Satan summoned three demons to be sent for a mission with
this instruction: "Go to the ends of the earth and deceive as many people
as you possibly can, causing them to be lost.”
Before they set off Satan asked them about their plans. The first demon stepped forward and said,
"I’ll tell them there is no God."
Satan disagreed saying, "That would
work on a few people, but most wouldn't buy it. There is too much evidence that
a Creator God exists.” The second demon confidently laid out his plan: "I
will teach everybody that there is no hell." Satan just laughed. "No,
that would not work either. People know better than that! They have clear
concepts of punishment.” The third demon
rose and said, "I will tell them that there is no sin, they can relax,
enjoy and do whatever they feel like doing.” Satan said, "Hmm… I like
that. Many people would like that. Go then and deceive them!”
Our contemporary societies are increasingly losing the sense
of sin. What used to be clearly evil and immoral can now become normative and
even claimed as rights. People demand respect for doing what feels good and
true to them ignoring objective norms that have guided societies for centuries. The individual person becomes now the
reference of what is good and true as manifested in this assertion, “My mind,
my body, my choice!”
The season of Lent is a grace-filled opportunity for all of
us to face this moral crisis squarely and see the realities of our lives
through the perspective of our faith. The light of faith can expose the
deception of the evil one just as Christ laid bare the emptiness of Satan’s
lure in the desert.
As we enter the first week of Lent, our liturgical readings
right away reminds us about what people of today seem to deny—the reality of
sin. Yet these same readings point us more importantly to God’s grace
overcoming sin and its effect in and through Christ.
The first reading (Gn 2:7-9, 3:1-7), by way of the story of
the fall of Adam and Eve, reminds us that sin is a reality. It is not part of God’s design but finds its
source in the human’s disobedience to God. For St. Paul, in the second reading
(Rom 5:12-19), the sin of the first parents has become a universal condition
which has brought death to all. “Through one person sin entered the world, and
through sin, death, and thus death came to all inasmuch as all sinned” (v. 13).
We need not deny, then, the reality of sin. It has entered
the world and has become like an ambience around us which our weakened will ratifies
by our personal sinfulness. But the season of Lent does not stop at this
reminder of the reality of sin. This season is not just about our sinfulness.
It is more about our need for forgiveness and the liberating truth of our
redemption through Christ. As St. Paul
continues to say, “For if, by the transgression of one person, death came to
reign through that one, how much more will those who receive the abundance of
grace and of the gift of justification come to reign in life through the one
person Jesus Christ” (v. 17).
Hence, we enter the season of Lent with humility. We enter with the awareness of being sinners
in need of God’s love and mercy. We
enter with hope. And that hope is offered by Jesus Christ.
In the gospel reading (Mt 4:1-11), we find our hope of
overcoming the temptation of sin through Christ who has overcome it. Three lessons we can discern from the
narrative of Christ’s temptation:
Proper Ordering of
our Values. We must always value
God’s will over and above the natural demands of our physical and sensual
appetite. The world insists to “obey your thirst.” Satan tempts Jesus in the
gospel reading to “gratify his hunger” by turning stones to bread. Both are
invitation to live according to the natural desire of the flesh. Jesus points out that there is a higher
invitation to live a life in the spirit whose source is not the bread but the
will of God. To overcome the temptation
of sin, we have to put order to our values. When God is always our top
priority, nothing can go wrong.
Acting with
Responsibility. This means doing
things with good reasons. Satan tempts Jesus to jump off the cliff. What for?
What is good in jumping off the cliff? Nothing.
Perhaps, for the heck of it or just to show off. This is akin to the just-do-it
advertisement. Jesus, of course, does
not jump for there is no good reason to do it. We cannot live by the popular
slogan, “Just do it.” We have to live and do things with purpose. To overcome
the temptation of sin, we have to act always with responsibility.
Not Justifying Evil
Means to a Good End. Just like my reminder to my students during exams: Do
not cheat in order to earn more points; it’s not worth it. Jesus, in the gospel
reading, is tempted by the devil to possess all the kingdoms of the world by
worshiping the devil. What an empty
proposal! Many times we are tempted to
justify evil means to achieve something good.
For instance, we want a good life for our family but we engage in
dishonesty and corruption in order to achieve it. The Lord is reminding us not
to succumb to this temptation for we will end up with nothing. Never justify
evil means to a good end and you’ll be doing fine.
Again, we enter the season of Lent with humility. We are
sinners. We participate in the sinful condition of the world. But, at the same time, we enter this season
with hope because we also possess the grace of Christ. And his grace is far more
encompassing and penetrating than sin. This season invites us to cooperate more
intimately with the grace of Christ who restores whatever sin has destroyed.
