On one hand, Jesus’ struggle in the desert, shows us how Jesus shares in our humanity, even in our human temptations. He hungered as we hungered, he thirsted as we thirst, and he was tempted, as we are tempted.
Now, his temptations were on a bit different scale than ours. We are not tempted to turn stones into bread, or to use divine power to become a sort of world ruler, like Jesus. But we are tempted according to our situation in life. A 5 year old is tempted to do what he knows is wrong, stealing the toy from his sibling, obstinately refusing the wishes of his parents. A 15 year-old is tempted with 15-year old sins. Spouses and parents are tempted with sins against the patience and kindness and faithfulness for spouse and children which should rule over their hearts. Politicians are tempted to misuse their power and influence for selfish reasons.
But the Lord’s temptations were real, just like ours: to misuse the power, the time, the goods, we have for selfish means. And this struggle against temptation is the great struggle of the Christian life.
But the Lord was prepared for his desert temptations because, over those 40 days, he had fasted and prayed. And so the Lord sets the model for us, his human brothers and sisters, he sets the pattern for our own Lenten journey. We too are to fast from earthly pleasures—snacks, desserts, entertainment, rich food and drink—in order to remember that “man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.”
Some people think that they don’t have to fast during Lent, they’ll just perform extra acts of charity. But that is not consistent with our Catholic Tradition, the scriptures, the prayers, the writings of the saints and the Popes, or the example of Our Lord Himself, who Himself fasted, and taught that his disciples would have to fast, as well. Lenten fasting helps us to deepen our hunger for the “true food”, which is doing the will of God.
The first sin of the human race involved food and grasping for power that didn’t belong to us. And so, If Adam disobeyed the Lord’s command, that he should not eat the forbidden fruit, the believer, through Lenten fasting, submits himself humbly to God. And that humility is a bedrock basic attitude for the Christian life.
So, the Lord going out into the desert, to fast and pray and face his temptations serves as the first pillar of Lent.
The second pillar is the Transfiguration atop Mt. Tabor, which we read every year on the Second Sunday of Lent.
The Mountain Top in scripture is always the place of divine encounter. It is where faithfulness is exercised and God is revealed. On Mount Moriah, Abraham showed his faith, and God revealed that he did not desire human sacrifice, he desires something greater, the total surrender of our hearts. Abraham was to be the father of the holy nation of Israel, a people who offered their whole hearts in surrender to God’s will, God’s plan.
So too, Moses encounters God on Mount Sinai. Moses, who faithfully led the Israelites in their exodus from Egyptian slavery to the promised land, encounters God, who reveals his law, his commandments, that his people may refrain from evil and sin, which are another form of slavery. God desires that his people be free not just from physical slavery, but spiritual slavery as well.
Elijah, too, with whom Jesus converses during His Transfiguration also encountered God on a mountain. On Mt. Carmel, the faithful prophet Elijah confronted the priests of the false Canaanite god Baal, who did demand child-sacrifice by the way. Through faithful Elijah, God reveals he is the One True God, and the futility of the false religions.
So, now Jesus and his closest disciples ascend Mount Tabor. And we see that same pattern again. Jesus, shows himself to be the faithful Son of his Father, willing to undergo suffering, crucifixion, and death. Then God’s glory is revealed. Jesus becomes transfigured, the dazzling glory of his divinity shines forth, and the voice of the Father speaks from heaven, “This is my beloved Son.”
If in the Desert Jesus showed his share in our humanity, on Mount Tabor he shows that through Him, Humanity will share in His divinity. That the cross is not the defeat of God, but rather the royal road of heaven for man; that our sufferings and the fortitude we exert in resisting temptation, when united to Christ leads to life.
So, the Lord’s white garment on Tabor prefigures the robe of his glorious resurrection, as well as the white garment of the baptized. For through baptism, we receive the white garment of the saved; we are united to Christ in his saving death, and are promised that we will rise with Him, in glorious resurrection.
Two pillars of the Lenten season: Desert and Mountaintop. In Lent, we are to be desert travelers with Jesus, fasting with him, turning away from creature comforts and earthly pleasures, to strip away the non-essentials that we may trust all the more in God. And in Lent, we are to be fellow mountain climbers with Christ, seeking the face of God and the will of God in our Lenten prayer, strengthening our Hope in Christ’s promise of resurrection and an eternal Easter.
So every day, we must climb the mountain of prayer. As we heard on Ash Wedneday, each day we are to go to a secluded place, shut the door, and listening to the Word of God. Our prayer will sustain us as we carry our crosses and encounter our hardships and face our temptations, our prayer will bring us the sweetness of God in the bitter times of life, the refreshment of God in the arid times of life, the peace of God in the chaotic times of life. Pope St. Leo the Great said, “when it comes to obeying the commandments or enduring adversity, the words uttered by the Father should always echo in our ears: This is my Son, the beloved, in whom I am well pleased; listen to Him.”
After facing temptation once again in the Garden of Gethsemene, on Good Friday, Jesus, the faithful son, climbs the final mountain, mount Calvary. God’s divine love, God’s love for us sinners, is fully revealed on that mountain, the mount of the cross. May His Divine Life, that radical aversion to sin, that burning desire to do the will of the Father, fill our hearts and lives as well, for the glory of god and salvation of souls.
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