The Pride of Life
Adapted from a sermon by Fr Samuel Fanous
Matthew 4:1-11
Today we have a perfect reading for us as we’re in Lent. Jesus was baptised in the Jordan and as soon as He came up out of the Jordan, the Holy Spirit came unto Him and this is immediately when He was led by the Spirit into the temple. If you think about Adam and Eve as the first humans who were tempted by sin in the Garden of Eden, they failed. These temptations are the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.
From the book of Genesis when Eve was tempted by sin, it says, “When the woman saw that the tree was good for food..” – this is the lust of the flesh, her hunger, “… and that it was pleasant to the eyes” – this is the lust of the eyes, “…and a tree desirable to make one wise” – this is the pride of life “…she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.” (Genesis 3:6)
Eve lusted out of hunger for the fruit. She looked at the fruit that was pleasant to the eye, and this was where the devil said I will make you ruler over everything, I will make you wise and she believed the devil. This was the pride of life. Adam and Eve represent all of humanity. Like us they sinned.
The first temptation is the lust of the flesh. It says the devil came to Jesus and gave him a stone after fasting for 40 days. Can you imagine not eating for 40 days? Eve looked at the stone that the devil gave to her and she saw that the stone was good as fruit. She was hungry and she desired it.
Oregon says the devil tries to convince us that this stone is bread and will nourish us. He tries to convince us that if you are well fed, if you have comfort, if you have sexual fulfilment, if you have everything you want in this world to satisfy your flesh, you will be satisfied. However, to you and to everyone it is just as good as a stone. It cannot satisfy us any more than a stone could satisfy anyone’s hunger.
The “bread” will provide a minute of enjoyment, a minute of satisfaction, but there is no lasting satisfaction with any of the lusts of the flesh. Christ teaches us how to overcome these lusts. He denied His body as soon as He was baptised. The second He was baptised, the battle began, and this is why, for most people, Christianity is too hard. It is too hard to fast, too hard to go to Church, too hard to pray and too hard to love unconditionally. So, most people take the easy way out. They don’t pray, they don’t fast, they don’t love unconditionally, they don’t come to church because it’s easy.
Jesus says that the easy way out will never satisfy you. What’s His response to the devil? He says “man shall not live by bread alone.” Our satisfaction will not come from bread but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.
The second temptation is the pride of life. That pride where in your heart you want to be like God, you want to have His authority. You think “I am my own God.” Satan convinced Eve that God didn’t want her to eat the fruit because if she did, she will have His power. Eve thought that was a pretty good deal. I eat this fruit and I become like God.
This is the pride where she wanted to become better than what she was created to be. Most of us want this in our lives. We want to live, ruling our own life and making our own decisions. How many of us live as if we are God, at least to ourselves and probably to those around us?
Everything in this world, everyone in this world exists for me. For what I want, for my comfort, my satisfaction and my achievement in life. It is very difficult to realise that you are proud until you have been humiliated.
When I’m humbled, when I’m embarrassed, when I’m disrespected, what happens? People will say that they’re not proud but watch when someone disrespects them publicly. What happens when someone is more successful than me or when someone is smarter than me. Do I feel anger and bitterness on the inside? Why is this person better looking than me? Why does everything good happen to this person and not to me? It’s my right. I should have it. We don’t realise it until we’re humbled and humiliated, we have no idea that we are filled with pride.
Everyone suffers from this to some extent – it is the basic human condition. Jesus, once again teaches us how to overcome. His death and His essence is so beyond our comprehension that we can’t even begin to fathom it, yet this same very God emptied Himself of all His glory and every right that He had, yet He had all the rights.
He was crucified, He was poor, He had nothing. If God emptied himself of His glory and humbled Himself, then we must. There is no disrespect, no humiliation, no embarrassment that could ever compare to what Christ has gone through.
When we hold a grudge, respond in hatred, act petty, with envy, with jealousy and cannot forgive, we are not acting to be God, we are making ourselves out to be far above God. When we are humbled, we apologise when we feel like we shouldn’t, we accept disrespect the same as you would respect. That is when you are behaving like God.
The last temptation is the lust of the eyes. The fruit was pleasant to the eyes and this is the human desire. I look at everyone around me and I want what they have. I’m never satisfied with what I have. This is the curse of Western civilisation. Jesus once again teaches us how to overcome this. He was baptised and immediately He fled to the desert to the wilderness. Saint Arsenius says, there’s one way to overcome this world. Flee, be silent, and be still.
Wealth, investments, and status are only attractive because we have nothing to compare it to. If we go to the wilderness, away from the noise and distractions and find God, we realise all of these things are counted as nothing. They’re relatively meaningless. It doesn’t mean we don’t work and try to achieve in all the things we do, but they have no hold over me. If I have them, thanks be to God if I lose them. We have to recognise that there is nothing external that can satisfy me, only what is within.
Christ says “Behold, the kingdom of Heaven is within you.” It’s only what’s within me that can satisfy me. We are made in the image of God, in His likeness. If you want to find Christ, retreat to yourself. There you will find him.
Let’s focus on retreating into my inner deserts. Let’ take the opportunity to utilise that quiet. Retreat into your bedroom and find Christ there. If you go into your bedroom and open your heart before God, you will find the pearl of great price that Christ talks about. When you find the pearl of great price Christ says, you will sell everything you have to get that pearl.
Let’s overcome the temptations like Christ showed us by hungering from physical comfort. We are nourished by the word of God, which is Jesus Christ, by emptying ourselves of our pride, sacrificing ourselves and living for others and finally retreating into the wilderness, into the silence and stillness, to encounter God who is within me.