The readings for the First Sunday of Lent - Year C may be found at: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/030622.cfm
By now, I’m sure you’ve heard or know someone who has heard the song “We Don’t Talk About Bruno”. It’s from the Disney film, “Encanto”.
If you haven’t heard it by the way, you should, it’s very catchy. Just ask my wife, Karen. I’ve been humming it or whistling it at home for the past few months.
Now, the song is about a member of a family that has been cast out and that no one talks about because that person causes bad things to happen.
And so the thinking goes that, if we don’t talk about Bruno, then not only must he not be real, but none of those bad things will become real.
We do the same thing with the devil, who is front and center in today’s gospel.
Like Bruno, we don’t talk about the devil much either.
Most likely because if we don’t talk about the devil, he must not be real and can remain nothing more than a fairy tale meant to scare small children into behaving.
And the devil uses that, because if we don’t think he exists, it gives him the upper hand, allowing him to operate undercover.
But make no mistake, the devil is real and plotting the ruin of our souls.
And exactly, how does he do that?
I saw a quote a few weeks back that said it plainly, “The devil doesn’t come to you with a red face and horns, he comes to you disguised as everything you’ve ever wanted.”
The devil is very clever and preys on human weakness.
The devil knew Jesus was hungry. He knew Jesus had been out in the wilderness by himself for 40 days.
The devil customized his temptations of Jesus to match those circumstances.
You need bread, Jesus. And you have the power to snap your fingers and make yourself a meal. Pretty simple.
You’ll eventually get power and glory. Why not take a quicker route to get there?
Give in to me and you can skip all the messy parts in between.
The devil uses deceit, often twisting good into bad.
There’s nothing wrong with bread. No one would miss a few stones.
The devil even uses Scripture. He quotes God’s word - just throw yourself down from the temple. God will take care of you.
Now, it’s not a sin to be tempted. In fact, it’s what makes us human.
Jesus was human and the devil tempts him.
Temptation forces us to rise up and make a choice either for God or to give in to temptation - and to sin.
Giving in to temptation, leads us to thinking we don’t need God, that we are self-reliant and self-made.
And that’s exactly what the devil wants us to think - that we are our own person - that we deserve to feel good and that there’s no need for us to struggle when we can have what we want right now.
And seeing our quick fix right in front of us, we take the shortcut and sin.
Before we know it, we make so many of these little choices, that they become habit, compound and become part of who we are and ultimately, separate us from God.
As Jesus did, we need to reject the devil.
This not only robs the devil of his ongoing power to deceive us, but the more we resist and choose what is right, the more we develop habits that lead to holiness.
Overcoming temptation is not easy to do, but becomes easier the more we do it.
Unlike Jesus, we don’t always succeed in overcoming temptation and as a result, we sin. But when we do, we’ve been given the treatment for our hurt.
We must humble ourselves, make a good examination of conscience and sacramental confession, fall on our knees in prayer and trust in the almighty saving power of God.
In the coming week, let us reflect on how Jesus faced every temptation of the devil and unite ourselves to Him.
Let us ask for His grace to quickly and decisively defeat the devil by rejecting his lies and deceptions.
And let us ask Him to be with us in those moments of temptation as we pray “Be with me, Lord, when I am in trouble.” (X2) Amen.
