First Sunday of Lent

The temptations Jesus faces in Matthew\’s Gospel are temptations to power and control in various guises. In fact, all our temptations seem to come down to this one thing: the desire to make ourselves like God. In union with our first parents, we have a hard time believing that God really forbade us to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (or whatever other sinful temptation presents itself to us). If we do not keep our gaze fixed on God alone, it\’s easy to be led astray by the apparent goods the devil offers us. But we can hold fast to God\’s Word, as Jesus did, quoting Deuteronomy to the devil in the desert and resisting the temptations to power and control that don\’t really exist. We know the devil can\’t deliver what he promises, so why listen to him? Let\’s keep our hearts open to God during this season of Lent and say with Jesus, \”Get away, Satan! It is written: The Lord, your God, shall you worship and him alone shall you serve.\” (Matthew 4:10)