What are the specific temptations of the Lent that we have just started?
Every year on the first Sunday of Lent we read the account of Jesus’ temptations in the desert. This past Sunday we read Mark’s version, which is much more succinct than the more elaborate ones of Matthew and Luke: «At that point the Spirit sent Jesus out toward the desert. He stayed in the desert forty days, tempted by Satan; he was with the wild beasts and angels waited on him» (Mk 1: 12-13). It is, without a doubt, a symbolic account that anticipates the entire life of Jesus. We could compare it to a cinematic trailer, when in one or two minutes we are given an overview of the entire film that will soon be released: in an instant we see the faces of the main characters and we capture the "flavor" of the story that then it will be explained to us in detail. In the “trailer” of the gospel that Mark gives us, we discover that the whole of Jesus’ life (represented by the forty days) he was driven and inspired by the Spirit that had descended on him on the day of his baptism; that his whole life was a journey through the desert (the desert of so much incomprehension that he had to endure); that he was constantly tempted (how many times did Jesus consider throwing in the towel and abandoning his mission?); and that he always lived surrounded by beasts (his many adversaries, from the Pharisees to the high priests of Jerusalem) and served by angels (those who helped him in his mission, from his disciples to the friends who welcomed him into their homes, like Martha, Mary and Lazarus).
What is particular about this story is that Mark does not specify what the temptations were. Unlike Matthew and Luke, who will talk about turning stones into bread, about power and glory, or about putting God to the test with Jesus' gesture of jumping from the parapet of the temple, here we are simply told that Jesus «was tempted.» And this helps us to understand that there are many temptations, that everyone has their own, and that we would always do well to ask ourselves what ours are.
In this sense, there may be some specific temptations for us during this Lent.
It is now a year since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, and twelve months later we are still immersed in it. Does not this context create the conditions for particular temptations? We think so—and we should probably examine them.
First, the temptation to give up. Tired, fatigued by the bad news, by so much pain lived and shared, by so much anxiety and uncertainty, perhaps the first temptation we must face, today more than ever, is that of discouragement—the temptation to stop fighting for the future of our families and to stop yearning for a tomorrow that may be attractive and worthwhile living.
The second may be the temptation to think, in the face of so much pain, that others exist only to serve me: that, somehow, my suffering is more serious and real and deep than yours. And, then, to forget that we are called to be these angels that the gospel spoke about—in any circumstance, whether there is a pandemic or not: to be ready to serve others. It is the temptation to forget about service. To give up being angels.
Then there is the temptation to become wild beasts. Hunted by the difficult and complicated context of the pandemic, we may feel justified to lose decency, respect, kindness, and behave in ways that, prior to the pandemic, would seem unacceptable to us. As if, in these uncertain times, everything would be allowed. In fact, many places have already been experiencing an increase in crime these last months. It is an effect of the crisis that we are experiencing, when some, in the midst of so much need, may assume that it is logical and acceptable to abandon the values that they previously held, and begin to live according to the law of the jungle .
The last temptation of the present time that we will mention (there could be more) is to turn social distancing into emotional and affective distance, and home confinement into mental isolation. There is no question that we must continue to practice all measures of prudence to take care of ourselves. Yet, we must also ensure that social distancing does not lead us to emotionally distance ourselves from others, and that confinement does not lead us to enclose ourselves in our little world of worries, forgetting that, beyond our homes, out there, there is a world of needy people.
Assuming that these may be some of the temptations that may haunt us during this Lent may be the best way to overcome them.
