DO YOU KNOW WHY AND HOW JESUS OVERCAME HIS TEMPTATION?
Sunday, February 26, 2023.
FIRST SUNDAY OF LENT (A)
Psalm. 51: 3-6, 12-14, and 17 (R. cf. 3a)
Second Reading. Romans 5: 12- 19
Gospel. Matthew 4: 1-11
TOPIC FOR REFLECTION
YOUR DESIRE IS YOUR TEMPTATION.
Do you know why JESUS did not fall into temptation? It is because...
1. He is divine and not of the flesh; remember, only flesh is tempted and not the Spirit.
2. He came from Heaven, and not from the earth.
3. He is in the world, but not of the world.
4. All that exists on earth was created THROUGH HIM, AND WITH HIM, AND IN HIM. So, how can what he creates tempt Him the creator?
5. He came to save and to teach us how to be saved, by extension, how to overcome temptation.
I will like to quickly remind us that all temptations in life fall under 3 categories. They are...
1. PLEASURE
2. POWER
3. POSSESSION.
Jesus was tempted by these 3 categories.
They are as follows:
1. The temptation of pleasure: Turn these stones into bread. Jesus did not fall for pleasure.
2. The temptation of power: Jump from this pinnacle to show you are great and mighty. Again Jesus warned satan never to tempt God.
3. The temptation of possession: satan demanded Jesus to bow to him, then Jesus will possess the earth. Jesus rebuked him because earthly possession is useless.
Similarly, every one of us MUST surely have at least one of these 3Ps as his or her temptation in life to struggle with.
So, for some people...
***POSSESSION is their weakness
However, some have combinations of two out of the three. So, the combinations may be like this, for some PLEASURE AND POWER, for some it is
PLEASURE AND POSSESSION, while to some it is POWER AND POSSESSION.
However, Some have the three Ps, that is the weakness of PLEASURE, POWER, AND POSSESSION, just like a man falling in love with WINE, WOMEN, and WEALTH
Therefore, having the aforementioned knowledge, ask yourself as I also asked myself, which categories of the above 3Ps. do we fall into as an individual?
My dear, all that we desire in life falls under the 3Ps categories. What you desire is what you become conscious of. For instance, if you desire to always be the leader of any group you find yourself in, gradually, you will become power conscious; or if you love material wealth and always want to grab it at any slightest opportunity, gradually you will become conscious of possessing more than needed.
Therefore...
a. If you are pleasure conscious, your temptation will be more pleasure-seeking, and you will often fall into it. However, power and possession may not tempt you.
b. If you are power conscious, your temptation will be greed for power, and in this temptation, you will fall more, while pleasure and possession may not tempt you.
c. If you are possession conscious, possessiveness will be the temptation you will often fall into more, while pleasure and power may not tempt you.
On the contrary, these 3Ps are interwoven, so possessing one of them may influence one to possess the others: that is...
√Having pleasure for the sake of pleasure
√Having the pleasure of power intoxication.
√Having the pleasure of over possessiveness
Similarly, there is a common saying that what kills a man fast which goes side by side with the 3Ps; and is 3Ws: they are WINE, WOMEN, and WEALTH.
Then what kills a woman fast which goes side by side with the 3Ps is the 3Ms: MEN, MONEY, and MATERIAL.
Please, I plead with you as I plead with myself not to allow these vices to destroy us. Let's not deceive ourselves, you know your weakness, and I know mine.
In summary, let us try to reflect as an individual to know where lies the major weakness that we are tempted more, and work on them. Still, our hope lies in the divine grace of God which St. Paul assures us in today's second reading that Jesus through His obedience has made us righteous.
Kindly say a word of prayer for me as I mark my birthday today.
Peace ✌️ be with you.
Rev. Fr. Segun Oladeji, CRS.
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