First Sunday of Lent -- Jesus is Tempted in the Desert

The Gospel reading for the first Sunday of Lent in both the Ordinary Form (Novus Ordo) and the Extraordinary Form (Traditional Latin Mass) recounts the temptation of Jesus in the desert after His forty days of prayer and fasting:


Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.  And he fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterward he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread." But he answered, "It is written, `Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'" Then the devil took him to the holy city, and set him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written, `He will give his angels charge of you,' and `On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.'" Jesus said to him, "Again it is written, `You shall not tempt the Lord your God.'" Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them;  and he said to him, "All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me." Then Jesus said to him, "Begone, Satan! for it is written, `You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.'" Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and ministered to him. -- St. Matthew 4:1-11 (RSV translation)


It is interesting that many of the Fathers of the Church have extended commentaries on this passage and they are able to point out so many allegorical meanings to this event. One I found the most interesting was the observation that when Christ Himself suffered wrong at the hands of the Devil, being tempted by him he did not send him away, but only after the Devil usurps the honor due to God that the Lord tells him to begone. In other words, Jesus has given us the example to bear injuries and insults to ourselves with magnanimity, but never to tolerate insult to God.


How often do we look the other way when our society puts forward insult after insult to our God? While God clearly does not need His honor defended, we who love Him are obligated to answer and correct anything or anyone who takes from God what is His due.