"When I see your heavens, the work of your hands, the moon and stars that you put in place -- what are we that you are mindful of us?"

Someone wrote Psalm 8 about 2,500 years ago. Long before that, Moses instructed his people to offer the first fruits of their harvest to the God who had given them everything. Centuries before the Conquista, or Spanish conquest, the Quechua and Aymara people of Peru celebrated a ceremony of burning coca leaves, agricultural products and other symbols of abundance to the Pachamama, the Mother Earth.

These practices, present in almost every culture, are sacramental; they strengthen people's faith and deepen their relationship with God, the creator of life. The ceremonies express reciprocity among unequal partners. They symbolize the way the world should be: grateful, fruitful for all, equitable and living in harmony with one another and with God.

Today's short Gospel speaks of a darker side of human life. Luke begins by twice assuring us that Jesus was obedient to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Sent by the Spirit, his 40-day fasting retreat led him to a naked confrontation with himself which, of course, included a confrontation with Diabolus, the personification of lies and blasphemy, the sower of division among people and between people and God.