Pastor
~ The story of Achilles is one of the great legends in Greek mythology. Achilles was the greatest Greek warrior during the Trojan war. When he was a baby, his mother Thetis wanted him to have great power and to be immortal. So she picked him up by the heel and dipped him into the River Styx, which had the power to make him immortal. The waters did make him invulnerable, except for his heel, since his heel had been covered by his mother’s hand when she dunked him in the river. So Achilles always had one weak spot. During the battle of Troy, he was mortally wounded when he was shot by an arrow in that very heel. We remember this mythical story today, by talking about our own weakest spot of vulnerability – our Achilles heel.
Friends, each of us has an Achilles heel in our spiritual life. There is that one situation, that one irritant, that one person who gets under our skin and we just can’t take it anymore. That often happens when we are tired, or sick, or lonely, or hungry, or busy, or don’t feel particularly good about ourselves. We usually sin when our defenses our down – when we are caught off guard, when we are most vulnerable.
I have a friend who works at a store who says, “Retail is great, except for the customers”. Maybe you’ve thought to yourself, “I love being a mom, but these kids!” or maybe you’ve thought, “I’m a patient person, except when there is some idiot on the road.” Or “it’s always a good meeting, unless she’s there” Or I’m fine except until I take the first drink. I can manage to eat healthy except on the weekends. We all have an Achilles heel. What, or who, is yours?
Our first reading on this first Sunday of Lent is from the first book of the bible, the book of Genesis, and we hear part of the story of Adam and Eve.
They believe his LIE of the evil one that they could be as powerful as God. He asks them “Did God REALLY tell you not to eat from any of the trees in the garden?” The seed of doubt is planted, and Adam and Eve are tempted into thinking they can have it all — they can be like gods – and so they give into the temptation.
The funny thing about temptations is that they are rarely a choice between something good and something horrible. If that were true, we would always choose the good thing.
The devil doesn’t say, “this is bad, this is good — which do you choose?”
Nope, the devil says, “this is good — but this is better, don’t you think?”
It is about what is “pleasing to the eye”, “what looks really good. The problem is that we are often deceived and suffer an eye-opening experience that brings us a shame we never expected.
Friends, contrast Adam and Eve in our First Reading with Jesus in the Gospel. Satan tries to tempt Jesus, but he won’t buy into it.
He says “Hey Jesus, I’ll give you all the kingdoms of the world if you bow down to me.” Of course this is a lie from the Father of lies. The Kingdoms of the world to not belong to the devil to give away. The world belongs to God. Jesus does not believe the lies, he relies on God’s word, and he stands firm to resist temptation.
We are very much like Adam and Eve, you and I, but we are called during these days of Lent to grow to become more like Jesus. We are called and challenged to know our weak spots, out vulnerabilities, our Achilles heel, to grow in grace and understanding, and to trust God’s grace so that we can be more like Christ. We are called during Lent to resist temptation, to reject sin, and follow Christ’s example. At the Easter Vigil and on Easter Sunday, six weeks hence, we will be asked, “Do you reject Satan and all his work and all his empty show?” This Lent is the time to prepare so that we can say forcefully and truly, “I do!”
So, friends, as Lent begins, I invite you to reflect on who or what makes you vulnerable to sin. What is your “Achilles heel”?
What is your weakness that the devil can exploit in subtle and deceptive ways? Is it your need for control? Is it your refusal to ask for help? Is it your desire to appear perfect? Is it your vanity and your fear or growing older? Is it your desire for money, or attention, or power? Is there a person that you should just not engage, a situation you should avoid, a website you should not go to?
Once you know your own Achilles heel, your own vulnerable spot, then make this Lent a deliberate time to strengthen that spot, to call on God’s power and mercy more fervently, to approach the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and to resist those destructive patterns or behaviors in your life that open the door to sin. This Lent, may our Achilles heel not be our weakness, but rather, a pathway for God’s grace and mercy to enter our lives and help us to live a more Christ-like life.
