Put to the Test

How do we find out how strong something is? By testing it.

Companies put their products - whether they be cars or concrete blocks - through numerous trials to see how they will hold up under pressure. Olympic athletes race against others in their class, pushing every muscle in their bodies to see who is the fastest. Only by putting ourselves under strain and pushing ourselves to our limit can we know how strong we are.

How does God know how strong our faith is? By allowing us to be tested and seeing how we react. He allows obstacles to be placed in the way of our hopes and dreams to see if we keep our hearts set on his will or if we'll fall into despair. He allows others to bad mouth us to see if we desire his will over the esteem of our peers. And he allows temptations to dog us to see if we will remain faithful to the vows of our baptism.

In this Sunday's gospel, the Father allows Jesus to be put to the test by Satan. Normally, Satan would keep his distance from the Son of God. But Jesus has taken on a human nature, and it will be through his humanity that he will deliver all of creation from the grip of sin and death. Satan never has much trouble tempting human flesh, but to be extra sure, he waits until the end of Jesus' fast, when he is at his weakest, to attack him. Satan approaches Jesus and says to him in effect:

I know who you are. You can't expect to take this human nature thing seriously. As the Son of God, you have never wanted for anything. Will you let yourself suffer the pangs of hunger when you can turn these stones to bread? As the Son of God, the stars of the sky and the armies of heaven obey your command. Will you allow yourself to be subject to those fools, King Herod and Pontius Pilate? Or will you worship me and allow me to give you all the kingdoms of the earth to rule? As the Son of God you never feared injury or death. Would you not throw yourself off from the summit of the temple and show all of Jerusalem that your Heavenly Father will not allow one hair of your head to be harmed? Throw off your human nature with its frailty and save the world as only an Almighty God can!

Sounds tempting, doesn't it?

But Jesus does not throw off his human nature. He would rather inhale dust from the desert floor than follow the path of worldly power and glory.

Why? So that we could experience, in the weakness and suffering which is common to every person, the victory of Jesus in our flesh. If Jesus saved the world through strength and power, then only the strong and powerful could share in his victory. But if he prevails through weakness, then everyone can take part in trouncing the evil one.

Satan's testing of Jesus revealed a strength hidden in his human nature, but not the strength the Devil expected. It is the strength of faith - a strength that doesn't rely on immediate, material results - but which relies simply on God and his word. It is a strength which doesn't prove itself through violence and conquest, but through humble acceptance of suffering and weakness.

We are no better than Jesus. We will be put to the test to see how strong our faith is. It might not be God who puts us to the test or the Devil. Many times it is the people around us. They want to know if we really are who we say we are or if we are frauds. They are checking to see if we will be drawn into the gossip at the office. They want to see if we will do anything when someone ridicules Church teaching or blasphemes Jesus' holy name. People are constantly putting stumbling blocks in our way in hopes that we will fall so they can dismiss our way of life as hypocritical or superstitious.

We will have to be kind and patient in return. We will not win such people over by logical arguments and quotes from Scripture. Rather it will be our willingness to undergo it humbly that will reveal the hidden strength of faith and convince others that there is more to being Christian than following rules and attending services. Then we will share in Jesus' victory, a victory that only the meek can inherit.