Following is the text of the  meditation by His Beatitude Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, for the first Sunday of Lent, dated March 9, 2025:

 

The evangelist Luke places the episode of Jesus' temptations in the desert immediately after the section on the genealogy. (Luke 3:23-38) And unlike Matthew, in his account of the generations that have preceded the birth of Jesus, he goes back not only to Abraham, but even to the first man, Adam.

 

Chapter 3 of the Gospel therefore ends with the words: "...son of Adam, son of God." (Luke 3:38)

 

Immediately afterwards, the account of the temptations begins, (Luke 4:1-13) and for the reader of the Gospel, the connection is clear and immediate: Adam, the Son of God, is not only the first man, but also the first man to be tempted. The serpent suggests a different word than the Creator had spoken to him, and Adam, together with his wife Eve, listens to it. From the very beginning, man is called upon to face temptation and sin, the freedom to decide for or against goodness and life.

 

Temptation is therefore the concrete possibility of living one's humanity not according to God's original plan, but according to one's own will, to follow a different path than that which the Creator has set and which is inscribed in the heart of man.

 

It is God himself who gives man this freedom: He does not force him to obey, but always presents him with two paths so that man can consciously choose to love God. The account in Genesis 3 tells us that this alternative path does not lead to life, but to death, and therefore warns man at all times to examine whether or not he is taking a path of life.

 

Jesus does not shy away from this drama, which is shared by all people at all times: He too undergoes the suggestion that proposes paths other than that of God the Father.

 

“Led by the Spirit into the desert”, (Luke 4:1) he experiences his own limitations and neediness, and it is there that temptation occurs (“For forty days he was tempted by the devil. During those days he ate nothing, but when they were over, he was hungry.” (Luke 4:2)

 

In what way? What stands between man and the possibility of realizing his humanity in all its fullness?

 

We do not dwell so much on the temptations, but with Jesus’ answers to Satan, because Jesus does nothing other than put man back in his right place in God’s original plan and correct the distorted image that the devil tries to convey to him.

 

Firstly, man is the one who hears the Word of God and lives by it (“Jesus answered him: «It is written: One does not live by bread alone»”. (Luke 4:4)

 

The evidence says that man needs food, bread, in order to live. But this need is not enough to say who man is, that he is inhabited by a deeper hunger. And the hunger for bread is precisely a sign and an indication of this deeper hunger: if we stop at the first, our life will not mature to its fullness.

 

Temptation suggests that these two needs are antagonistic to each other and that the Father will not give enough bread: We have to get it ourselves.

 

Jesus, on the other hand, trusts and agrees to be fed by the One who cares for our lives.

 

Secondly, man only becomes king and lord of his own life at the moment when he prostrates himself before no one more than the God who created him. If he thinks he can gain glory and honor by prostrating himself before the power of the day, he actually becomes its slave and loses himself “If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” Jesus answered him, “It is written, «Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him»”. (Luke 4:7-8)

 

The temptation suggests that power is more important than freedom. Jesus, on the other hand, does not negotiate with anyone for the glory of God, who is the free and living man.

 

Finally, man does not become himself when he acts like God, when he exceeds the limits, when he goes beyond his own possibilities.

 

He does not become better if he does extraordinary things, and he does not get any further if he seeks the looks, admiration and approval of others. He will not find God in this way, but in humble, daily obedience to a law that protects man from himself, that enables him to enter into true relationships and to take his place in the world.

 

Temptation suggests that God, if he is good, will protect man no matter what (“If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here”… Jesus answered him, “It is said, «Do not put the Lord your God to the test.” (Luke 4:9-12)

 

Jesus, on the other hand, protects God from every false image that man makes of Him. And because He loves the Father, He trusts Him without asking Him for proof of His goodness, and He leaves Him free to love as God knows how to love, because it is this love and nothing else that makes man great.

 

+ Pierbattista