KAALAGAD Gospel Reflection – March 1, 2020
First Sunday of Lent
Matthew 4:1-11
Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. 3 The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” 4 But he answered, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” 5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’” 7 Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” 8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor; 9 and he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” 10 Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! for it is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.’” 11 Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.The Way of the Son of God
Vito Corleone is what the destitute and the hopeless might regard as a savior-figure. Indeed Corleone is godlike. He is a source of livelihood. He offers protection. Everything seems to be under his control.
By the time the gospel text for today was composed, there already had been a variety of expectations concerning the son of God. The three well-known temptations are noteworthy precisely because they seem to reveal some of the popular Jewish expectations concerning how they thought the Messiah would behave. Many seemed to have expected that the miraculous turning of stones into loaves of bread will be what the Messiah would normally do. Others thought that a display of power such as jumping from the pinnacle of the temple was necessary precisely because this will prove, in a decisive manner, that indeed he is the son of God. Still others thought that the Messiah will claim or conquer the world’s kingdoms, for how can he be able to liberate his people if he does not own, or is not in control of the kingdoms?
It is not difficult to see that the act of turning stones into bread seems to reveal not only the basic human instinct for survival and but also of instant gratification. The picture of one jumping off the steeple reveals the basic human desire not only for supernatural divine intervention but also guaranteed protection from harm (as beautifully expressed in Psalm 91 which the devil used in the passage). Finally, ownership of the kingdoms of the world seems to reveal the human impulse to control the daily transactions of life.
There seems to be nothing wrong if Jesus yielded to these temptations especially if the point was to showcase God’s provision, or God’s supernatural power to intervene and to protect him from harm. Moreover, there seems to be nothing wrong if indeed the point was to show that he is sovereignly in control of the world, to which the term “Lord” is not uncommonly meant to refer.
But this should make the reader wonder: What if in the story Jesus turned stones into bread? What if he jumped from the pinnacle of the temple? What if he chose to own the kingdoms of this world? Yes, he may have proved to satisfy hunger. Yes, he may have boasted to have secured guaranteed protection. Yes, he may have claimed to be simply in charge, Lording over the kingdoms of this world. And because of this, people will inevitably come to trust in him for their livelihood, and to trust him to protect them from harm because he is in control of everything. Having chosen this route, however, is it not the case that Jesus would have ended up looking somewhat like Vito Corleone?
In this first Sunday of Lent, it is absolutely worth pondering why Jesus refused to be just another Vito Corleone, and why he restrained himself by choosing the way of the cross, which in today’s passage is expressed or implied in the words “Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.”
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