What is the strategy of the enemy?

That’s the question our military and intelligence personnel have been asking themselves each and every day, since the "war on terrorism" officially began on September 11.

And what have they learned in the last 5 months?

Well—among other things—they’ve learned that these terrorists have been instructed to blend into American society as much as possible. That’s an integral part of their strategy. As one terrorist handbook put it: "When you’re in the outer world, you have to act like them, dress like them, behave like them."

We’ve learned from Al Qaeda documents which were found in a house in Kabul that Bin Laden’s gang has been working very hard to develop nuclear weapons, in addition to chemical and biological weapons.

We’ve learned about many of their prospective targets: sports stadiums, our embassies around the world, nuclear power plants, water-supply systems.

We’ve even learned how these terrorists try to use the internet to coordinate their operations.

Why is all this important?

Because to defend yourself against an enemy (and ultimately to defeat him), it’s crucial to know his strategy! It’s crucial to know how he operates!—where he’ll attack, when he’s likely to attack, what methods he’ll use to attack.

The story we heard in today’s Gospel is given to us by the Holy Spirit for precisely this purpose. It’s given to us so that we will understand the strategy of our greatest enemy, Satan. God wants us to know his strategy, so that by the power of Jesus Christ we might defeat him whenever he tempts us.

At first hearing, the events of this story may seem very far removed from our everyday experience, but they’re not! What happens to Jesus here happens to us and to every human person who’s capable of experiencing temptation. The only differences between Jesus and us with respect to the temptations of life are #1, he always resisted successfully, we don’t; and #2, he always experienced temptations coming from outside himself, whereas we can also experience them from within because of concupiscence.

The three temptations that Satan throws at Jesus in this famous scene in the desert can be expressed in the following way: sex, celebrity and silver. In each instance the temptation involves the misuse of something good—which is always a key element of Satan’s strategy: get people to misuse a good gift God has given them.

Take the first: sex. I use sex here as a metaphor for any kind of sinful self-indulgence. Jesus has been fasting for forty days and forty nights, and he’s famished. Who wouldn’t be?!!! Satan says to him, "If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become loaves of bread." Let me now make that temptation a bit more intelligible: "Jesus, how’s your stomach? Hurts a bit, doesn’t it? Hurts a lot, right? Why deprive yourself of food? Food is good. Your heavenly Father created it, for heaven’s sake. And if anyone deserves to eat, you do. So go for it; stuff yourself! Change these rocks into bread and start eating! What are you waiting for?!!!"

For us, Satan may change the object of that temptation, but the strategy is always the same. He wants to get us to take a good gift God has given us, and abuse it. . . .

"You deserve to have a good time. Go out and party tonight with your friends. There’s nothing wrong with a little alcohol. Okay, get a designated driver if you must—but don’t deprive yourself of a little fun."

"My friend, life is so full of stress. A little recreational sex, a little masturbation never hurt anybody. God said to be fruitful and multiply; he created you with these drives, so what’s the problem?"

"They’re asking you to give time and money to help the poor. Well that’s very nice, but you do need to buy that second boat and save the excess money for the casino next week. They’ll be okay without your help."

Which brings us to "celebrity." The devil takes Jesus up to the top part of the temple and says to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you and with their hands they will support you, lest you dash your foot against a stone.’" Let me now update that temptation a bit: "Jesus, do you want people to listen to you? Of course you do—everybody does. Then be an entertainer! Throw yourself down from here and let the angels catch you. Everyone will see it and they’ll cheer! You’ll be an instant celebrity, and people just love celebrities! They even consider them experts on subjects they don’t know anything about! But you know a lot about your subject matter—the Gospel—so think how successful you’ll be! At least be practical. Consider the options: follow the Father, and you’ll get the Cross; be a celebrity and disobey the Father, and you’ll be the most popular guy on the planet!"

How far are you willing to go to be liked and accepted? What moral compromises are you willing to make so that your friends will stay your friends? What commandments will you break to prove to your co-workers that you’re not a right-wing, religious fanatic? Those are some of the manifestations of this temptation that all of us face. And, let’s admit it—this is also a very clever and powerful temptation, because everyone wants to be liked—and affirmed—and accepted by others.

Which brings us to "silver." As was the case with sex, silver in this context is used as a metaphor, a metaphor for power, particularly power to control and manipulate other people. Satan takes Jesus up a high mountain, shows him all the kingdoms of this world, and he says to him, "All these I shall give to you, if you will prostrate yourself and worship me." Let me now make this final temptation a bit more intelligible: "Jesus, you really want to help people, don’t you? You want to make this world a better place. That’s wonderful. Well here I am—Satan—at your service to help you help others. And all you have to do is submit to me: worship me. Forget about your Father and his commandments. Let me be your lord—do things my way—and I’ll give you all the power you could possibly want on this earth!"

"Forget about your Father and his commandments." This has been a very effective temptation in the modern era. Because people have wanted power over the lives of others—and have neglected the commandments of God in the process—we now have the evils of abortion, and contraception, and embryonic stem cell research, and racism, and so-called "ethnic cleansing"—to name but a few.

And, closer to home, we have disobedient priests who teach their own Gospel and live by their own rules; we have disobedient Catholics who pick and choose which Church teachings they’ll obey in their lives; and we have disobedient young people who have believed Satan’s lie that they should have control over their parents and teachers:

"Teenager, don’t let your parents boss you around. This is your house just as much as it’s their house. Do what you want. Obey me, and I’ll give you power over your parents! They’ll get so sick of arguing with you that they’ll finally give in and let you have your way."

"Hey little girl, don’t let your teacher push you around. Keep that kerchief on your head. You should be in control of your own life; don’t let some narrow-minded adult squelch your freedom."

Sex, celebrity and silver: Satan’s very effective strategy.

It didn’t work with Jesus. Why not? Well, aside from the fact that he was God, another reason is that he had no sinful pride within him. Although we may not always realize it, pride is at the root of every sin we commit. Notice how Satan began those first two temptations. He said, "If you are the Son of God . . . " If Jesus did have any sinful pride within him—as we so often do—he would have easily fallen for that line, because Satan was challenging him to prove his greatness: "If you’re as great and powerful as you’re supposed to be, Jesus, then do this—change these stones into bread—jump off the parapet of the temple."

Another reason Jesus effectively resisted Satan’s strategy is because he knew the truth of God’s Word, and he clung to that truth in the midst of each temptation. Notice that in each instance he quotes a text of Scripture to Satan, using the verse like a sword to neutralize the attack.

I said at the beginning of my homily that the Holy Spirit led Matthew to preserve this story for us in his Gospel, so that we would understand the strategy of our enemy—the strategy Satan uses against us each and every day. But knowing the enemy’s strategy does not equal victory. It’s not sufficient, even in the war against terrorism. Victory comes by knowing the strategy, then taking the weapons we have at our disposal and engaging in battle. The weapons God has given us in the war against Satan come through Jesus Christ: the Jesus Christ who has destroyed the power of Satan by his cross and resurrection; the Jesus Christ who instructs us through the Bible and through the teachings of his Church; the Jesus Christ who strengthens us by prayer and the Eucharist so that we can keep our pride in check and do what’s right;; and the Jesus Christ who heals us in the "hospital" of the confessional whenever the enemy mortally wounds us.