Fasting is becoming increasingly unfashionable these days. Yet, as many saints and holy people would verify,
going without food and our other daily comfort is the best way to sharpen our senses and balance essentials and non-essentials in our lives.
Jesus must have been exceedingly hungry after a fast of forty days! (If you try to fast from food for a day or two, you will get a slight idea of his hunger.) The writer to the Hebrews tells us that Jesus was ‘put to the test in exactly the same way as ourselves’ (Hebrews 4:15). That is why, after his sense of God’s calling and love was so dramatically confirmed at his baptism, Jesus had
to face the whispering voices and recognise them for what they were. These suggestions of Satan were all ways of distorting his true vocation: to be a truly human being, God’s person, and Servant to the world and all its people.
Jesus could have easily called upon his godly powers to provide food and everything he desired. But this would have distracted him from looking to and depending on his heavenly Father for his needs and protection. He would also be diverted from obeying his Father’s calling or vocation. So here, Jesus allows the Spirit to remind him of appropriate words from scripture to use in his defence
against Satan. How beautifully his chosen scripture speaks of the essential and perfect balance of partaking both of food of the earth and spiritual food from God!
In what ways does my busy, noisy life prevent me from discerning a proper balance between what is essential and non-essential?
Do I, like Jesus, know my God-given calling and vocation, and defend it vigorously?
Do I allow the Spirit to call to mind God’s words in scripture so that I can confront the devil effectively?
Ponder and pray about this today.
