Facing Temptations

06 Sunday Mar 2022

Tags

Jesus in the Desert, Jesus in the Wilderness, Lent, Luke 4:1-13, Ps 91, Suffering, Temptations

(A reflection on the Gospel of Luke 4:1-13)

The Temptation of Christ, Juan de Flandes, c. early 1500s.

Today’s Gospel is Luke’s account of the temptation of Jesus. My Bible has many dates written next to this passage indicating I’ve read and meditated on it several times. But, today, something caught my attention for the first time: “Jesus…was led by the Spirit into the desert for forty days, to be tempted by the devil.” (Lk 4:1-2).

Jesus didn’t just wander into the desert, He didn’t decide to take a mini vacation, or simply try to get away from it all. No, God took Jesus there. It was God’s will.

One’s first thought might be, “Why would God do that?” Well, I think it was to test the human side of Jesus, to lay before Him a trial so that He could prove Himself. Would He truly trust in God as He was taught in Psalm 91:1-2, that God would be His refuge and fortress, even with the devil trying to trick Him by reciting verses 11 and 12 from the same Psalm? We know, of course, that Jesus passed the test and the devil “departed from Him…for a time.”

We may often wonder why we are faced with evil, with hardships, failed relationships and any measure of things we didn’t choose, can’t change, and don’t like. Sometimes God may impose inconveniences and certain sufferings to test our faith, our resolve, and our willingness to trust in Him. But, sometimes, God allows things to happen that challenge us, make us dig deep for courage, or cause us to love in ways we are not used to loving. Sometimes we have to give up and turn loose of things to which we are attached. Either way, God is putting us in the desert for a while, asking us to make room so that we can replace those attachments with Him.

We are in the season of Lent and we are trying to prove ourselves by devoting more time to prayer, to making room for Him through fasting, and being more charitable through almsgiving. We have been led into the desert by the Spirit. The devil will certainly try to derail our promises with various temptations. Be strong. Don’t cave in.

And, any other time of the year, we will also find ourselves in situations, either imposed or allowed by God, where we will be tested. Our trust in Him will be on the line. When we are tempted, we need to ask ourselves, “Is this the right thing to do?” Although the devil will lie to us and encourage us to listen to our feelings and say, “Yes”, we can prove ourselves by taking a moment to listen to our heart and our intellect and let those drive our decisions.

How will you be tested this week? What temptations will you face? Where has God led you such that you’ve had to trust totally in Him?

Be strong.

Be smart.

Be like Jesus.

“Heavenly Father, help me to resist the lies and temptations of the devil by being more grateful for all the many graces and blessings You’ve laid before me. Help me to remember all the tough times You have been there for me and how my trust in You pulled me through. Amen.”

(Facing Temptations was first published on the blog Reflections of a Lay Catholic)

©2013-2022 Reflections of a Lay Catholic. Reposting and sharing of material in its full and original content is permitted, provided that full and clear credit is given to the author(s) and Reflections of a Lay Catholic.

Service, Sacrifice, and Suffering

27 Thursday May 2021

Posted by Jerry Robinson in Redemptive Suffering, Sacrifice, Service

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Mark 10:32-45, Mark 10:45, Redemptive Suffering, Sacrifice, Service, Suffering

Yesterday’s Gospel was from Mark 10:32-45. The verse that caught my attention was, “For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many.” (Mk 10:45)

I think this verse grabbed my attention because I had just posted on Tuesday, An Opportunity for Redemptive Suffering, relating how I have found joy in and have been thankful for the pain I’ve endured from my injured back by offering up that pain for the sake of others. But, this morning I went in for an epidural – basically a shot of steroids between my L4 and L5 vertebrae – and have not had any pain today, been walking upright and for longer distances. Upon returning home from the hospital I asked myself, “What am I going to offer up in place of my aching back?” I certainly don’t want any more back pain, or broken bones, or cuts and bruises. I prefer having no pain whatsoever!

It was still early so I sat down for my morning prayer and meditation. When I read this verse from Mark, I thought of Jesus giving His life as a ransom to save souls. I reflected that redemptive suffering like I’d mentioned on Tuesday is uniting our suffering with that of Christ on the cross also for the salvation of souls and for the remission of suffering of others. In other words, our suffering, if offered up with love and trust, is also a ransoming of others. But, what will I do if I have no suffering due to pain.

That brought me to the part about serving rather than being served, and I reflected on how I serve others. I volunteer in various ways which is a form of service. However, I don’t always look forward to some of those volunteer activities. That brought me to the idea of sacrifice. Our service ought to be such that it is independent of whether we like it or not. If we like it, great. But, if we don’t like it, we should still serve and give it our best effort and we can look at it as a sacrifice. Even better, if we have a significant dislike for it, it can, indeed, be a suffering.

It occurred to me that the services I perform as a volunteer are not as numerous or significant as I might tell myself. They probably amount to three or four hours a week. What about the rest of the week? Well, I help people occasionally when they need help. Then I realized that these kinds of service are reactionary, they are meeting the opportunity when it comes up. They are chance opportunities that land in my lap from time to time.

If I really wanted to serve others in a Christ-like way, I would do so with intention. I would plan it into my day. My morning prayer would include, “Lord, help me to see during this moment who I can be of service to today.” In this way, I wouldn’t be waiting for an opportunity to present itself, I’d create the opportunity and then go out and make it happen.

I am retired and don’t have a paying job any longer. But, I thought about all those days when I went to the office, to the same old grind, and how different they would have been if I’d made it my objective to serve someone, to do something good unexpectedly, because they deserved it for no reason other than they have dignity as a person, a child of God. What difference that would have made in finding joy each and every day!

Thinking more about sacrifice, I came to the realization, for the umpteenth time, that I stink at sacrificing. I know my faults, I am a creature of comfort. If it doesn’t feel good I usually don’t want to do it. Fasting and abstinence are, in their own way, painful, and, I guess, they’re supposed to be. Going on a diet, laying off of ice cream, and strenuous exercise are not magnets that draw me in. My intellect tells me they may be the right things to do, but my feelings direct my will to dismiss them as being too difficult and uncomfortable. I’m fooling myself and missing out on an opportunity to grow in holiness by practicing the virtues of Prudence and Temperance. And, even if I can muster up the virtue of Fortitude, and prudently do the right thing in the right measure and for the right reasons, it could still be a form of unpleasant and painful suffering for me.

Continuing this thought process (you’re getting a glimpse of how my brain works), I’ve just spent three weeks suffering very unpleasantly and, through prayer, found intense joy and happiness in knowing that I’ve joined my suffering to Christ’s passion and helped others. I realized then that this act of Love and Charity is also a virtue which, when I look at it truthfully, overrides the feeling that keeps me from doing the difficult and uncomfortable. So, why shouldn’t I adopt this same attitude, or better yet, modify my “feelings” regarding every form of suffering, whether it be service, sacrifice, or the pain of enduring those things I don’t like, do not choose, cannot change, and don’t understand, and offer it up in union with Christ’s sacrifice in the Mass for the salvation of souls?

I can’t think of one good reason. How about you?

(Lord Jesus, thank You for the time we spend together talking. Thank You for showing me the Way and for sending the Holy Spirit into my heart and helping me see the truth the way You see it and not as the world would have me see it. Mother Mary, I pray for the grace to fully utilize my intellect to direct my will, and to live virtuously instead of by my feelings. Amen.)

(Service, Sacrifice, and Suffering was first published on the blog Reflections of a Lay Catholic)

©2013-2021 Reflections of a Lay Catholic. Reposting and sharing of material in its full and original content is permitted, provided that full and clear credit is given to the author(s) and Reflections of a Lay Catholic.

Re-Gifting

30 Tuesday Jan 2018

Posted by Jerry Robinson in Charity, Christian Community, Communion, Eucharist, Friendship, Love, Prayer

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Charity, Community, Friendship, Holy Eucharist, Joy, Love, Morning Offering, Prayer, Prayer intentions, Suffering

This morning as I knelt before Your altar I gave You thanks for all my prayers, my work, my joy and my sufferings. Then, I offered them up to You as a gift for You to use and apply towards the intentions of all my family and friends, and especially for the intentions of the Holy Father.

You took my gift, transfigured it, and re-gifted it to me in the form of pure love – Your Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity in the Holy Eucharist. More love than I myself can fathom. In return, all You ask is that I recognize Your presence in everyone I meet and re-gift all that I can’t use to others who need it. And, that’s just about everybody.

Tomorrow we’ll repeat the process. Same gift. Different day.

Amen.

(Re-Gifting was first published on the blog Reflections of a Lay Catholic)

©2013-2018 Reflections of a Lay Catholic. Reposting and sharing of material in its full and original content is permitted, provided that full and clear credit is given to the author(s) and Reflections of a Lay Catholic.

Take Up Your Cross

18 Tuesday Jul 2017

Posted by Jerry Robinson in Bible, Bible Reflections, Faith, Hope

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

Faith, God, Jesus, Joy, Matthew 10:38, Resurrection, Suffering, Take Up Your Cross

“…and whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me.” – Mt 10:38

As I read this passage from this morning’s (Monday’s) Gospel I asked myself the questions, “What does Jesus mean by ‘take up your cross’?”, and, “What is my cross?”. It was like deja vu. I’ve asked myself those two questions a gazillion times and never took the time to reflect upon them. But, this time the last four words of that verse, “is not worthy of me”, jumped out at me and I decided I really ought to know the answers.

I’ve been thinking about this most of the day. Here’s what my simple brain came up with:

In the first sense, the cross is a sign of suffering. It’s where Jesus suffered and died and it’s where many were crucified by the Romans before and after Him. Our “cross” is that which causes us to suffer.

We all suffer in some way. It may come in the form of real physical or emotional pain. Perhaps our suffering is a physical handicap, the loss of a loved one, the experience of an injustice, or the loss of a job and the inability to make ends meet.

Or, maybe, our suffering is one of inconvenience – the perceived pain of not getting our way, of being “put out” by circumstances beyond our control.

By “taking up our cross”, I think Jesus is telling us in a round-about way that, no matter what our suffering is, we need to deal with it. Life isn’t a bowl of cherries. In this life there will always be a certain amount of suffering. Not until we find ourselves in heaven will we live a peaceful and painless eternity.

Taking up our cross, then, means to accept that which causes us to suffer. It means we need to take ownership and, in doing so, we need to accept our suffering without complaining, moaning and groaning. But, I think there are two kinds of complaining.

The first, the good complaining, is like groaning that your legs hurt after you’ve just completed the fastest mile you’ve ever run. It’s a hurt that is expected, and one you’re glad to experience because it means you’ve grown/advanced/improved. It’s a hurt for which you’re grateful. There’s no cross to be taken up in this case.

The second, the bad kind of complaining, is when we express our misery because of an unfortunate circumstance: we couldn’t get our grass mowed this week because it rained and then our lawn mower wouldn’t start. The irony is that, if we think about it, we should be grateful for the time we have, while we’re not mowing the lawn, to do other things, like improving relationships, that often get pushed to the back burner. In this regard, I think about the verse from 1 Thessalonians 5:18, “In all circumstances give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Jesus Christ.” By doing this, we’re elevating the circumstance to the first level, the good complaint.

With respect to this second type of complaining, taking up our cross is not making another person, intentionally or unintentionally, feel bad because of our situation. This is where taking ownership comes into play. It’s ours and we can’t make it someone else’s. Asking someone to pray for us and hoping for their compassion is fine. But, expecting someone to commiserate with us and personally feel bad over our personal issue isn’t part of taking up our cross.

On the other hand, there is one person whom we can ask to bear our suffering with us – Jesus. He tells us throughout the Gospels that He is there for us, that we can trust in and turn our troubles over to Him. He will make our burdens light.

Taking up our cross means that, in accepting our circumstances, we realize it is in the past, it’s behind us, and we can’t do anything about what’s already happened. We need to let it die.

It’s now that the second meaning of taking up our cross and following after Jesus comes into play. After we’ve let that which causes our suffering to die, we need to start living again. That’s when we not only take up our cross but we begin to follow after Jesus. It’s a resurrection for us.

Jesus died and, upon His resurrection, went to a better place. By taking up our cross and following Him, we, too, can find a kind of resurrection, a better place. We begin to open ourselves up to finding joy in the every day gifts which God provides. In opening up, we begin to accept His love for us, a love that is independent of our circumstances. Then, ultimately, our resurrection is complete when we begin to love others unselfishly in spite of our personal suffering. In fact, we no longer view it as suffering but, instead, as a unique gift.

You know what? I’m not going to expound on what my cross is. That’s because I can see that I have many crosses to bear. After going through this exercise, I realize my crosses can be different from one day to the next, or even one hour to the next. Some crosses are heavier than others. Some I accept quicker than others. I think the important thing is that I have figured this out for myself and can begin to see my suffering, both the real and the inconvenient, as crosses to bear.

And, I resolve to pray to our Lord, Jesus, for His help in lightening the load of each of those crosses.

Won’t you take some time to think about your crosses and how you take them up in following Him?

“Lord Jesus, I know that You know that I know what my crosses are. And, I know that You’re just waiting for me to turn to You, to place my trust in You to lighten my load. I know You will because You have so many times before. I pray for an increase in faith that it is Your will that is done, not mine. Lord, thank You for all your many blessings, even those which I didn’t recognize as blessings at the time. Amen.”

(Take Up Your Cross was first published on the blog Reflections of a Lay Catholic)
©2013-2017 Reflections of a Lay Catholic. Reposting and sharing of material in its full and original content is permitted, provided that full and clear credit is given to the author(s) and Reflections of a Lay Catholic.