heart gets stomped on (it will), or when our best effort fails (just a matter of time), or when are dream is shattered (we don’t always get our way), we are still the beloved of God. That is the revelation and the teaching of the Lord Jesus, the Son of God. Jesus still believed He was loved – even to the ignominy of a death on a cross. Do you believe that…that you are loved no matter what happens to you? Be honest! Do you?
Listen carefully for your third temptation on Sunday. All this is yours if you worship me. It’s that power thing and maybe the money thing that guarantees power and influence. It might be that temptation to get ahead at all cost – to say practically anything or do anything. It might be the temptation not to get involved when an injustice is spotted. It might damage your career path. So we wind up worshipping money or career or our very own self-image. Remember: What we worship is really our God.
On Sunday you will hear that Jesus worships just one God, the God of the first commandment, the One Jesus called Father, the author of all life, the One who forgives us all our screw-ups, loves us no matter what, stays with us even if we choose to move away. Now isn’t that a great God to worship?!
So, what is this all about? These temptations are about determining our fundamental, basic and ultimate identity. In this Gospel, Jesus passed each test. He said “No” to each temptation. In doing so, it became clearer and clearer who he was: the beloved Son of God. And that was his identity until he breathed his last on the cross – and forever. He never gave into all the pressures and lures of everyday life. He taught us that it is truly possible to be faithful to the plan of Abba, his Father and our Father, too.
It’s “Temptation Sunday.” Take the test. Let yourself be tempted.
Here are a few “tempting” questions:
· Do you believe that in good times and bad, hungry or full, you are the beloved child of God – and that will never change?
· Do you believe that even on your worst day, when there is practically no light at the end of the tunnel, you are the beloved child of God – and that will never change?
· Do you believe that powerful or powerless, rich or poor, have or have not, you are the beloved child of God – and that will never change?
The first full week of Lent lies ahead for us all. Good luck with it.
Fr. John Cusick
Hi, Fr. Cusick. Thanks for the great reflection. It's hard to believe how incredibly loved we are... no matter what. Thanks for the reminder.
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