Who am I?
This seems to be one of the most consuming questions of the ages, especially of our age, where identity seems to be such a labile and questionable thing.
We live in an age where we are inundated with all kinds of self-help books that are guaranteed to help us find ourselves, our identities, until we don’t, and then just find ourselves even more lost. And I think this is probably one of the main lessons in today’s Gospel reading. Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, shows us who he is and who we are: beloved children of God. And, as importantly, that we are worthy of that love.
And, also as importantly, Jesus shows us how wily the devil is in trying to undermine us with his temptations; how he uses what he thinks may make us doubt ourselves and God. In Jesus’ case, he uses bread, power, and safety. And I’m sure the devil has used those on us as well; however, it could as easily be youth, beauty, and wealth. Or confidence, fame, and security.
It seems the devil wants to undermine Jesus’ knowledge and faith that he is enough, that he is secure, and that he is worthy of God’s love. The truth is, we will all experience temptations differently; however, ultimately, they are all the same; they seek to shift our association, trust, and confidence away from God and toward some substitute that promises a more seemingly secure identity. And, as we know from experience, this is purely illusory and fictional.
I think that temptation mostly is not a temptation toward something, often portrayed as doing something we shouldn’t do, but, rather, it is usually the temptation away from something, particularly our relationship with God and the identity we receive in and through that relationship.
I think as Christians we too often focus on all the things we shouldn’t do, instead of pointing us to the gift and grace of our identity as children of God. But the devil knows better. It’s interesting how each of the devil’s temptations of Jesus seeks to corrode or deny Jesus’ confidence in this relationship with God and therefore weaken Jesus’ identity.
In today’s world of instant and constant information, and attractions and distractions, we are under constant assault, every single day, by tempting messages that seek to draw our attention away from the God who so dearly loves us, toward some meagre substitute. So, it would serve us well to remember that God loves us more than anything. He loves us enough to send his only Son into the world to take on our lot and life, to suffer the same temptations and wants, to be rejected as we often feel rejected and to die as we will die, all so that we may know God is with us and for us forever.
And none of this is remotely possible if we are not, like Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit.
As always, the time of Lent is focused on self-denial, sacrifice, and the resisting of temptation. This may be true; however, is it possible that we might instead imagine that Lent could be an ideal time during which we remind each other of the love and grace of God delivered for us in abundance on the cross? May we therefore enter Lent with our eyes fastened on the cross, because in that difficult image we perceive most clearly God’s empowering love for us and all the world.
God loves us and will keep loving us no matter what, and for this reason we are enough, and we know who we are. I know that I need to hear this said again and again, as, in the face of all the messages to the contrary, that promise is so difficult to believe.
Yet, this may help us to answer that age-old question: Who am I?