There is a story told of four different ministers who decided to take some time off together to get away from their congregations and to learn more about each another. They found a nice rustic cabin in the woods, far away from the parish phones and emails and drop-in appointments. As luck would have it, these four ministers were from different faith traditions but they shared a love for ministry in common. There was a rabbi, a protestant minister, a priest and a permanent deacon. After a couple of days swapping war stories and commiserating, they decided to tell each other their biggest temptation.
The rabbi went first and said, "Well, it's kind of embarrassing, but my big temptation is looking at ebay for hours. Once I was late to my own sabbath service because I was trying to win an item."
"My temptation is worse," said the protestant minister. "It's gambling. One Saturday instead of preparing a fire-and-brimstone sermon I went to the race track to bet on horses."
"Mine is worse still," said the priest. "I sometimes can't control the urge to drink. One time I got so desperate I actually dipped into the sacramental wine."
The permanent deacon was strangely quiet. "friends, I hate to say this," he said, "but my temptation is worst of all. I love to gossip - and if you will excuse me, I have some phone calls to make!"
You don’t have to be a priest, deacon, or rabbi to be tempted. We all have temptations. Everyone who has lived, from Adam and Eve, to you and me, has to deal with this inconvenient truth. As we enter the first Sunday of Lent, let’s address a difficult question: Why does God allow the devil to tempt us? Why doesn’t he make it easier to love him and to do his Divine Will? Why can’t he make our good choices easier and our bad choices harder?
In today’s gospel we hear that even Jesus experienced temptation. Luke tells us He was "led by the spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil." The Spirit actually led him to place where he would be tested. God allowed these temptations to take place because they have a purpose. They are not just the result of God being distracted or falling asleep at the switch!
But what are some of the reasons God allows us to be tempted? Is there something good that comes out of them? The first reason that God allows the devil to tempt us is to expose our real selves. I remember the first time I took the test for my motorcycle license. I had driven motorcycles before, mostly off-road and was very comfortable on them. I read through the little book and aced the written test. When I arrived the next day to take the driving test, I hadn’t practiced with my brother’s sport bike (why would I need to?!) Instead, I spent the time waiting, looking with snobbish disgust at the swarms of drivers waiting to test for some lame and wimpy car with four wheels. Finally my time came and I took the motorcycle driving test. After smashing a number of innocent little cones and nearly laying the bike on the ground, I failed the test. Miserably.
That temptation of pride exposed my true faults. I was nowhere near as strong or capable as I thought. This painful awareness of personal weakness had a positive side - it gave me a sense of my personal limits. Without these failures, we can be tempted to think that we are more than we actually are, that we are little gods to be admired by the world. Sooner or later, temptation teaches us a valuable lesson in humility.
When we recognize our true self, our own weaknesses, we grow in humility - and that leads to the second purpose of temptation: To acknowledge dependence on God. In response to the devil's temptations, Jesus says that we do not live on bread alone, "but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God." When we see temptation’s true danger, we can and should fall to our knees. We see this even in Jesus. He went into the desert for forty days, to be on his knees, so that he could resist the temptations of the devil.
When we give in to temptation and sin, we make ourselves loners in the worst sense. In the beginning, we might feel like we are being set free from pesky rules and guilt, but in fact we are falling into bondage. On the other hand, to resist temptation requires God's help. It takes humility to ask for help, but in the end it leads to freedom. A classic example is alcohol. A person might think, "I am free to do what I want. I can have as drinks as I please. I am free." That person becomes a slave - to alcohol and ultimately to other things. But the person who recognizes his powerlessness and entrusts himself to a Higher Power becomes free.
From this I think you can see the third purpose of temptation. When we resist temptation, we get stronger. On the other hand, when we fall into a temptation, we get weaker. We become more vulnerable to other temptations too. But if we turn away from one of those temptations - even the smallest one - we gain strength and can resist them better.
Now let me be crystal-clear about one thing; temptation has a purpose. Because God is almighty and loving, he can make good come out it. But that doesn’t mean we go looking for trouble! I don’t want you all leaving church thinking: “Fr. Schroeder says we should all go and get tempted so that we can learn humility and trust in God. We must avoid temptation and those near occasions of sin; this is an obligation for all of us. However, when unavoidable temptations come our way, we can have hope knowing that with God’s help they will actually make us stronger, better Christians.
As we begin Lent this year, I invite you to think about what it is that tempts you. Is it lust, laziness, greed, pride, gossip, selfishness, comfort, self-pity, food, or drink? What are our spiritual soft spots that make it easy to wander away from God? This season is an opportunity to examine our soul and our life and honestly assess where we are weak and where we need to grow.
All of us are weak in some way, but each time we stand with Jesus, each time we resist temptation, we gain power. That power ultimately does not belong to us, but to God. The power is real, but it is never our own. So let us humble ourselves in God’s sight so that his strength might be at work in our lives. May we constantly acknowledge the fact that we depend on Him to lead a good life and to be good people. And finally, let us thank God for his strength, which can bring good out of temptation and power out of weakness.
