For one, to remind us that Lent is the desert time of the Church year. The desert is barren of all of the distractions of civilization, it’s a place where you can focus. And so during Lent, we are to cut down on the distractions, and focus on the basics of the Christian life: prayer, fasting, charity, repentance from sin.
In the Old Testament, the desert was a place of divine encounter. Hosea the prophet spoke of a time when God would lead his people into the desert and speak to their hearts. The silence of the Lenten desert enables us to hear the Word of God speaking to our hearts. In the bulletin this week, you’ll see some suggestions for your Lenten prayer. For God wants to lead you out into the desert and speak to your heart. He wants you to know His love for you and the strength you wants to give you. Our modern culture abhors the silence of the desert. For in the desert God sometimes shows us some uncomfortable truths about ourselves: our need to be gratified constantly, truths about our broken personalities and sinful attractions. But God, leads us into the desert, because that is the place where he wants to bring about healing through encounter with His love.
In the Old Testament, the desert was also a place of purification and testing. The Jewish people, having lived in Egypt for 400 years, had adopted many of the pagan Egyptian practices, they’d lost touch with the God of Israel, they had hard hearts toward God. And so God brought them out into the desert to teach them to trust him, to be shed of their pagan tendencies, and to be led by him to the promised land. The faith of the Jews was also tested in the desert. They had it pretty good in Egypt, they had food, water, shelter, work, sure they had to put up with Pharaoh. At one point, they complained to God and said they’d rather be well-fed slaves in Egypt, then hungry free persons in the desert. They failed to trust that God had their best interests in mind, so there in the desert God was purifying them of their mistrust of His Holy Will.
“Jesus, you are so hungry, why are you fasting anyway, does it really matter? Change these stones into bread. Satisfy your physical hunger.” Here the devil tries to convince Jesus that the needs of the body are more important than the work of the Spirit.
Many of us have faced this temptation. We make a spiritual commitment to God, the Lenten fast, and then we begin to rationalize. What would it hurt If I gave in to my cravings? Is it really a sin? What’s wrong with eating meat on Fridays anyway? I know I promised not to eat dessert, but this cake looks so good. I know I’ve promised not to watch Netflix, but this show looks really interesting. I know I’ve said I’m not going to shop for myself, or gamble, or play video games, but if I don’t, I’ll be so bored, I’ll die. And many of us fall for it. I know I have.
There is a spiritual battle going on during Lent. We face the same enemy as Jesus faced in the desert. As the Devil sought to tempt Jesus from doing the will of God, the Devil seeks to tempt us from embracing the cross. But the cross is the royal road to eternal life. The devil seeks to obscure God’s work to bring about new life in our souls and in our parish. So the fasting, the prayer, and penance of Lent will help us remain open to God’s work and protect us from the Devil’s work.
In the second temptation, the devil took Jesus higher and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a single instant.” Now he is tempting the Lord, not with sensual pleasure, but with power. “Think of all the good you could do Jesus, with power. Think of the change you could accomplish if you were king.” Here again, the Devil seeks to turn Jesus away from the cross. Jesus did come to establish a kingdom, but not an earthly kingdom. To Pontius Pilate he says, my kingdom is not of this world.
So too, we are often tempted to establish our own kingdoms without consideration of what God’s plan or God’s commandments. In the political or corporate world and maybe even in the Church, this temptation abounds. “You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours.” “You look the other way for me, I’ll look the other way for you.” Or, “If I just skip Sunday Mass, if I just cheat a little bit, then I’ll be able to get the promotion.” Temptation is tempting. Satan will often hold up very enticing offers, at the expense of our souls. But, as the Lord teaches, “What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?”
For Jesus the temptation was real. To be ruler of all the kingdoms of the world. Think of the good he could have done, and he wouldn’t have to suffer and die! But God’s plan involved a greater good, the salvation of souls, and Jesus counters the devil’s temptation, with a proclamation that we are meant to worship and serve God, certainly not the devil, and certainly not ourselves.
Finally, “the devil led Jesus to Jerusalem, set him on the parapet of the temple, and said, if you are the Son of God, throw yourself down.” No place in Jewish life was more central or important than the temple: economically, politically, culturally, religiously. Jesus has been placed at the parapet of the temple: the “the pinnacle of Jewish society” The temptation here is not so much about power, but glory. Above all here, the temptation is glory, honor, being seen and admired, to be at the tip-top where everyone watches you.
I wonder if Jesus dismisses this temptation so easily, because earthly glory is so obviously not why he became incarnate. Jesus dismissed this temptation easily, but not so with us. Peer pressure, worrying about what others think of us, not wanting to appear too devoutly Christian to our coworkers and family; fame, popularity, social standing, these are powerful motivating factors.
We take our Lenten prayer, fasting, and almsgiving seriously, so we are not controlled by these things. Our Lenten penances toughen us up for the battle, of doing what is right always, even in the face of the hostile mob, even when we have something to gain, even when it might bring us pleasure.
May this Lent be for each one of us a time of getting back to the basics, to reset our focus, to recommit to God, particularly in the face of temptation. Through our journey through the desert, may we strip away all that gets in the way of living our faith, courageously, of encountering Our Lord daily, serving our fellow man, and living and working for the glory of God and salvation of souls.
