THE DEVIL'S THREE WISHES

Jesus, help me wish only for good things! Amen.

Jesus went into the desert for 40 days and didn't eat or drink. The devil came and said, "If you're God, turn rocks into bread." Jesus said, "Bread isn't all that keeps you alive. God does, too." The devil took Him up a building and said, "Jump. If you're God, angels will catch you." "Don't test God," Jesus answered. The devil showed Jesus the whole world and said, "It's yours if you worship me." "Worship only God," Jesus replied. "Go away!" And the devil did.

Tons of fairy tales start with someone getting three wishes. That sounds great -- but if you've read any fairy tales, you know that often, the main character's wishes don't come true in the way they planned!

In a way, this week's Gospel (Matthew 4:1-11) is about three wishes, but the twist in this story is that devil is the one making the wishes.

When fairy tale wishes go wrong, it just makes the story funnier. You get to watch the main character go through all sorts of complicated situations, trying to make the frog into a prince or get out of a big mess.

The Gospel story wasn't as funny. The devil's three wishes were all about getting Jesus to give up His work on Earth: Instead of focusing on praying, to focus on food; instead of doing miracles to help people, doing them to show off; instead of staying humble and close to God the Father, taking over the world.

The best part of any fairy tale is when the main character learns a lesson and gets to live "happily ever after."

For Jesus, the happy ending came when He refused to grant the devil's wishes. Jesus managed to stay out of a mess right away -- and the devil, who didn't get what he wished for, was left in a mess himself!

(02/07/08)