In working my way through Luke, I was reading commentaries about Jesus in the wilderness being tempted by satan. I was really struck by what the Navarre Bible says:
Our Lord's temptations sum up every kind of temptation man can experience: "Scripture would not have said," St. Thomas comments, "that once all the temptation ended the devil departed from him, unless the matter of all sins were included in the three temptations already related. For the cause of temptation are the causes of desires - namely, lust of the flesh, desire for glory, eagerness for power."
By conquering every kind of temptation, Jesus shows us how to deal with the snares of the devil. It was as a man that he was tempted and as a man that he resisted: "He did not act as God, bringing his power into play; if he had done so, how could we have availed of his example? Rather, as man he made use of the resources which he has in common with us." (St. Ambrose)
He wanted to show us the methods to use to defeat the devil - prayer, fasting, watchfulness, not dialoguing with temptation, having the words of God's Scripture on our lips and putting our trust in the Lord.
I looked at that and thought how it made that part of the Gospel come alive in my daily life. Those are all things that I can remember and use ... and need!
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