Dear People Whom God Loves,
We turn now to the temptations of Jesus. For me, they offer an insight into why so many different kinds of people were drawn to Jesus. They also help me to understand why he was a threat to others.
The first temptation from the devil was to turn the stones into bread. Obviously, Jesus was hungry from fasting. I do believe that there is something much deeper. It says to me that Jesus, being fully human, had all of our human fleshly desires. He had to face them and accept that they were there. He had to struggle with them in order to make good choices that were truly good and loving. Jesus realized that the reign of God that He was to preach and bring forth was the loving, merciful, compassion of Abba for everyone. Sinners (which I think means all of us) were to be drawn into that reign.
Because Jesus in His humanness had to struggle in His temptations, He was able to have empathy with us in our struggle to make good choices…also, to have the empathy for us when we do sin and to assure us that the merciful love of Abba can heal us from our sins and woundedness. People, with their wounds and sins, could feel safe in coming to Jesus.
Jesus, with this human compassion and empathy, could help people feel the compassion and empathy of Abba. Recall the story of the woman caught in the act of adultery. Jesus saved her, accepted her, and loved her. Only then did He say to her, “from now on avoid this sin.” Notice that Jesus didn’t make her change before He loved her. He loved Her first and that gave her the courage, strength, and hope that allowed her to change. It is so easy for us to make the mistake that condemning people helps them change. I wonder if what is behind our condemning is the satisfaction of feeling superior. When we face our own woundedness and sin, we are less likely to fall in that trap.
Smile, God Loves You,
Father Clay
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