Temptations vs. Religious Communicators

A Reflection on the Temptation in the Desert from the Gospel of St. Luke (4:1-13)
“When you play with fire, you get burned.”

The late Pauline priest and long-time Home life editor, Andres R. Arboleda Jr., who was my mentor and spiritual director during my early years in the seminary, once made this remark to us seminarians. “Fire is such a temptress, that is always catches the attention of many. It is bright to the eyes. It moves with suavity and grace, rapid yet demure. Temptation is always beautiful at first sight!”

The glitz and fame of mass media are potential avenues where religious men and women involved in social communications might possibly be tempted to “sin” against their apostolate. This is true despite the fact that they are spiritually and professionally formed in this field and that they have a mission to permeate society with the Gospel and stimulate people to listen to and embrace its message (cf. John Paul II, Apostolic Letter Rapid Development (RD, 8).

The Church and Mass Media

It is important to note that the Church looks with great hope and expectation at the modern means of communication, which are collaborative creation of man’s ingenuity and of God’s grace. It views media as “signs of progress in today’s society” (RD,1) and a means of integrating the message of Redemption into the “new culture” that media create and amplify (cf. RD, 2). However, the Church believes that the world of mass media is also in need of Christ’s redemption (RD, 4), and it is deeply aware that these instruments can be used for good or for evil (Pontifical Council for Social Communications, Ethics in the Media of Social Communications: A Matter of Choice (EMSC), 19).

Temptations to use these means for evil ends are always possible. The evangelist Luke provides us points for reflection on how the devil lures people who are involved in the mass media apostolate of the Church, and gives us a model in combating these through Jesus’ examples. The narrative on Christ’s temptation in the desert offers rich insights regarding these.

Turning Stone into Bread: The Power to Transform

In Luke’s account, the devil make its first attempt to entice Jesus, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to turn into bread” (v.3). Note that by these words, the devil acknowledges Jesus as the Son of God, yet doubts this reality and puts it into a test. The current secular culture that pervades in most parts of the world makes people believe that they can create whatever they need to gain salvation. They narrow their horizons regarding life and compartmentalize each part of it, at times leaving no room for God’s presence to work in their lives.

Consecrated persons working in the media apostolate might succumb to this belief since they are greatly exposed to the secular, democratic and capitalistic world espoused often by the media. This happens when one, being “in” the Church, still professes belief in its teachings but gradually loses focus, integration and application of the Christian identity in life. One becomes slowly deceived by the idea that, being in the media, he has the power to transform lives by his own example and self-projection but without any reference to the Lord. This power to transform is now very possible in this age of new media technologies where ID personalities, such as religious commentators and media practitioners, possess the capacity to persuade by simply building a personal image which in the public’s collective mind is greater than the sum of his actual qualities, achievements and resources. Such image-making is sometimes brought about by the prestige of one’s title or office but is devoid of one’s authentic purpose for the apostolate-to proclaim the Good News to all.

Authority and Glory of Kingdoms: The Power to Hoard

“I will give you all this power and the glory of these kingdoms; the power has been given to me and I give it to whom ever I wish. Prostrate yourself in homeage before me, and it shall all be yours” (vv. 6-7). Thus, the devil mocks Christ the King. Although there is nothing wrong with gaining ownerships and profits, the Church is aware that the media are sometimes abused by creating and sustaining economic systems that serve covetousness and greed (cf. EMSC, 14).

Just like some Western secular media institutions and persons, the religious involved in the media apostolate might also subscribe to the idea that he is purely a professional and slowly abandons his being an apostle of mass media. This arises when the religious overlooks the real score of his apostolate and solely focuses his concern in amassing wealth gained through salaries or allowances that are fundamentally provided to support his apostolic work. By practising personal power to hoard material wealth and reputation, the religious exploits mass media for his self-advantage at the expense of the community that ought to benefit from it.

At this point, let us divert a little to prove this point. In his book All the Pope’s Men, Vatican correspondent John Allen, Jr. of the National Catholic Reporter mentioned that the American press, fuelled with a power to hoard (or profit) mentality and a Calvinist or anti-Catholic bias, treated the clerical sex abuse crisis by investing incalculable resources in broadcasting the failures of the Catholic Church, but made no similar effort to publicize anything the Church did right.

U.S Media: A clear exploitation

There was undoubtedly a great bias from the U.S. Media. John Allen says that in the same year that the sex abuse scandals dominated the front page of the New York Times for forty-one days in a row, 27 million children were being educated in Catholic schools in the U.S., nearly 10 million persons were receiving assistance from Catholic Charities USA, health care to millions of poor and low-income Americans. A small-in-scope profit driven secular media used mass media to the detriment of the worldwide Roman Catholic Church.

The devil seems to tease Jesus, “if you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for Scripture has it, ‘He will bid his angels watch over you’; and again, ‘With their hands they will support, that you may never stumble on a stone”’ (vv. 9-11). By these words, the devil appears to demand Jesus to amuse him with an incredible feat, a stunt similar to an acrobat leaping through fascinating rings of fire.

Joy is one of the most positive things media contribute to humanity. Through its entertainment industry, the media bring about relief, humor, happiness, and life to a world that is exhausted and drained due to anxieties and problems. The media apostolate makes use of amusement for the same purpose and for leveling high-sounding principles and thoughts into common and recognizable truths. The problem comes when the religious make use of entertainment as power that drives people away from the message.

For the religious media practitioner the Communicator is the Message; Jesus is the Message. In this sense, the media practitioner plainly serve as “medium,” and he must do all in his power to transmit the Message to the receivers or audiences. The media apostle who is deeply engrossed with his power to amuse simply is a faulty “medium” and is making a fool out of himself and his apostolate a laughing stock. Just imagine, some of today’s songwriters compose songs that empty of meaning and are simply filled with babbled words.

Jesus, Model Communicator

Jesus was a teacher in Israel who had the capacity to transmit Revelation with clarity. He did not just repeat the doctrine of Revelation but identified himself with it until he was able to bring it to complete fulfillment. He used to say “you have heard it commanded to our forefathers… but I say to you…” He was one who did nor merely repeat but one who communicated with authority because he lived it. To avoid temptations, let the communicator-apostle imitate Jesus Christ who did not follow the standards of the social milieu of his time but fulfilled his mission as destined for him by the Father.