Why does God permit temptation? God created us to love Him, but there can be no love without freedom. We cannot force someone to love us, they must choose to do so. God created us with free will, knowing that we might make the wrong choice. If we cannot choose to love God freely, then we cannot love Him at all. Seen positively, temptation provides us with the opportunity to choose to love God.

Today’s readings address the theme of temptation. Temptation is not necessarily about being drawn towards something bad. The tree in the Garden of Eden was not, in itself, something bad. “The woman saw that the tree was good to eat and pleasing to the eye.” Nothing in God’s Creation can be considered bad. God’s creation is good! Likewise, in the Gospel, the objects of Christ’s temptations are not bad – bread is good; the desire to show faith in God is good and the splendour of the world’s Kingdoms is not something objectively evil. In both Genesis and the Gospel, the devil is subtle in tempting man. It is easy to avoid outright evil – it is not so easy to resist temptations which involve the abuse of something good. When we sin, it is not temptation that is the problem – it is our response to temptation. Adam and Eve failed to see through the serpent’s lies and so, disobeyed God. Like our first parents, Christ too was tempted, but His response was one of obedience to God.

It is important to note that Christ’s period of temptation began immediately after His Baptism. Having been anointed by the Spirit, Christ commences His spiritual combat in the strength of God. Likewise, we need not face temptation alone – we too are strengthened by that same Spirit given to us at our baptism.

As human beings, we find it difficult to face up to our failures and our sins. Nevertheless, we are all painfully aware of the wrong choices we have made in life. Moreover, our failure to resist temptation affects more than our own lives. Our sin has consequences on those around us and on the society in which we live. There is no such thing as private or personal sin. St. Paul reminds us in that second reading that “Sin entered the world through one man, and through sin, death, and thus, death has spread through the whole human race.” That’s the bad news! The good news is what St. Paul says later, “As by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by one man’s obedience, many will be made righteous.” Just as disobedience to God’s Will has a negative social effect, so too, our acts of obedience have a positive effect.

Our faith is primarily about salvation, not condemnation. Unless we are aware of our own sins, we will not be aware of our need of a Saviour; and if we don’t need a Saviour, we don’t need the Sacraments and the Church. As Lent begins, we are invited to make the difficult journey into the barren and empty desert of our own hearts, but it is in that desert that we shall find Christ. And gradually, as we face up to our sins and failures, especially in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, God’s grace will transform the desert of our hearts, created by our disobedience, into the Garden of Eden, whose fertile soil brings forth in abundance the fruits of obedience.