Making it till lunch

Jesus, help me focus on what I have to do, even when I'm hungry. Amen!

Jesus went into the desert to pray for 40 days. He had no food, and He was hungry. The devil came and said, "If you're God, why don't you make rocks into bread?" But Jesus wouldn't. "Bread isn't the only food," He said; "listening to God is a kind of food, too." The devil tried again. "I'll give you the world if you follow me," he said. Jesus answered, "God is the one people should follow." Finally, the devil took Jesus to the top of a building. "If you're God, jump," he said. "Angels will catch you." But Jesus told him, "Don't test God!" Then the devil left Him alone.

The hardest class in school is usually the one just before lunch. You're looking forward to the break; you're hungry -- and being hungry can affect your mood and how well you can concentrate. Some kids hope nothing important is happening just before lunch!

In this week's Gospel (Luke 4:1-13), Jesus has been hungry for a long, long time. He went without food to focus on praying and getting psyched up to start teaching people about God -- but now, it's been a while since He ate, and He's probably pretty miserable.

Sometimes, what you wish for most in school is the opposite of what happens. You want your teachers to do unimportant stuff before lunch, so you don't have to focus while you're hungry and distracted. But they plan a quiz for that exact time or teach something new you have to work on.

Jesus met the devil at His weakest moment -- in a way, just before lunch! Jesus must have been starving and distracted, and right then, the devil tried to convince Him to do miracles for selfish reasons and even to turn away from God.

Imagine how hard it was for Jesus to concentrate on doing the right thing!

As difficult as it is, there are times when you have to work even while you're hungry. Jesus is a good inspiration for that: If He could fight off the devil after 40 days of not eating, you can probably make it through class until lunch!