Irondequoit Catholic Communities
1st Sunday Of Lent

Celebrating 100 years

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Cycle A

You shall not put God to the test

Perhaps the bible phrase with which our Lord answered Satan in the desert, "You shall not put the Lord your God to the test," is better known in its older translation, "You shall not tempt the Lord your God." No matter. Either version tells us "Don't shake your fist at God!" One American of yore who did "shake his fist at God" was Robert Green Ingersoll (1833-1899), a freethinking lawyer, politician and public speaker who rejoiced in the monicker, "The Great Agnostic."

Ingersoll, born in Dresden, N.Y., south of Geneva, was a self-educated man, the rationalistic son of an orthodox Congregationalist minister. After studying law, he was admitted to the Illinois Bar. During the Civil War, he formed a regiment, was named its colonel, saw action, and was also held for some months as a prisoner of war. After the War he turned Republican and served as attorney general of Illinois. As a delegate to the 1876 Republican National Convention, he was given the honor of nominating the party's presidential candidate, James G. Blaine. Blaine lost, but Ingersoll's nomination speech was such a classic that he was much in demand afterwards as a lecturer. Indeed, he could earn as much as $3,500 for a single talk.

Col. Ingersoll spoke on many things, but preferred religious (or rather, irreligious) subjects especially exposes of God, Moses, the Devil, and Superstition. He attacked common belief with scientific "proofs."

As a speaker, he loved shock. When he lectured on God, for instance, he started by taking out his watch and declaring, "If there is a God, 1 will give him five minutes to strike me dead." This was truly "shaking his fist at God."

Of course, Ingersoll always won - not because God was dead, but because He was infinitely patient. Robert Ingersoll meanwhile had high hopes that Republicans in power would promote him to important civil office. They never did because, very sensibly, they didn't want to raise to a position of power one who so delighted in offending the religious sensibilities of the majority of Americans.

As Lent begins, we who believe in God can only pray the He may be as patient with us as He was with Robert Green Ingersoll. 

     -Father Robert F. McNamara.

Q306: I have a hard time relating to the three “temptations” that Jesus faced in today’s Gospel (Matt. 4:1-11). How do they pertain to my own spiritual journey?

Temptations come in many disguises, but they always appeal to our human “weaknesses,” whatever those might be. I remember preaching on this point six years ago, about the Tempter finding our “Achilles Heel” or weak point and commencing a subtle attack (= temptation). The only weak spot Achilles had was his vulnerable heel, and that is what eventually caused his downfall in the mythical Trojan war. The only weakness that the mythical King Midas had was his lust for gold; and that proved to be his downfall.

Adam and Eve had everything they could ever need in Paradise, as long as they remained obedient to God’s commands. However, their weak spot was a desire to misuse Power and become like God -- and this is the temptation to which they yielded, with disastrous results for humankind because of their disobedience. Jesus, however, remained focused on the word and plan of his Father, and thus was firmly obedient at all times.

Once we step outside the plan of God, made known to us in scripture through his Church, we become disobedient. When we step outside the guard rails that God has set up for us, and his desires for our right actions, then we are yielding to a different voice. This other voice lies to us, and always has its own evil agenda that tries to steer us to freely choose to misuse power, prestige, or possessions. In and of themselves, these three things are not sinful. It is only when we use our free will in a way that abuses our freedom, and abuses these three gifts, that we become disobedient to God.

Know Your Catechism! The Tempter will always try to drive a wedge between you and God, hoping you will doubt God’s providence and rely on your own strength. He did this to Adam and Eve, to the Israelites during the exodus in the desert, and he tried to do it to Jesus (CCC#538). During Lent the Church unites herself to this mystery of Jesus in the desert (CCC#540). It is very important for us to have a daily exposure to holy scripture, so that God’s plan, his word, becomes deeply embedded in our consciousness and becomes our protection as it did for Jesus during his own temptations (CCC#131,133).

Q462: The “temptations” that Jesus experienced (Matt 4:1-11) seem to parallel those of the Israelites when they were journeying in the desert. How does that affect “me”?

It’s the age-old story: we always encounter temptation in its three major forms. Those are the “three P’s” - the categories of power, prestige, and prosperity (one can also come up with different ‘labels’). You might even substitute two qualifying terms: “more” and “control.” The selfish person is never satisfied; he always wants “more” of everything. Above all, he wants to “control” his destiny, feeling that only he knows what is best for himself. There is no room for unselfishness in that picture. But now Jesus shows us the way out of that self-destructive behavior. He turns to prayer, fasting and scripture to sustain him, showing that he represents the “true Israel” who is always faithful to the covenant.

I just finished a presentation to a bible study class in which I stressed the importance of “grace” in our lives. All is grace. The foundation, the center, and the direction of our lives must always be focused on our dependence upon God. It is our loving relationship with God that needs the most attention, because it will always lead us to a loving relationship with others. The Evil One, of course, will try to lead us away from that; and in our pride we sometimes don’t even need his help in leading ourselves away from that loving relationship.

Jesus fasted and prayed in our Gospel story. A friend, Deacon Jim Bodine points out that true love is all about sacrifice. In fasting we sacrifice our love of “Self” so that we can become free to love God and others. In prayer we sacrifice our love of “time” to make time for the love of God. In almsgiving we sacrifice our love of “stuff” to make room for the love of others. With these three, we fulfill the Great Commandment. More importantly, without these three penitential actions operative in our lives, we will not be able to resist temptation. Think about that!

KNOW YOUR CATECHISM! The evil one is a lying seducer who tries to lead humanity into disobeying God (CCC #394). God will never let you be tested beyond your strength, and will show you a way out (CCC #2848). Pray for the gift of discernment, which unmasks the lie of temptation (CCC #2847).


Page last modified on February 03, 2008, at 12:42 PM