The 3 temptations of Vladimir Putin and NATO – The Manila Times

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Then he [the devil] took him [Jesus] up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a single instant. The devil said to him, "I shall give to you all this power and glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I may give it to whomever I wish. All this will be yours, if you worship me." Jesus said to him in reply, "It is written: You shall worship the Lord, your God, and him alone you shall serve."

The Gospel of Saint Luke, 4:5-8

AFTER years of contagion across the globe and days of carnage in Ukraine, Catholics needed no ashes crossed on their foreheads last Wednesday to remind them that they were dust and to dust they shall return. Nor was the Lenten message of sin, atonement and forgiveness needing much explanation to see its relevance to the headlines.

Indeed, the March 6 Sunday Mass Gospel reading from Saint Luke, excerpted above, recounting the three temptations of Jesus after his baptism, may well resonate with believers pondering Russia's invasion and fasting for peace in Europe, now caught in the crossfire of bullets and bombs, sanctions and accusations.

How did all this bloody mess happen? Geopolitics and diplomacy experts can spin out intricate analyses and timelines plotting how Russian President Vladimir Putin began with subtle warnings, then brandished threats and troops, and finally unleashed his divisions after dialogue did not get him the security assurances Russia demanded.

But the triple blandishments of the tempter may well tell the story of how Russians went from Slavic brothers of neighboring Ukrainians to missile-firing invaders of the second-largest country in Europe next to Russia itself.

Turning stones into bread

The first temptation, enticing the famished Jesus after 40 days of fasting to turn stones into bread to satisfy his hunger, is apropos to Russia and Ukraine not only because they are among the 10 largest wheat producers on the planet.

More than just highlighting two giants of grain, our Lord's admonition that "Man does not live by bread alone" underscores what else we need for the fullness of life: "every word that comes from the mouth of God," as other Bible translations add.

In the context of international relations, leaders and governments demand tangible guarantees of security to reassure and impress their peoples. Not just promises of peace, but pledges that fearsome forces would never cross certain lines.

Bread, not just words, even if the promises may speak of God's will for all humanity.

So, Russia wants the most powerful forces on earth, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), never to embrace Ukraine. But even those words the US-led alliance and Ukraine were not willing to give, let alone the bread of NATO boots never stepping into Slavic lands.

With neither words nor bread to bring home, Russia decided to address its fears by marching on the stones of Ukraine and making them bread to feed its hunger for security from Western powers which had invaded thrice in centuries past.

Testing, not trusting

The third temptation sought to stir Jesus into distrust of the Father by throwing himself off a high precipice to see if angels fly down from heaven and keep him from falling to earth. To which our Lord replied: "You shall not put your God to the test."

Certainty and control are what comes to mind in this discourse between Jesus and the devil. So like our modern time of science and technology, when humanity constantly strives to assert control over the world and ascertain proven truths with empirically validated knowledge leaving no room for faith and trust.

So it is between nations: the powers that be must have certainty and control. Trust is never enough, never enough, as a popular musical chants.

Hence, NATO reserves the right to accept whom it may wish into its ranks bristling with the most advanced armaments ever. No matter that such assertion of membership control would erode trust and confidence in a land fearful of invading hordes from the West, especially after the alliance expanded well beyond the agreed limit of its expansion.

Thus, with the Western alliance unwilling to compromise on control, the bear in the east decided to ascertain its security and take armed control of a potential area of hostilities.

The power and the glory

The second temptation appears last in the Gospel of St. Matthew, which may show his Jewish orientation, putting greater value on worshiping God over trusting Him, which Luke may highlight from his perspective influenced by Greek rationalism.

Whether second or third in Scripture, however, the temptation's lure of worldly power and glory is certainly most relevant to the NATO-Russia tussle over Ukraine.

For both President Putin and Russia, at stake are the nation's stature and strength in the world and its quest for the unified glory of "United Russia" the very name of Putin's political party, the largest in the country.

As for the West, no less than President Joseph Biden of the United States, NATO's most powerful member, declared in his first State of the Union Address to the US Congress on March 2 that the conflict with Russia was a global battle between democracy and autocracy,

And the prize is nothing less than the domination by one or the other ideology over the planet and its 7.9 billion souls.

Thus, like gladiators, the great powers bow to the master of the world before dueling to the death, and he will give it to whoever remains standing after the carnage.

As in the Garden of Eden, humanity has again fallen to the tempter. Let us fast, pray and atone for these sins driving our world to perdition.

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The 3 temptations of Vladimir Putin and NATO - The Manila Times