Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. He fasted for forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was hungry. The tempter approached and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become loaves of bread." He said in reply, "It is written: 'One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.'"   

Human beings, whether in the first moment of their existence, or in the days of Jesus Christ, or indeed in the distant future, want to be satisfied. Anything that will give them more than they have, easier than they have it, better than they have it, will be a best seller for humankind. It is the way technology is developed. To a certain degree, it is good because we are developing the world to be more inhabitable. But, often it is not so good, not only because things can go wrong, as in the movie, but because it develops an attitude of selfishness that may never be satisfied.

There was a bumper sticker a number of years ago that read "The one who dies with the most toys wins." It was a criticism of our North American culture that seems to want more and more of everything, never being satisfied with what is sufficient for our living, but always wanting something else. It is a true criticism of the young as well as the old. It seems that we will purchase anything that will satisfy us a little more. 

Jesus' encounter with the tempter in what has been labeled the first temptation is nothing more than the evil one wanting Jesus to give in to the material feeling of being satisfied. Jesus tells the devil that there is more to life than being satisfied. Pope John Paul II reflected on consumerism a number of years ago in one of his letters, accusing the world and especially the first world of blind submission to consumerism. He said that consumerism showed a radical dissatisfaction with life itself because the more one possesses, the more one wants. When such a thing happens, people become preoccupied with things, and deeper aspirations remain unsatisfied and perhaps are even stifled.

“Stifled” might be the exact word we should consider. There is nothing wrong with material goods, but they become wrong when they stifle what is really important. It is wrong when having becomes more important than being, when buying gifts becomes more important than being a friend to the people for whom we buy the gifts. It is wrong when possessing a number of cars, or VCR’s, or palm pilots or computers or HDTV’s or the latest technology or indeed, robots, becomes more important than giving to people or a church or charity from whom we will get no return.

There is another bumper sticker that we should pay close attention to. It is in essence the message of Jesus to the tempter in Matthew's Gospel: "The most important things in life are not things."                                                  

THOUGHT
 
PRAYER

Good and gracious God, we have been accused of being a materialistic society, one in which things have become most important. Help us listen closely to your Son who rejected the temptations to be completely satisfied, and help us put material things in their proper place. Be with us, we pray. 

Questions, comments? Let me know. Email Fr. Mike

©2007 Capuchin Province of Mid-America
Fr. Mike Scully is a member of the Capuchin Province of Mid-America