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Lent 1A March 9, 2014, by Fr. Kevin Anderson

In the first reading and in the gospel we hear about the devil.  The first reading from Genesis depicts the devil as a snake.  But today, when you think about the devil, what are the usual ways that that the devil is depicted?  I need a volunteer.  [Invite a kid up].   What are some of the characteristics of the devil? [Describe each item as I put them on the volunteer]

            -horns                          -tail

            -cape                            -pitch fork

None of these items are described in the bible, but over time, these developed or evolved into what we think the devil looks like today.   And many of the traits of the devil actually came from Dante Alighieri's 14th-century epic poem Divine Comedy.  The first part is called the Inferno (Italian for "Hell")

 

What does the devil do?  Well in ancient times, anything bad that happens was considered the work of the devil . . . bad weather, an illness or disease, an accident or even bad behavior.  It was sort of like comedian Flip Wilson’s character named Geraldine who always said, “The devil made me do it.”   With that, one could excuse any bad behavior on someone else.  That is, one say, “I am not to blame, it was the devil.”  Gee, that’s convenient, then we don’t have to take responsibility for anything. 

 

Well, the Catechism of the Catholic Church and even our new Pope says, “The devil is real.” But does that mean there is a character lurking around with a pitchfork and horns?   No.  I prefer to think that the realness of the devil as existing

 inside each of us.  For we are all capable of doing good and we are all capable of doing bad.   Each day we decide which one we will follow.

 

The gospel story of Jesus’s temptation (from Matthew’s gospel) comes immediately after Jesus was baptized.  At his baptism, Jesus hears God say, “You are my beloved son.”  Then Jesus goes on retreat in the desert for 40 days.  There he is tempted by the devil, which basically comes down to three temptations that we all face:

 

  1. Bread.  Jesus was hungry after fasting for 40 days.  The devil came to him and said,

            “If you are God’s son, tell these stones to become bread.”  Of course, we need food, but this      represents all the material things that we think we need to have . . . for example a        new smart

            phone, a better TV, more clothes, etc.

 

  1. Signs.  The devil said, “If you are God’s son, jump off.  Scripture says, ‘God will send angels to support you  and you won’t hurt your feet on (the) rocks.”  For us, it is when we are tempted to demand a sign from God.  For example, when we pray, “God if you love me . . . then this needs to happen.”

 

  1. Power or ego.  The devil said, “I will give you all this if you bow-down and worship me.”

      This is best represented when we think that we need to be in control.  That is when we worry       a great deal and do not trust God.

 

 

In Matthew’s gospel, Jesus heard two voices . . . from God and from the devil. God encourages him to believe in himself; the devil tempts him to find himself through other means.

 

He said “yes” to God that helped shape his ministry and his identity.   Which do you say yes to?

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