A man approached me on Ash Wednesday to inquire what he could give up for Lent. Before I could say a word, he started dishing out a laundry list of behaviors he thought he could give up for Lent. You’ll find this list interesting: Pornography, smoking, lying, speeding, messing around with women, and hatred of Hispanics. Perhaps you’re one of those thinking of what to give up or maybe made a similar list as the one above. The problem with the list is what happens when the forty days of Lent are over. I told him to bring that list to confession but find a better one for Lent.
To know exactly the kind of behaviors to give up for Lent, the Church offers us a clue through Luke’s presentation of the temptation of Jesus. But the first clue doesn’t pertain to what is given up, rather, what is taken up. The evangelist introduces us to this season with the words; “Filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit through the wilderness, being tempted there by the devil for forty days” (Luke 4:1). The most important ingredient for a good Lent is being filled with the Holy Spirit. Without the action of the Holy Spirit our fast will become self-indulgence. The forty days journey through the desert of Lent will become at best an exercise in self-adulation about how my inquiring friend was able to go forty days without viewing porn or speeding or hating other people. He would be craving for Easter to come so he might return to the bad habits he had given up for Lent. Bad idea.
However, if we recognize that the Holy Spirit is responsible for this season, we will become open to Him as He reveals to us our inconstancies, our frailties and our inability to win the battle with the enemy on our own. Then at the end of our fast, we, like Jesus will be able to see that our problem is not hunger but greed. The plea to become a baker rather than a Savior was a ploy to distract Jesus from His Redemptive purpose. For us, it is a plea to satisfy the pallets while leaving inner nakedness. Secondly, we will realize, like Jesus, that it is avarice, not the possession of material goods which is evil. Avarice means bowing to mammon as we seek to possess material goods—“All these I will give to you if you bow down and worship me” (Luke 4:7). We bow to mammon when we cheat, lie, use others, and twist things in order to get rich. For example, a young girl tormented by guilt told how her mom who wanted sole control of her husband’s wealth coached her to testify in court that her dad sexually molested her. She got rich by bowing to the devil while her husband languished in prison. Thirdly, we will learn that it is vanity, not success which enchants the human heart to prevaricate and take devil-may-care risks. All the praises we accord ourselves, the pride of life, the “show off,” the vainglory that comes before our downfall is the devil leading us to the parapet of the temple and convincing us to fall to our ruin. There you find rooted: hatred, violence, lust, and intemperance.
As was the case with Jesus, God does not prevent temptations from coming to us. St. John Chrysostom outlines why God allows us to be tempted. First, to teach us that we need to be on our guard. Second, so we may remain humble and not be puffed off by the greatness of our gifts, since temptations have the power to repress us. Third, that the wicked demon, who for a while might be doubtful of our desertion of him, may well be assured by the touchstone of temptation that we have forsaken and fallen from him. Fourth, that we may in this way be made stronger and better tempered than any steel. And fifth, that we may obtain a clear demonstration of the treasures entrusted to us. For the rest of us who continue to fail in our many temptations, the realization that Christ hasn’t yet taken hold of our lives should cause us to fall at the door of His mercy this Lent, begging Him to strengthen us in our weakness. His door or mercy is open!
Fr. Chukwudi Jo Okonkwo