[Music] but is this a real test of Jesus is it a real temptation I think so in the sense that in his human nature Jesus would have a natural desire to reveal his true identities everyone you know to have everyone believe in him as son of God right which is what many people would do if they were to see him you know suspended and levitating in in the air above the Temple Mount right clearly this guy is the son of God Ari clearly this man has powers from God which is not where they're gonna say
when he's hanging on Calvary right they're gonna say if you're the Son of God come down from the cross effectively a replicating Satan's temptation here right if you're the son then prove it prove okay so what's going on in in each of these cases what Jesus is doing is recapitulating the temptation of Adam in the desert and overcoming it so where's Adam fell to the lust of the flesh Jesus conquers it whereas Adam fell to the lust of the eyes Jesus conquers it where Adam fell into pride Jesus has humility and follows the will of
his father so he is a new Adam undoing the effects of the fall and if you have any thoughts about that just remember Luke chapter 4 verse 1 the beginning of the temptation comes right after Luke chapter 3 verse 38 which is the end of Luke's genealogy and in Luke's genealogy he doesn't do like Matthew where Matthew begins with Abraham and Dave and then goes down to Joseph Luke's genealogy begins with Joseph and goes backwards all the way to Adam so the last word before the temptation narrative in Luke's Gospel is the son of Adam
the son of God so he's just told you about Adam and now Jesus goes in the desert and has these three temptations which recapitulate the temptations of Adam in the desert right to show that he is now overcoming so that's what's going on inland well I said what Inlet that's what's going on temptation in the desert which is why we use it for land because effectively what's taking place then in the season of Lent is that we are now going to recapitulate the temptations of Jesus in ourselves just as he spent 40 days and 40
nights in the desert so too we enter into the season of Lent which is 40 days and 40 nights and during this time we're called to do three things pray more intensely fast more intensely and give alms more intensely that's why the reading for Ash Wednesday is from Matthew chapter 6 when you pray don't tell everybody about it when you fast not if you fast when you fast don't tell everyone about it do it in secret and then when you give alms do it in secret so each of those three directives that Jesus gives in
the Sermon on the Mount and in the reading for Ash Wednesday are tied to the three temptations so how do I overcome the lust of the flesh right how do I battle my disorder desire for the pleasure of the flesh well by putting that desire to death by mortifying it voluntarily through fasting it's really important all right Jesus assumes his disciples will fast and the church calls us not just to abstinence during Friday's of Lent but she reads the words of Jesus calling us to fast to abstain from food right we're only required to do
it on Good Friday that's a binding day of fasting but the church's tradition for time immemorial has been that Lent is a season of fasting so whatever fasting you do or don't do during the regular part of the year during Lent that needs to be intensified there needs to be an intentional commitment to fasting that's how you not not because food is bad but because it's good right because we're too attached to it and so in order to build up the virtue of being detached from the lust of the flesh we fast same thing with
the lust of the eyes you have a problem with a disorder desire for possessions well then give them away so do acts of charity and almsgiving during Lent not just during Christmas during Lent to help build up the virtue of detachment from possessions and then finally prayer helps us to builder the virtue of humility so are you prideful do you have a disordered self-love if you're human say yes okay well then pray intensify your prayer because in prayer we grow in humility especially if you try doing it for any length of time you will learn
very quickly that you have no idea what you're doing right and that you as competent as you may be at everything else in life or that's business or finances or whatever skills you might have when it comes to prayer you're like a little kid just flailing in the shallow end of the pool so we need to grow in our strength the virtue of humility recognizing that prayer as a gift and growing in prayer as a gift and we need God to to help us with that so those those are the spiritual disciplines traditionally for Lent
prayer fasting almsgiving so this lent don't just make it about you know losing a few pounds or abstaining from chocolate that's Jesus did not come into the world so we can exchange from chocolate for 40 days a year he came to the world to help us to show us that these this triple concupiscence can be overcome he conquered it and then to give us the Grace and strength to do the same and to give us practical disciplines for doing that prayer fasting and almsgiving and if you live a religious life if you're a consecrated life
you live that in a radical way through three valves poverty chastity and obedience [Music] [Music]
