Coffee With God

Reflection: Luke 4: 1-13

Every year, as Lent begins, we reflect on the temptations of Jesus lest we run the risk of making choices contrary to those indicated by the word of God. We all experience this inner conflict, which St. Paul presents in Romans 7, where he says, “I am not doing what I want to do but what I detest.” This inner conflict between good and evil, the Spirit and the flesh, is a reality. We find this conflict in the life of Jesus. In the baptism scene of Jesus, a voice was heard saying, “You are my Son, the Beloved.” It is the voice of recognition and assurance from the Father. However, soon after, the evangelist would present the temptations of Jesus in the desert. The devil deceives and questions the very assurance Jesus received from the Father: ‘If you are the Son of God…’ Jesus’ journey into the wilderness recalls the exodus where the people of Israel spent 40 years in the desert. Forty indicated the period of a whole generation. Jesus spent 40 days in the desert, indicating the number of his whole lifetime. In this world, Jesus experienced all the necessities of biological life; he hungered for bread, water, shelter, clothing, social relationships, and good health. From this hunger for material food and goods arises the temptation. The temptation was to satisfy the human hunger, and to prove before the world that he was the Son of God. The world wants a god that satisfies the hunger for food, house, health, profession, success, and being well. If you place your abilities at the service of the people’s material needs, everyone will love you because people want this and nothing else. We experience the same proposition today. The devil would tell us that everybody will consider us a god, provided you help them fulfil their hunger; If not, you are nobody. And this voice is very strong. How often do we hear people say, ‘I prayed, I am not cured, so why should I pray and why should I believe?’ Jesus’s response to this evil voice is to focus on the life that does not require material bread. Be nourished with the word, with the wisdom of God that comes from heaven. Lent is a precious time to reflect on how we relate to the goods of this world. Either as believers or as pagans who only believe in material life. Let us then ask ourselves if certain expenses are compatible with the choice of the Gospel, certain investments, certain fabulous sums left as an inheritance to our children, certain pleasure trips, certain bank accounts. Let us be careful to be content with the daily bread so that all may have what is necessary to live, and we defeat the temptation to accumulate goods.