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Before Jesus began his ministry he was led by the Spirit into the desert and for forty days in silence and solitude he struggled with the Devil. Matthew records the three different temptations Jesus encountered which were intended to entice Him away from His calling. In his book ‘In the Name of Jesus’ Henri Nouwen discusses these three temptations as ones we all face in our Christian journey.

The first temptation Nouwen declares is the temptation to be relevant: “If you are the Son of God, turn these stones into bread.’ (Matthew 4:3) In ministry we face this similar temptation. He states “Are we not called to do something that makes a difference in people’s lives? Aren’t we called to heal the sick, feed the hungry and alleviate the suffering of the poor? Jesus was faced with the same questions, but when he was asked to prove his power as the Son of God by the relevant power of changing stones into bread, he clung to his mission to proclaim the word and said, “Human beings live not by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” (7)

Perhaps in our attempt to be relevant when many in ministry feel that what they are doing makes absolutely no difference in the lives of people we want to appear relevant by meeting the needs of people. Nouwen challenges us to be careful and to be aware of this temptation which on the surface seems to be so subtle. For Nouwen the “leader of the future will be one who dares to claim his irrelevance in the contemporary world as a divine vocation that allows him or her to enter into a deep solidarity with the anguish underlying all the glitter of success and to bring the light of Jesus there.” (8)

The second temptation is to be spectacular, to do something that would win him the approval and applause of the crowd. “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from the highest pinnacle…He will command his angels concerning you and they will lift you up in their hands so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.” (Matthew 4:6) Nouwen states “Jesus refused to be a stunt man. He did not come to prove himself … When you look at today’s Church, it is easy to see the prevalence of individualism among ministers and priests. Not too many of us have a vast repertoire of skills to be proud of, but most of us still feel that if we have anything at all to show, it is something we have to do solo….Stardom and individual heroism, which are such obvious aspects of our competitive society, are not at all alien to the Church. There too the dominant image is that of the self - made man or woman who can do it all alone.” (9)

The third temptation is the temptation of power. “Again the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendour. All this I will give you if you will bow down and worship me” (Matthew 4:8-9) Nouwen writes “One of the greatest ironies of the history of Christianity is that its leaders constantly gave in to the temptation of power…The temptation to consider power an apt instrument for the proclamation of the Gospel is the greatest of all. We keep hearing from others, as well as saying to ourselves, that having power-provided it is used in the service of God and your fellow human beings-is a good thing. With this rationalization, crusades took place; inquisitions were organized; Indians were enslaved; positions of great influence were desired; Episcopal palaces were built; and much moral manipulation of conscience was engaged in.

What makes the temptation to power so seemingly irresistible? Maybe it is that power offers an easy substitute for the hard task of love. It seems easier to be God than to love God, easier to control people than to love people, easier to own life than to love life.

One thing is clear; the temptation of power is greatest when intimacy is a threat. Much Christian leadership is exercised by people who do not know how to develop healthy, intimate relationships and have opted for power and control instead. Many Christian empire-builders have been people unable to give and receive love.” (10)

We are told that at the conclusion of the three temptations ‘the devil left him and angels came and ministered to him”. (Matthew 4:11)

Jesus did not succumb to the temptations, but that does not mean they were over. At the end of his ministry we see the challenge Jesus would face. Alone in the garden of Gethsemane with his three closest followers asleep Jesus again faced an incredible challenge. Would he accept the will of the Father and walk in obedience to the cross or evade the ones who sought his death. The agony was so great that ‘his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground’. (Luke 22:46)

There will be times when we are alone and the silence is pervasive, that temptations will arise within us.

Solitude also brings periods of testing. We do not need to run from it, in fact there is a sense in which we can almost welcome it if we bring God with us into the situation. If we know the presence and power of the living Christ in our life then we know that he is with us and that ‘He who is in us is greater than he who is in the world’. Not only will we grow through this experience but we will be victorious if we hold onto Christ.