Mtr Mary Trainor

Tempted and tried, we’re oft made to wonder,
why it should be thus, all the day long;
while there are others living about us,
never molested though in the wrong.

Dear friend,

Temptation confronts us at nearly every turn. Even as we struggle to face down the tempter, in whatever form the tempter takes, we are never very far from the possibility of danger.

Sometimes temptation leads us to worry about how others are managing their temptations, or not managing them, instead, completely succumbing to temptation with no apparent consequence.

Temptation--our own and other people’s--is a kind of quicksand for the spirit, looking safe enough until we take the first few steps.

Our Office reading today is Luke’s account (4:1-13) of the temptation of Jesus. Son of God. Fresh from baptism. Full of the Holy Spirit. And still, the tempter dangles the lure of food, then power, then glory; and ultimately a dare: Go ahead, if you are the son of God, jump from this high space. God will save you. Temptations to satisfy physical hunger, need for position, ego. And Jesus bested the devil at every turn.

The words at the beginning of this Daily Bread are from Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing II, approved for use in the Episcopal Church. It contains spirituals dating to other places and other times, as well as standards from evangelical traditions. The song? Farther Along. Its refrain echoes its title: Farther along we'll know all about it. Farther along we'll understand why.

Why did Jesus have to face temptation? I don’t know. People, including some of the great theologians, have grappled with this and other holy mysteries since Jesus walked the dusty paths of Palestine. In the end, it remains a mystery, another thing we take on faith.

This account in Luke is a great comfort to me. It tells me I am saved by a God who knows what I face in this world, who understands how seductive power can be, how hunger motivates, how ego contorts good judgment.

It is strength for the journey through my own wilderness. Someone went there first and, not only survived, prevailed.

For now, that is all the knowledge I need. Later, I’ll know all about it. Farther along, I’ll understand why...

Mtr. Mary