Once more we enter into the desert of Lent. Once more we begin these forty days. Holy Mother Church, in her perennial wisdom and tradition, has us hear the Gospel passage of Jesus journeying in the desert before His public ministry. This is meant to be a reminder of the reality of this sacred season even if we did not assist at the liturgy of Ash Wednesday. We are walking with Jesus in the desert.
What is the desert? It is an inhospitable place to live. There is no water or so little as to support regular plants and trees. It is barren, extremely hot, and extremely lonely. The desert is an assault on our bodies; unless we take precautions against the heat and the sun and the lack of water, we will die. Not only that, but one can be tempted to think there is water there due to the mirages which make it seem like water is just over the next sand dune or hill. It is a harsh place to be.
Why does Jesus enter the desert? Why spend so long in a place so inhospitable? We should see this as Jesus entering into our weakness. We celebrated the Incarnation of the divine Word on Christmas, when God the Son joined us in receiving flesh and becoming man along with us. But we might be tempted to think that Jesus knows nothing of our struggles or weaknesses since He is still divine while becoming a man. Hence, His journey in the desert shows that He is truly compassionate with us in our frailty.
Not only that, but we ought to see in this time in the desert as an analogy for our lives in this world. For the desert is a metaphor for the sinful world in which we live. The world is an inhospitable place for a Christian to live. The temptations which surround us and even exist within us can leave us feeling spiritually parched. We can be tempted by the mirages of pleasure and comfort around us to think that we are satisfied, when our souls are thirsting for the living God who alone can satisfy us. We are in a spiritual desert, and we must not forget how Jesus walks through the real desert as we daily walk through our own deserts.
At the end of the forty days, Jesus is tempted by the devil. The Lord receives three temptations that summarize every type of temptation we receive in our lives. The first and most basic is the temptation of satisfying the flesh. Jesus is hungry, and the devil calls Him to make bread from the stones. We should note that the rebukes of Jesus are not some divine power exercised through His humanity, but His recollection of what God has revealed in the Scriptures to believe and live out. Jesus thus recalls the word of God that says, “One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from God.”
The devil then shows the Lord all the kingdoms of the world and tempts Jesus to adore the devil in exchange for those kingdoms. How easily we can form false idols in this world in the place of the true and living God who rules above all and in all. Whether it is the false idols of the false religions which have obscured the Gospel, or things of this world, or the ideas which run counter to the revelation of God, we can all too easily give in to devising a god we want to worship instead of the true God who calls us to something greater and better. Jesus rebukes the devil with the simple words of Scripture: “You shall worship the Lord, your God, and Him alone shall you serve.”
The last temptation Jesus receives is for the devil to take Him to the highest point in Jerusalem-the parapet or very top of the temple-and tempt Him to make a fantastical display of His divinity by throwing Himself off the temple and being caught by the angels. This gets to the root of our sinfulness, which is pride. We think we know better. We think we can do better than God. We work and toil at doing what we want to do instead of exercising humility. But Jesus rebukes this last temptation with the simple command of the Scriptures, “You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.” With the trials of temptation finished, the devil departs for a time.
We may be tempted to say that it is easy for Jesus to overcome all these temptations. However, we should recall how it is He achieves victory: not in great displays of power and authority, but simple recollection of the word of God and living it out simply. It is not impossible for us to do any of this. The witness of the saints throughout the ages show us it can be done as well. All that holds us back is our pride, our arrogance, our unwillingness to hear the Word before us and live it out. Do you want to be saved? Then you must confess with your mouths that Jesus is Lord and believe that He is risen from the dead in your whole heart, as Saint Paul commands in the letter to the Romans. This is not merely an external act, but the result of a full interior conversion from sin and temptation. Unless you do this, you will not be saved, and you will perish forever.
Brethren, let us willingly enter the desert with the Lord in beginning this Lent. Let us ponder our weakness and our frailty, and call out to the God who is with us in our times of trouble. Let us beseech Jesus for every grace we need to be able to overcome temptation in our spiritual journey so that we may survive the spiritual desert of our lives. Let us not forget that we too are on a journey while we are alive, that we will not remain here forever, but that we shall return to dust all too soon and be accountable for all our actions. Let us not tremble in the face of the devil and his hellish legions seeking our ruin, but exercise simple trust in the Lord who walks with us in our desert journey and shows us the way to overcome all enemies, so that we may fight well with Him and be worthy of the endless victory banquet which He prepares for all of His faithful soldiers.
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