Episode Transcript  

One

The Third Temptation 

Next, taking Him to a very high mountain, the devil showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 'I will give you all these,' he said, 'if you fall at my feet and worship me.' Then Jesus replied, 'Be off, Satan! For scripture says: You must worship the Lord your God, and serve him alone.'”

In the third temptation, the Devil promises to give Jesus everything the world could offer. All He has to do is just forget about the Kingdom of God. What makes us forget about God and His Kingdom? For most of us, the great danger is not that we will renounce our faith. It is that we will become so distracted, rushed, and preoccupied that we will simply forget about it. The danger is not that we will deny God, but that we will entertain ourselves into forgetting Him.

Two

Wonders without a Point

In the Gospel, King Herod never denies God; he forgets Him, lulled into spiritual oblivion by entertainment. What does Herod value more than anything else? What does Herod use Jesus as a means to get? Simple: Herod loves entertainment. 

Herod liked to listen to John the Baptist speak. It was entertaining. Herod offered half his kingdom to Salome, daughter of Herodius, after her dance, because she was entertaining. And now, Herod is excited to see Jesus Himself, the great wonder-worker everyone’s been talking about. Why? Well, because Herod wants to see Him do something entertaining, of course.

But that’s not going to happen, because all Jesus’ wonders, all his miracles, have a point. They show the mercy of God, they show the power of God, they show the purpose and the plan of God, they show the Lord’s plan to heal us from our sins, to save us from our demons, to bring us to a place of everlasting peace and delight. All Jesus’ wonders have a point. All His miracles express a further truth. All His signs invite a further commitment from us. That’s why He does them.

What Herod wants is a wonder without a point. He wants a miracle without any truth behind it. He wants something sensational that doesn’t challenge him. That’s what mere entertainment is. And that’s why entertainment has such a potential to distract you from God.

Three

Entertainment vs. Recreation

We call the escape into entertainment “vegging out” because entertainment is designed to help you not think, not love more deeply, not engage more fully in the real world, the order that God has established. In this sense, we could define entertainment as something captivating that doesn’t have a point, doesn’t convey any deeper truth, and doesn’t renew your commitment to what is profoundly good.

This is the opposite of what we might call “Recreation,” which is when we do something that does help us realize deeper truth, celebrate God’s order, and commit to what is good.

Recreation may also engage with astonishing, wonderful things, mountains, movies, music, and the magnificent achievements of genius in all areas, but it takes delight in going deeper into the truth behind these things, into the deeper goodness that these things express. There’s always a truth behind the wonder, and a goodness the wonder invites us to commit to.

Jesus’ miracles were acts of re-creation; He was exercising His power as God the creator over the weather, the water, or the human body. That was always the truth behind his wonders. And when we are really pursuing recreation, we are trying to reach God the Creator through whatever avenues, whatever wonders of truth, beauty, and goodness at our disposal.

Four

Senses Enliven or Deaden the Soul

So here’s the scary but inescapable truth: the way we use our senses will either deaden or enliven the soul. If we dedicate our eyes and our ears to entertainment, to sensational things that keep our interest for a while, but really don’t bring us insight or clarity or gratitude or strength of resolve, if we dedicate our eyes and our ears to that, it will deaden the soul. It will turn us into Herod. A brute, an oaf, a stupid slob to whose spirit not even God Incarnate can find an avenue of approach. 

If we dedicate our eyes and ears to things we recognize as true, and good, and beautiful, that give us wonder, that make us marvel, but make us wonder and marvel and delight at the truth and goodness of who God is, what He has done, and all He has revealed, then we will go from wonder to wonder, from glory to glory, until we reach the place where splendid wonders never end.

So which will it be?

Five

Resolution

So before ending, let’s make a resolution. Let’s find an area of our lives of habitual entertainment, where we indulge in something that really has zero spiritual value, whether it’s doomscrolling the news and commentary, endless sports, YouTube shorts, or TikTok, social media, Facebook, Instagramm, binging on whatever show or streaming service. Compulsively checking your phone like it’s the only way you can see your world. 

Think of whatever you do that’s entertaining but doesn’t really have a point, doesn’t really have any deeper value. Think of that habit of yours, and then picture Herod asking for a wonder without a point, and then sending Jesus away forever. And make a resolution to cut down on your entertainment of choice.     

But you can’t break an addiction by willpower alone. You’ve got to remove the source of the temptation. And since most people won’t get rid of their smartphones, I suggest two things: First of all, go to gray scale on your phone screen. Secondly, get a book.

I recommend: The Wright Brothers or 1776 by McCullough, The Boys in the Boat, or The Count of Monte Cristo. My personal all-time favorite is The Prisoner of Zenda and its sequel. Les Misérables, A Gentleman in Moscow, The King's Achievement by Robert Hugh Benson, A Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin, The Tale of Despereaux, The Chronicles of Narnia, The Hobbit. 

And some books on Saints, like Thomas More, A Portrait of Courage, Forget Not Love: The Passion of Maximilian Kolbe by André Frossard, Catherine of Siena by Sigrid Undset, or Joan of Arc by Marc Twain.

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