Have you ever thought about the conversations between Jesus and Satan when Jesus was living in a physical body on this earth? We get some hints of what this may have been like from the book of Job where a conversation between God and Satan is recorded, but other than knowing that Jesus was indeed tempted, we don’t have much to go on. Some years ago, I wrote an epic tale of the Christ and his struggle with his Adversary, Satan. And, yes, I used The Odyssey as a model for my format (not the content). Divided into “Books” (the first being an introduction) the second Book is entitled The Wilderness Temptations. Here is an excerpt which I hope you will both enjoy and will provoke some thought concerning the Christ and his earthly life.
The First Temptation
On that forty-first day, the God-Man woke
to hunger pangs and discovered his body
had become weak from that month-plus trial.
As his eyes focused to face the day,
he saw his Adversary standing at
his feet, smiling a crooked smile and shining
bright as the desert sun. “Good morning,
old friend,” he said. “Surprised to see me? But
didn’t I promise to come back? You will
find that I, unlike some others, keep all
my promises and will never forget
you or leave you for too long, for I am
concerned about you and how you’re spending
your life and squandering your potential.
I suppose with all this time to think and
consider, you’ve come to realize that you
could not possibly be the Son of God?
Since I am the one who has come to check
on you and see if your needs are being
met, it is obvious,” and his eyes swept
the horizon and the God-Man’s surroundings
and came back with a look of distaste, “that
your Heavenly Father,” and he spat the
two words out, “has not been by or if He has,”
and he smiled a sinister smile, “He has
done nothing to secure your belief that
you are His Son, has He?” Unperturbed, the
God-Man rose to his feet and answered, “Quite the
contrary. He has been here in many
wonderful ways–ways you could never see
or understand–and He has only confirmed
my belief and my profession that I Am
His Son and His Chosen.” Satan attempted
to mask the furious anger that welled up
within him with a strained smile which truly
appeared as a grimace. Then with eyes ablaze,
he said in a voice dipped in honey,
“Of course, you are. Whoever said you weren’t?
But, tell me, have you had breakfast yet?” As
if in answer, the God-Man’s fleshly insides
began to grumble, bringing delight to
his Antagonist though he tried to cover
this with a false look of concern and
pity as he waited for an answer. “No,
there’s been no breakfast here. Only rocks and
dust, as you can see.” And Satan nodded as
if in sympathy but then he appeared
to have an idea and said with great
enthusiasm, “But you are the Son
of God, remember? If you are the Son
of God, you should have no problem coming
up with a substantial meal and then we
can talk over some business.” Eyebrow arched,
the God-Man gazed at his rival and said,
“I was not aware we had any business
to discuss.” And Satan again smiled that
patient smile. “Of course, but how can you think
on an empty stomach? An empty
stomach causes the head to be light and
the heart to be weak. Come, you say you are
the Son of God, let us see you come up
with some breakfast. The Son of God shouldn’t
be out here in this wilderness where the
wild beasts are quite well-fed, yet here he is,
his guts crying out in torment, as he
stands by, as if helpless. You say you
are the Son of God but for thirty years
you have lived in practical poverty
submitting yourself to the surroundings
into which you have been thrust and now you bow
to the elements. To the things which you,
yourself, claim to have created. How can
you possibly allow yourself to be
subdued by the works of your own hands? Come,
if you are the Son of God, tell these stones
here to become bread for your breakfast. They
will be glad to be of service to their
Master, for isn’t that why they were formed?
To serve their Master and obey his commands?
In fact, I daresay that your creation
has been watching you in wonder and has
been speculating as to why you have
not called on them earlier. Can you not
see their eagerness to serve you? Come, Son
of God, call on them; exercise your power
and authority. You say God has now
anointed you to be King, so be King.
Prepare your breakfast so we can discuss
deeper matters.” Folding his arms, Satan
stood back and waited, his impatience
obvious, but the God-Man refused to
make a hasty decision knowing well
this was not as simple a matter as
his Adversary portrayed it. He
also knew the power he possessed had
been given to him by his Father, so
consideration of his Father’s will
must be made. But he was hungry and his
insides churned once more as if to remind
him of his responsibility to
them, too. He gazed on the stones and easily
imagined them as loaves and could almost
smell them baking in the sun and taste
their flaky crusts and their soft middle–
He shook his head to clear his thoughts. His
Adversary watched him intently, though
he tried to appear both nonchalant
and impatient. Impatient as in:
‘This is no big deal, you know, get on
with it.’ And nonchalant as in: ‘But then
again, it is no matter to me, one
way or the other.’ A faint smile played on
the God-Man’s lips as he read all this in
his Opponent’s face which caused that angel
to simmer. He managed to keep his
temper in check and gazed calmly back at
his prey as he waited for an answer,
a decision to be made. Then Satan recalled
another king he had tempted, that first
king of Israel whom he convinced that
waiting for God’s provisions and living
strictly by His rules was not only
unnecessary but also senseless
when you could take care of the matter
yourself. So, Israel’s first king bent the rules
of a God of no compromise–not once
but twice–and he who was to be a
great king and leader was instead a
failure and died a scorned and rejected
king and man. Satan knew he did not need
to lead this present and final king
to compromise more than once for once
would be enough. Now he almost became
excited before the deed was done, smelling
the sweet smell of such a victory, and he
trembled but caught himself when he saw the
curious look from his prey. “Come on,”
he snapped. “What’s taking you so long? You act as
if you faced a monumental decision.
I only want you to eat, so we can talk.
Sustain yourself, my friend,” he added
more gently, his words becoming
like honey at his command, causing
the God-Man to once more remember his
hunger. Again, he looked at the stones, but
this time they brought to mind days of old,
and he saw the children of Israel
led into a similar desert and
led into a similar temptation
to be taught . . . what? Obedience. Yes, that
was it–obedience. Now he recalled
they had failed their test and he reflected
on why. He remembered their grumbling
and identified their discontent as
an expression of their lack of trust
and confidence in God as their provider.
Knowing himself to be the new Israel,
he realized if he treated himself to
breakfast (as his Adversary had so
artfully suggested), he would be
expressing the same lack of confidence.
So, summoning up the Scriptures in his mind,
he recalled God’s word on it all: ‘Remember
how the Lord your God led you all the way
in the desert these forty years, to humble
you and to test you in order to know
what was in your heart, whether or not you
would keep his commands. He humbled you, causing
you to hunger and then feeding you with
manna, which neither you nor your fathers
had known, to teach you that–‘ and he stopped and
smiled as the answer was there and the
clarity in his mind shone on his face,
and Satan inwardly recoiled as he
caught a whiff of the air of defeat.
But stiffly he waited and then it came
as in a clear and steady voice the God-Man
said in his new-found strength, “It is written:
‘Man does not live on bread alone but on
every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.'”
I read two books from Mexico in the past few weeks for the #readtheworld21 challenge, but I am only going to review one here (I did write about both on Goodreads). The first one I enjoyed; the second I wanted to throw against the wall when I finished. I refrain from reviewing books I don’t like because I’m not interested in reading reviews of books not recommended by the reviewer. I find that a waste of time. This book has been popular and even made into a movie, so I’m doing it no harm in not recommending it.
Now on to my recommended read.
The Hummingbird’s Daughter by Luis Alberto Urrea is a story of legend combing historical fiction and magical realism. Urrea heard stories of his ancestor, Teresita Urrea, while growing up; the fantastical stories of her life and miracles. How much was true and how much legend, he set out to discover and spent some twenty years researching and writing her story.
Teresita was the illegitimate daughter of a young girl called Hummingbird and wealthy rancher, Tomas Urrea, during the late nineteenth century in Mexico, a time of unrest and the beginnings of a civil war. Abandoned by her mother, Teresita brought herself to the attention of Urrea and Huila, a curandero. Seeing Teresita’s gifts and potential, Huila teaches Teresita of herbs and healing and promises to help her cultivate her gifts. What leads to Teresita becoming the Saint of Cabora is told in dramatic fashion. Don’t be like me and miss the family tree in the front of the book until you’ve almost finished the book. I would have find this more helpful at the beginning when I was trying to keep names straight but somehow overlooked it.
In lieu of the book, I can’t recommend, let me do a repeat and make a case for one that was on my favorites’ list of 2020–The Murmur of Bees by Sofia Segovia, translated by Simon Bruni. Another story of magical realism and family, the tale begins when Nana Reja finds an abandoned baby under a bridge, covered in a blanket of bees. Though some are horrified both by the bees and the baby’s disfigured face, Simonopio is adopted by landowners who love him as their own. Simonopio soon becomes special, not only to his family but to the whole town. This one is also historical fiction taking place during the Mexican Revolution as well as the influenza of 1918.
I’m sure there are many books about and from Mexico that I need to add to my TBR. If you have any suggestions, please share!
pmgilmer 