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     Lent is not just a time to decide what you are going to "give up" for forty days.  It is a time when we can come to terms with what kind of person we want to be and take steps to ensure that we become that person.  The gospel scripture for this First Sunday of Lent shows us that even Jesus had to undergo a test to determine what kind of person he would be.  The devil knows that Jesus is the Son of God, but the devil also knows that Jesus is fully human as well, and this is where temptation finds a home.  Jesus is tempted to take advantage of his identity as Son of God to be a kind of "super-human."  In other words, he is tempted to abuse and cheapen both his divine and human identity.  He is tempted to feed himself, enrich himself, and get a special rescue from a jump off the temple.  All of this brings together selfishness and the power to indulge that selfishness.

     The decision that Jesus faced is one we all face.  We are tempted to selfishness, just as Adam and Eve were.  And when we realize that we do have the power to indulge that selfishness, it is difficult to resist the temptation that lies before us.  It will take many forms: political power, food and drink, material possessions, relationships, substances, internet offerings, etc. etc.  The process may start slowly with an inner dialog like Adam and Eve had.  But before long we discover that we have become the slave of the temptation and not its ruler!!

     If we decide that we are children of God and members of the Body of Christ, then any temptation that erodes that identity should be a warning: SLAVERY AHEAD.  The temptations offered to Jesus in the desert would have made him less than what he was sent to be.  The desert of Lent comes each year to challenge us to self-examination about our real identity and how we must act in accord with it.  AMEN