Jesus in the Desert

 Today was a very good homily on Jesus and the temptations in the desert.  Often I find priests do a bad job of this scripture, and kind of waffle, but I really appreciate the homily today because it spoke to the very difficult truth of how hard it was being in the desert. How the devil appeared right when Jesus was weak and had the option to consider what could be possible if he backed down from his beliefs and values.

 As the world of money and Christianity continues to evolve into something strange and unpleasant, I'm reminded this Lent that there are people that are not trying to take over the world, or destroy, but there are people that exist who are building, and trying to continue to build, even in the eye of great temptation.

Gospel, Luke 4:1-13

¹ Filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the desert,

² for forty days being put to the test by the devil. During that time he ate nothing and at the end he was hungry.

³ Then the devil said to him, 'If you are Son of God, tell this stone to turn into a loaf.'

⁴ But Jesus replied, 'Scripture says: Human beings live not on bread alone.'

⁵ Then leading him to a height, the devil showed him in a moment of time all the kingdoms of the world

⁶ and said to him, 'I will give you all this power and their splendour, for it has been handed over to me, for me to give it to anyone I choose.

⁷ Do homage, then, to me, and it shall all be yours.'

⁸ But Jesus answered him, 'Scripture says: You must do homage to the Lord your God, him alone you must serve.'

⁹ Then he led him to Jerusalem and set him on the parapet of the Temple. 'If you are Son of God,' he said to him, 'throw yourself down from here,

¹⁰ for scripture says: He has given his angels orders about you, to guard you, and again:

¹¹ They will carry you in their arms in case you trip over a stone.'

¹² But Jesus answered him, 'Scripture says: Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'

¹³ Having exhausted every way of putting him to the test, the devil left him, until the opportune moment.