A fisherman ventured out to sea. All was going well until a thunderstorm broke. He desperately prayed to God to save him. A bigger boat passed by and offered to help. But he refused, adding, “My hope is in God alone.” A yacht passed by and offered to pick him up. He refused again, saying, “My hope is in God alone.” A big ship came by. He again refused help, saying, “My hope is in God alone.”
The storm became more ferocious and the fisherman’s little boat sank, taking him down with it. When he appeared before the Lord, the fisherman protested, “Lord, you betrayed me! I put all my hope in you and yet you abandoned me when I most needed you.” God replied, “My son, I sent you a boat, then a yacht and then a big ship. Yet you refused them all. What else could I have done for you?”
In last Sunday’s gospel we saw Jesus facing three temptations that we too face. The first is: “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” We want God to do our homework. We love his miracles and wonders. If he loves us he should satisfy our needs. He is a loving Father and provider, isn’t he?! He should feed us and protect us, shouldn’t he?!
Our first temptation is transforming the gift of love into a right we take for granted. How hard it is to humbly receive the love of others as a free gift without turning it into a right or a demand! Life is all about me and my rights. But real love is when both lover and beloved forget about the gifts and gratefully rejoice in the love of the giver. Our temptation is to stop at the gift and forget all about the giver.
Real love is when both lover and beloved forget about the gifts and gratefully rejoice in the love of the giver
The second temptation is power and pride. “I shall give to you power and glory if you worship me,” says the devil. We are terrified of our vulnerability. So we get addicted to power to cover the fear of our fragility. We mistake power for strength. But no power can save us. Only strength, freedom, responsibility and integrity does. My happiness and well-being depends not on what I receive but on welcoming what life gives me and freely letting go of what life takes away.
The third temptation is abdicating from our responsibility, expecting life to give us what we need and letting angels do our dirty work. “With their hands they will support you, lest you dash your foot against a stone.” Putting our trust in God does not mean making him work out our lives. It means responsibly facing life as it comes – whether in a little boat or a big ship – to navigate the storms of life.
Lent is not just a time for penance and fasting but a time to taste the bitter-sweetness of the freedom to say “no” to our attachments and “yes” to whatever life offers us. St Paul calls this “the freedom of the children of God”.
Hope is not waiting for good things to happen. It is peacefully welcoming everything that happens.