“I’ll be back” is a famous line of dialogue from a sci-fi movie released in 1984.  When the antagonist in the story was refused entry to a building, he spoke that line and promised to return at a later time.  The line of dialogue became very popular in American culture and is now used as a common catchphrase. 

Today’s Gospel contains a statement with a meaning similar to that famous catchphrase.  The Gospel author summarized Jesus’ temptation in the desert by saying, “When the devil had finished every temptation, he departed from him for a time.” (Lk 4:13) 

The statement that the devil “departed from him for a time” is a reference to the temptation that Jesus would face at the end of his life as he hung on the Cross.  The devil was thwarted in his attempt to lead Jesus into sin during Jesus’ fast in the desert, so “he departed from him,” promising to return at a more opportune time, that is, when Jesus would be more susceptible to temptation. 

The devil failed to lead Jesus into sin in the desert, and the devil would fail again at the end of Jesus’ life.  It is important to note, however, that the story is primarily about Jesus and not about the devil or temptation.  The devil’s failed attempts at temptation are not meant to instruct us about the nature of the devil, but about the nature of Jesus.  Jesus is portrayed by the Gospel author as the one who did not abuse the authority and power granted to him.  In that regard, Jesus is entirely unlike both the devil and unredeemed human nature. 

Human nature tends to use power in the same way the devil uses power, namely, to coerce, corrupt, threaten, and destroy.  There are numerous illustrations of this in our daily lives.  The scam emails and phone calls you receive threaten to terminate a vital cellphone function or bank account if you don’t click a link or return the call.  The threat of dire consequences is a strong motivator, and it leads many people into situations where their private data is compromised or used fraudulently. 

In his first temptation in the desert and his final temptation on the Cross, Jesus did none of the things that unredeemed human nature tends to do.  Jesus did not threaten dire consequences, he did not hurl insults, he did not impose penalties, he did not withhold mercy; he did the opposite of those things. 

It is in God’s nature to use God’s power to encourage, heal, and redeem.  In his moments of temptation, Jesus imitated God’s use of power.  When tempted in the desert, he kept his focus on God alone.  When tempted at the end of this life, he kept his focus on the mission of redemption given to him by God. 

It’s easy enough to see how God uses God’s power and authority, but it isn’t so easy to understand God’s power; this is because God uses power in a way so different from our use of power.  The simple reason for the common confusion about God’s actions is that God’s power avoids evil.  Specifically, God’s power avoids doing the evil that human nature judges to be good. 

Why does God not destroy all evil in the world?  Why does God allow temptation and sin to continue?  Why does God allow suffering and death? 

These issues confound us because we fail to understand God, and we fail to understand God because we judge God in the way that we judge ourselves and one another, namely, on the basis of the effectiveness of our threats, coercion, corruption, and destruction.  If God threatened to empty our bank accounts, block our online tunes account, or freeze our email service, we would understand those threats because they are so like our own.  In contrast to what is familiar to human nature, however, God offers to forgive our sins, reconcile us to one another, and heal our broken hearts.  To unredeemed human nature, these actions make little sense. 

The relatively mild sacrifices and penances that we do during Lent provide a means to dispel our confusion and clarify our thoughts.  Despite popular opinion, the goal of Lenten penance is not to build up our tolerance for misery and privation.  Rather, the relatively minor penitential practices of Lent are intended to help us cultivate freedom of spirit.  The small sacrifices of fasting, abstinence, and almsgiving intend to convince us that we can live full and happy lives in the absence of self-indulgence.  Then, having given up our self-indulgence, we can begin to grasp the meaning of God’s generosity. 

Like Jesus, we can be certain that the devil will return to tempt us again at an opportune time.  We will not be able to resist temptation in the way that Jesus did, but we can grow in our ability to resist evil by growing in our understanding of God’s nature.  Lent doesn’t ask us to endure suffering, but to learn to endure God’s boundless mercy – an experience that might well be more daunting than suffering or privation.  The great promise of Lent is that the more we empty ourselves of our self-concern and self-indulgence, the easier it becomes to perceive the nature of true freedom and to imitate God’s infinite generosity toward God’s creatures.