The Original Temptation
ONE
The Lie
We have been reflecting on the truth that God is an all-good and loving Father. He created this wonderful world and the angels and humans because He wanted to share His life and all his goodness with us. You have a Father who is God. You are loved. You are safe.
Satan is the absolute destroyer. He seeks only one thing, to destroy the Fatherhood of God in the world.
Satan does this by spreading a lie that sows doubt in the goodness of God. The lie is this; God is not your Father. He is a master, and you are his slaves. He keeps you under his control by his laws. If you want to be free and like God, then you must break free from God and religion and make your own rules, determine for yourself what is good and evil, right and wrong. Then you too will be gods.
In his book Crossing the Threshold of Hope Pope St. John Paul II write; “As we know from Revelation, in human history the “rays of fatherhood” meet a first resistance in the obscure but real fact of original sin. This is truly the key for interpreting reality…(Satan) attempts to abolish fatherhood, destroying its rays which permeate the created world, placing in doubt the truth about God who is Love and leaving man only with a sense of the master-slave relationship. As a result, the Lord appears jealous of His power over the world and over man; and consequently, man feels goaded to do battle against God. No differently than in any epoch of history, the enslaved man is driven to take sides against the master who kept him enslaved.”
TWO
The Original Temptation holds true today.
We see the strategy of Satan in Genesis chapter 3, when the serpent said to the woman;
"Did God say; `You shall not eat of any tree of the garden'?" And the woman said to the serpent… ‘God said, `You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.'" But the serpent said to the woman, "You will not die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."
The implication is this: God is keeping you from happiness by his moral law. God told you not to eat of the Tree because He does not want you to become like Him. He is not a loving Father. He is a Master and you are his slaves. It’s God’s laws that have enslaved you.
With this lie, the devil sows doubt in the Goodness of God, this doubt leads to fear of God and disobedience.
Pope Benedict XVI said; “This was also the great temptation of the modern age, of the past three or four centuries.” More and more people have thought and said; “This God does not give us our freedom; with all his commandments, he restricts the space in our lives. So God has to disappear; we want to be autonomous and independent. Without God we ourselves would be gods and do as we pleased.”
THREE
Removing God from the world leaves us alone and afraid.
The Lie of Satan tempts us to say; “God has to disappear; we want to be autonomous and independent. Without God we ourselves would be gods and do as we pleased.”
So, we have removed God and now we are afraid because we are alone in the world.
When I ask most young people what governs the universe, many respond – Nothing. We are at the mercy of random chaotic forces, or evil selfish people and it is survival of the fittest.
Once we removed God from the world, then we were left on our own. No one has your back. Everything depends on you. So get busy, stay on top of everything, and control all the variables. There is no God guiding all things for good. Nothing governs the universe. Everything happens by random chance and bad stuff just happens.
Then I start to think: There are 8 billion people on the planet who all have free will making stupid decisions that affect me in a chaotic universe with no one at the wheel. So, either I control everything – which is impossible – but we still try - which is why we suffer all our neurosis – or if we don’t control things, then we are the irresponsible losers at the mercy of the stronger people and the chaotic world. And this leaves us full of anxiety and anger and hate!
FOUR
Jesus Christ comes to take away our fear.
St. John Paul II in Crossing the Threshold of Hope writes; “We need, perhaps more than ever, the words of the Risen Christ; “Be not afraid!”…Peoples and nations of the entire world need to hear these words. Their conscience needs to grow in the certainty that Someone exists who holds in His hands the destiny of this passing world; Someone who holds the keys to death and the netherworld. (cf. Rev 1:18) Someone who is the Alpha and the Omega of human history (cf. Rev 22:13)—be it the individual or collective history. And this Someone is Love (cf. 1 Jn 4:8, 16)—Love that became man, Love crucified and risen, Love unceasingly present among men. It is Eucharistic Love. It is the infinite source of communion. He alone can give the ultimate assurance when He says “Be not afraid!”
FIVE
Return to the Father.
In some way we are all like the prodigal son who wants to be rid of his father so he can do whatever he pleases. He goes far away, living a life of pleasure and sin, but he comes up empty. How often have we come up empty?
Then he comes to his senses and leaves that place of sin and returns to the Father, confessing his sin, and the Father heaps upon him his merciful love.
In what way have we given into the lie of Satan – that God is a Master we want to be rid of so we can do as we please? Recognize those tendencies in yourself. Then turn to God the Father and say; “Father, you know me. You know my temptations and the ways I have turned away from you. I am sorry.” Then take these to the Sacrament of Confession. When was the last time you went to confession? Maybe it is time again.
How can we grow to trust Our Father more?
a. You can’t trust someone you don’t know.
b. You can’t get to know someone without spending time with him.
c. Spend time with God in silence and solitude, that means put away the distractions.
d. Then think about all the good in your life, all the blessings and gifts – these came from God.
e. Then ask yourself – which of God’s directions, if I lived them, would really lead me to be a slave? Are not all of them designed to make me a free and excellent person?
Postscript
Rosary on the Road at St Susanna Parish Just outside of Cincinnati Nov 21 5 PM Dave@SOF.com