"Temptation is a Mirage" - 1st Sunday of Lent Homily

We can all relate to these readings today that focus on temptation.

To be human is to be tempted.

And Jesus was fully human, so he was tempted.

Even Jesus.

And he saw through temptation, saw it from the mirage that it is.

Adam and Eve and you and I aren't as good with it.

We can relate to their experience of giving into temptation and then the eyes are open like, have I done?

How do I let this happen?

And kind of left to pick up the pieces.

Heaven is to each one of us.

And even when we recognize it or talk about it, like today, as a church,

Between now and the time we go to bed, each one of us will give in to temptation in some way.

Super frustrating.

Even we know, and we still do it.

But it's really important for us to follow the Lord's example of seeing through temptation.

Having our eyes open.

He doesn't seem fazed by it.

He's tempted in the ways that we are.

Identity, mission, happiness.

And the devil comes in and presents to the Lord, I guess, his best case, best ways to tempt him.

If you are the son of God commands, he stones become loaves of bread.

Temptation number one.

And it's basically getting his identity as a wonder worker.

Only, which is a lie.

The people fell for it because on Palm Sunday, they're hailing him as he goes into Jerusalem because he worked wonders.

But then five days later, when the question is, is he the son of God?

They said, no, crucify him.

They didn't believe in him.

And then the second temptation is, sounds like the cross again.

If you are the son of God, throw yourself down.

That's what we in Good Friday.

Come down from that cross.

Like you can't do this.

No one can do what you're doing.

It's too big of a mission.

The third is he shows him all these earthly kingdoms as if that's going to make him happy.

And Jesus is like, okay, enough.

All right, get away Satan.

This is done.

Like I'm the king of the universe.

I created all this.

So he sees through it.

And he sees the tactics of the tempter, the evil one.

There's a saying that God tests us to bring out our worth.

And the devil tempts us to bring out our worst.

Jesus sizes it up.

This is going to be the worst.

He doesn't go there.

But you and I don't see it so clearly.

When we get tempted with our identity,

And those thoughts sit in our minds that we're not good, we're not lovable, we're not worthy.

What do we do with that?

We read the book of Genesis.

Story of creation.

First book of the Bible says you're very good.

God made you like Himself and saw you as very good when He created you.

Isaiah 43, I love you.

God says,

So you are good and you are loved.

And when that is shaken in us, when that's a serious doubt down in our depths, that is something we need to constantly go back to.

The truth God reveals, the truth, not the lies that are swirling around, that bombard us, that seem to have control of us, but the truth that we're good and we're loved.

Then with mission, we have our catechumens here this morning.

We're so blessed you're here, so happy you're here.

He hates what you're doing, the devil.

He hates it.

And he's already started on you.

You probably noticed, you can't do this.

As an adult, we baptize.

So what we do today, we send them to next week's right of election with the archbishop and all the other adults in the archdiocese who are preparing for baptism.

That really helps.

And they might say to you guys, we're getting that attack too, we're getting these thoughts too.

And I'm starting to doubt it, I'm afraid now.

People are starting to notice that I want to become a Catholic at my age, or as an adult.

Any of us who go on mission, these lies come in, these temptations come in saying, you can't do this.

You're not worthy of this.

You can't pull this off.

But remember in John 15, especially to our men, Jesus says, I've called you friends and I've chosen you to go and bear fruit.

He's chosen you and me and all of us to go on mission.

We're not worthy, but he says we're worthy when he calls us.

And then the biggest one for us is happiness.

He dupes us constantly with things of the world that look good.

Adam and Eve, you notice the wording.

They're tempted with something that looks good, pleasing, desirable.

We fall for it because evil looks good.

Temptation presents evil in a good way.

That's why we fall for it.

If we can size it up like Jesus and see there's nothing good there, we're not going to go.

We're not going to do it.

But these things look good and they bring pleasure which doesn't last, and it's not happiness.

What does bring happiness which is substantial and which lasts is the things of God.

The things that are good, things like the Eucharist.

Compare the Eucharist to all these other things in the world, there's no comparison.

God tests us to bring about our worth.

The devil tempts us to bring about our worst.