Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 4, 1-11
At that time Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert
to be tempted by the devil.
He fasted for forty days and forty nights,
and afterwards he was hungry.
The tempter approached and said to him,
“If you are the Son of God,
command that these stones become loaves of bread.”
He said in reply,
“It is written:
One does not live on bread alone,
but on every word that comes forth
from the mouth of God.”
Then the devil took him to the holy city,
and made him stand on the parapet of the temple,
and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down.
For it is written:
He will command his angels concerning you
and with their hands they will support you,
lest you dash your foot against a stone.”
Jesus answered him,
“Again it is written,
You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.”
Then the devil took him up to a very high mountain,
and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in their magnificence,
and he said to him, “All these I shall give to you,
if you will prostrate yourself and worship me.”
At this, Jesus said to him,
“Get away, Satan!
It is written:
The Lord, your God, shall you worship
and him alone shall you serve.”
Then the devil left him and, behold,
angels came and ministered to him.
There will always be temptations in your life, but it’s up to you whether you accept them or not
1) The desert. The battlefield is the desert, it’s that place where you have nothing and nobody, where you feel alone. This spiritual desert comes to all of us sooner or later. It’s a time when you can’t find yourself, when feelings are wounded and when you feel lost. This desert even leads you to despair or hopelessness.
2) The highest point. That is the place where the devil tempts you. He makes your ego rise, he shows you that you can do whatever you wish, that you are more capable than others. He makes you narcissistic and leads you to think that everything depends on you. He takes you to the top and the higher you are, the harder the fall. You receive strong temptations when you are at the top, and you become haughty and presumptuous.
3) Comfort. After the battle, Jesus is comforted. God does not leave you alone nor does He let go of you. But God allows temptations and times of ‘desert’ because they make you stronger. Your moment of consolation will come, so fight to the end. You are not alone! Don’t forget that something good is on the way! God bless you in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
