By Terry Lees
A MAN walked alone into a small Irish pub and ordered three beers.
He sat quietly at a table and drank them. The next day he was back, ordered three beers, and again sat alone and drank quietly. This repeated day after day and soon the whole town was whispering about the man, who ordered three beers at once.
Finally, the Barman decided to ask why he always ordered three beers.
“My two brothers live abroad, one in France the other in Italy,” the man said. “We agreed that every time we go to pub each of us will order an extra two beers to help keep the family bond.”
Soon the whole town heard about the Three Beer Man. However, one day the man ordered only two beers.
The barman served him with a bad feeling. The next day the town was talking about this news, some people praying for the soul of one of the brothers.
When the man returned and again ordered two beers, the barman said: “Please accept my condolences on the death of your dear brother”.
The man replied: “Oh no, my two brothers are alive and well. I just decided for myself. I’m giving up beer for Lent”.
There is no need for dramatic sacrifices for Lent. Taking time in prayer to look towards Jesus, allowing him to lovingly reveal himself, is all that God asks. Still, I do hope my Lenten resolutions are more effective than that of the Irishman!
The season of Lent is the forty-day liturgical season of fasting, prayer, and almsgiving in preparation for Easter. The Lenten journey is a time of darkness and light, our 40 days in the desert, a time of prayer, reflection, discernment, fasting. Jesus too spent 40 days in the desert – he doesn’t ask us to do something he himself wouldn’t do; thus, we walk the same road as Jesus.
It was in the desert the devil tempted Jesus. It just goes to show that if the devil is prepared to take on Jesus, the Son of God, why would he have any hesitation in coming after you and me? We can see this encounter in the desert as a massive battle between the forces of God’s Kingdom and those of evil. Jesus shows us how to take on temptation and not succumb to its distortion of the truth.
We notice too that Satan assails him near the end of his forty days. Jesus would have been tired, extremely hungry and at his physical and emotional weakest, and this is when Satan begins his cowardly attacks. It’s good to keep in mind – we are often attacked by temptation when we are at our lowest and most vulnerable. The powers and values that oppose the kingdom of heaven do not fight fair, but we must be prepared.
Pope Francis tells how Jesus resists the temptations of the devil. He says: “… the devil’s poisonous arrows are “blocked” by Jesus with the shield of God’s Word, which expresses the will of the Father. Jesus does not speak a word of his own: He responds only with the Word of God. Thus, the Son, filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, comes out of the desert victorious.
The Pope challenges us: During the 40 days of Lent, as Christians we are invited to follow in Jesus’ footsteps and face the spiritual battle with the Evil One with the strength of the Word of God. Not with our words: they are worthless. The Word of God: this has the strength to defeat Satan. For this reason, it is important to be familiar with the Bible: read it often, meditate on it, assimilate it. The Bible contains the Word of God, which is always timely and effective.
In the desert, Jesus struck the first blow against humanity’s alienation from God. This is faith, hope and love. Jesus shows you can defeat every negative thought that comes to your mind by the word of God. Just as the devil lied to Eve, he whispers lies to our minds, using our moments of weakness. If we are slightly angry with someone, he brings out all the earlier similar instances to our mind to increase our anger. But we should not allow him to win. We should recall all their good acts in the past and stay cool. Then we have won the war.
The word “Lent” is an old English word which means “springtime.” May this Lent be a new springtime in our lives. Through prayer, fasting, forgiving others, not bearing grudges and donating from our surplus to help the poor, may we, like Jesus in the desert, overcome temptation and be well prepared to celebrate Easter.
Keep your eyes on Jesus, have a golden day and treasure life.
