“Deserts” Matthew 4:1-11 by Mark Stuckey 22nd February 2026
In a news story this week, one of the major grocery stores was heavily criticised for misleading their customers by changing their sale price of items on the shelf from what was advertised. This struck up a conversation between Loretta and I about how from time to time, the packaging of some items, such as potato chips packets have shrunk, but their prices remain the same as when they were in larger packets. I even mentioned that there is one less TimTam in a pack of TimTam’s as a further illustration of price gouging… to which Loretta responded, “Hmm I love a TimTam!”
That afternoon Loretta went shopping after work and wouldn’t you know it one of her purchases was a pack of TimTam’s! In Loretta’s defence she said to me she just happened to walk down the biscuit aisle, the TimTam’s were on special and by the time she reached the other end of the aisle, a pack of TimTam’s had found their way into the shopping basket.
Questions one must ask are:
Did my mention of TimTam’s in the morning tempt Loretta?
Was it the specials price tag on the shelf where the TimTam’s were in the biscuit aisle that tempted her?
Or, was it a combination of the two?
Temptations!
They exist in our lives!
They may be a yummy chocolate biscuit that we want to enjoy or advertising campaign that lures us in to say I want this, or I need that.
This week we begin the Season of Lent. A season marked by prayer, fasting, reflection, and repentance. The liturgical colour has changed to purple. The alleluias have quieted. The church slows down on purpose.
We begin Lent in the wilderness, another descriptive word for wilderness is desert.
Today, both our readings this morning speak of temptation, being tempted.
When we turn to our gospel reading for this morning, Matthew 4:1-11, it is about Jesus being tempted by the evil one in the wilderness and ultimately resisting the temptations by relying on the word of God, demonstrating his obedience and faithfulness in the face of adversity.
Picture it - we find Jesus in the wilderness fasting 40 days and 40 nights. The scene is stark and desolate; the terrain is rugged. Jesus is weary and hungry, is alone, vulnerable in this harsh environment. He is there preparing for his ministry, seeking spiritual clarity and strength through his time of fasting and prayer. The evil one enters the scene and tries to exploit Jesus’ vulnerable state through temptation offering him power, wealth, and worldly glory in exchange for his allegiance. Jesus, however, remains steadfast in his faith and commitment to God resisting all the temptations that were put to him by using wisdom and authority of scripture. It is a powerful demonstration of Jesus unwavering devotion to God and his ability to overcome temptation through the power of God's word.
Imagine being in a situation where everything around you seems to be pushing you to give into temptation. For us this might be a busy work schedule, the demands of a family, a social life with friends who will try to entice us to focus on worldly things and make these our priority.
Friends, Matthew 4: 1-11 teaches us the importance of relying on something greater than ourselves when faced with trials and temptations. Can I encourage each of us to think about that! Jesus not only shows us the value of knowing and internalising God's Word but also demonstrates how we can draw strength and guidance from it in our own lives. The passage also challenges us to reflect on how we respond to temptation - do we give in to our urges, enjoying a TimTam, or the desire to want something, but not necessarily needing it; or do we seek solace and wisdom in the teachings of our faith? Let us remember the example Jesus set in these verses as we navigate our own struggles and temptations. We should arm ourselves with the power of scripture and lean on our faith to guide us through these challenging times. We too can find strength and resilience in our beliefs, just as Jesus overcame temptation in the wilderness.
To conclude I want to finish off with a reflection offered by Richard Rohr. It speaks into the heart of our Gospel reading this morning. In a week where I have been stretched with work, family, university and ministry responsibilities pulled in the direction and that direction, what spoke to me and resonated this week from the reflection as I prepared for today was the phrasing around being ‘transformed’, how our mind, our heart and our body can be transformed. Please make yourself comfortable, you may even like to close your eyes as I read the reflection.
“The Lenten season always begins with the same Gospel of the temptation of Jesus in the desert. He has gone into the desert for forty days for his own initiation, as it were, and this is a beautiful telling of the demons we all have to face to grow up, to become mature.
The first two temptations are proceeded by the same phrase, “If you are the Son of God.” The primary temptation we all face is to doubt our Divine Identity. That’s what the evil one says to us, too: if you are a child of God. We can all think of a thousand reasons to condemn ourselves. The main temptation we have to overcome is the doubting of our identity. Once we doubt that, it’s all downhill from there. What made Jesus special, it seems, is that he never doubted he was God’s beloved son.
The first temptation is to misuse power. Maybe we could say it’s a temptation to be spectacular, to be special, to be important, to be showy. The tempter says, “Tell these stones to become bread” (Matthew 4:3). When we’re young, we all want that. We all want to stand out. We want people to notice us. We want to be something special and to do something special, but Jesus refuses to play the game.
Then a second temptation: “The devil took him to the Holy City and made him stand on the very pinnacle of the Temple” (Matthew 4:5), and tells Jesus to throw himself down. The second great temptation is to misuse religion by playing games with God. Jesus says, “I’m not going to play the religious game either.” It’s transactional religion as opposed to transformational. But what religion is about is real transformation. Changing our mind toward love, changing our heart toward community, changing our body toward living in the present moment.
The third temptation is the temptation to political power. It’s not inherently wrong. There has to be a way we can use power for good. But until we’re tested, and until we don’t need it too much, we will almost always misuse it. If we’re not tested in the ways of power, very often we end up worshiping power to have power.
What religion at its most mature level means is that there is one goal. There is one source. There is one focus. There is one meaning. It’s not about making more money. It’s not about being famous. It’s not about winning. What we were given in the Gospel is an agenda in which everybody wins. We’re all equally children of God.”
Friends, life throws tests at us just like our demanding jobs and family obligations. Jesus stood strong against temptation in the wilderness. Just as he relied on his faith in God's word, we too can find strength in our beliefs. Are you prepared to tap into that same power and remain steadfast when life's challenges try to break you?
References
Adapted from Richard Rohr, “All Must Be Tested in Regard to Their Use of Power,” homily, March 1, 2020 https://cac.org/daily-mediations/testing-in-the-desert-2023-03-03/