homily notes: first sunday of lent

In the gospel of Mark, Jesus seems to come out of nowhere.


John is preaching and baptizing people, and then suddenly Jesus is there getting baptized with everyone else. And when he come out of the water, the heavens are opened and the Spirit descends on him like a dove and we hear the Father say that Jesus is his beloved Son.


Then we hear today's gospel: The Spirit, the same spirit who descended upon Jesus in his baptism, drives Jesus out into the desert for 40 days where he's tempted by Satan; he lives with the wild animals and angels minister to him.


It's so short and simple, that it's easy to miss it's power and the meaning behind it.


The idea of "forty days" appears all through the Old Testament. It symbolizes a time of testing. We see it in the story of Noah with forty days and nights of rain. We see it in Moses' forty days on the mountain, fasting in God's presence. And most importantly for us today, we see it in the forty years the people of Israel spent wandering in the desert before they reached the promised land.


Like the Israelites, who passed through the water of the Red Sea and then went into the desert, Jesus comes up out of the water of the Jordan and goes into the wilderness.


This desert, this wilderness, is a place where you have to rely completely on God for food and water and safety. There's danger in the form of wild animals and the wilderness was always seen as the domain of the devil.


Israel failed in the desert because they refused to trust in God - that he would provide form them and bring them into the land he had promised them.


What's different for Jesus, is that he triumphs. He doesn't give into the devil's temptations.


He succeeds where every man and woman before him failed.


Because of his complete, self-giving love for the Father, Jesus is able to win the fight for us.




We see Jesus' time in the desert as a model for our own journey through Lent - and for a good reason.
During this season of Lent we try to let go of some things. We try to realize that only God can make us truly happy - only God can ultimately provide for us.
And like Jesus, we're tempted - tempted to take the easy way out, to rely on the things that are less than God.


BUT, like Jesus, we can triumph. With the power of the Holy Spirit, and the support of all the Church in heaven and on earth, the angels and the saints, we can resist the temptations that come at us ... and come out stronger.


Even if Lent hasn't started out great for you, we're only a couple of days in! It's never too late to use this time of prayer and repentance to draw closer to the Lord. This time in the desert is for our own good.


We can come out of the desert saying to ourselves and the world, "This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel."