And then he led me into temptation! (Luke 4:1-13)
If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.
Not a bad idea.
When you are walking from the desert to the Jordan something starts looking good. It is God who invented it, it is called manna, and it is a divine sign.
But when you are making the journey in reverse, like Jesus did, from the river to the desert, you are entering temptation. And therefore, Jesus brings his promise to a radical level. It is no longer a time for performing miracles, it is not the stone that must become bread, it is man who must freely become Eucharistic bread.
I will transform you into bread.
The devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the earth in a moment of time… if you will worship me.
Not a bad idea.
From above, the tempter says that ultimately power is not evil, it is enough to call it service. But Jesus remains standing and says that he wants nothing of this. Nothing will be mine because everything and everyone will be free.
Jesus is so free that he decides to betray man’s expectations.
To go beyond even the biblical words, to find shallow waters, to pass through the river to the desert, to the foundation of everything, where we learn that freedom does not mean verifying the reliability of those who say they love us, nor putting them to the test.
Love is not a life put to the test but a life that asks to be tested by Love.
Loving proves that we are alive and free.
