IN PRAISE OF Temptation (Mark 1:12-13)
The temptation described in today’s Gospel is a laceration carved into the flesh of Jesus. The forty days mentioned is not a time frame but a sign of what will accompany him all his life, from his time in the desert to the Garden of Olives.
He is tempted to believe that the face of God matches the one described and expected by the scribes, the Pharisees, the hungry, the poor, the sick.
The temptation to yield to the pleas of people without educating them to freedom.
The temptation to concede to power and violence.
The temptation to refuse to believe that God’s love reaches the point of sacrifice, blood and death.
The temptation to come down from the cross, to inaugurate a new worldwide flood, to betray human beings.
The profound temptation of Jesus to believe that everything has failed; that he has not been up to the task of making the Invisible visible and transparent.
The temptation to believe that love, when all is said and done, is easy: that it is not painful and does not involve tears; that it is a peaceful flutter of wings.
The temptation to be disappointed by the face of the Father; to feel betrayed, deluded and used by him.
The temptation to feel that life is not worth living.
