Jesus, we are to understand, is the one who at last is too strong for the forces of evil. He has come to conquer them. Up til his time the scriptures give us a sad account of the many times when the people, from Adam onwards, had fallen away, been unfaithful, sinned against their loving God and allowed the evil forces to overwhelm them.

This story of Jesus being tempted is a summary of his whole life, death and resurrection. He is the one who comes – as one of us, a man in our flesh – and at last is strong against evil, so strong that he assures the final victory: evil will not win in the end; the final victory is God’s.

In this time of forty days of Lent we prepare for our great celebration of that victory at Easter. Our preparation is to join ourselves with Jesus, the strong one who makes us strong against the forces of evil. We join with him in our prayer, making special efforts to give God; we join with him in our community celebrations; we join with him in his concern and generosity towards all who most need care and assistance