Readings: Deuteronomy 26:4-10; Romans 10:8-13; Luke 4:1-13
Theme: Led by the Spirit into the Wilderness
Jesus’ life was dominated by a single passion: to establish on earth God’s reign of justice, peace and love. But how was he going to carry out this mission entrusted to him by the Father? He had no blueprint or plan of action to guide him. What he had was the Holy Spirit, the Spirit who came upon him at his baptism. This same Spirit – the spark of divine energy that brought the universe into existence and ignited the fire of life – now leads Jesus out into the wilderness where he is tempted by Satan for forty days.
Jesus’ forty days in the wilderness was a decisive and defining experience for him. It helped him to clarify the path his messianic mission would take. It led him to reject several false paths he could have chosen – the path of violent revolution adopted by the political revolutionaries of the day, the Zealots, and also the way of compromise adopted by the Jerusalem elite, the Sadducees and High Priests. His wilderness experience led him to choose instead the path of redemptive suffering. The way of Jesus would be to turn the other cheek, to walk the second mile and to take up his cross and give up his life on Calvary. He would defeat evil by letting evil do its worst to him, by suffering it in love and forgiving his enemies. In the wilderness Jesus rejects the temptations of Satan and commits himself unreservedly to carrying out the will of his Father.
I had often wondered what it would be like to live in the wilderness or desert. My curiosity was satisfied in the Spring of 2008, while on a Sabbatical programme in Jerusalem. The programme included an experience of life in the wilderness. Along with my companions, I spent a short but memorable time in the Sinai Desert, including a night sleeping in the open. I had imagined the desert as a place of sand, heat and dust. But it wasn’t like that at all. Instead of sand, there were rocks – huge mountainous boulders on every side – terrifying and yet strangely protective. Instead of heat, there was piercing cold that prevented me from sleeping. Instead of dust, the air was crisp and clear. Never in my life had I seen so many stars in the sky, shining brilliantly, a sight of awesome beauty! And then there was the silence, not just the absence of noise but the sense of ‘hush’ which made you want to speak in whispers so as not to disturb the silence. It was an unforgettable experience. It made me feel small and insignificant and yet immensely privileged. It made me want to clear my mind and de-clutter my heart, to let go of things I thought I needed, and focus on ‘something not sold for a penny/In the slums of Mind’ (P Kavanagh, The Ascetic).
The message Jesus forged in the wilderness – the message that we are called to take to heart in these days of Lent – was ‘Repent. and believe the Good News’ (Mk 1:15). This means to turn away from the clutter or excess in our lives and to listen to the One who speaks to us in nature, in people and in the depths of our hearts. Lent not a dreary, sad season to be patiently endured. It is a joyful season, as today’s Lenten preface reminds us: ‘For by your gracious gift each year your faithful await the sacred feasts with the joy of minds made pure, so that, more eagerly intent on prayer and on the works of charity, and participating in the mysteries by which they have been reborn, they may be led to the fullness of grace that you bestow on your sons and daughters’.
Lent is a time to experience afresh the embrace of God’s love; a time to join Jesus in the desert and allow the Spirit to lead us on an inner journey. It is a time to take a good look at ourselves and, where necessary, realign our priorities. Lent invites us to repent, but repentance is not just our work. It is primarily the fruit of God’s grace at work in us but I have to be ready to allow God to take me in hand and, in the words of the poet John Donne ‘to break, blow, burn, and make me new’. I conclude with an apt Lenten reflection from the pen of American poet, Ann Weems:
Lent is a time to take time to let the power
of our faith story take hold of us,
a time to let the events get up
and walk around in us,
a time to intensify our living unto Christ,
a time to hover over the thoughts of our hearts,
a time to place our feet in the streets of
Jerusalem or to walk along the sea and
listen to his Word,
a time to touch his robe
and feel the healing surge through us,
a time to ponder and a time to wonder….
Lent is a time to allow
a fresh new taste of God!
Give us courage, O God,
to hear your Word
and to read our living into it.
Give us the trust to know we’re forgiven
and give us the faith
to take up our lives and walk.
Michael McCabe SMA
Audio variation by Tom Casey, Zambia.