Readings: Gn 9:8-15; Ps 25; 1 Pt 3:18-22; Mk 1:12-15
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Back in 1968, a few weeks after Diane and I were married, the United States Navy ordered me to San Diego; so, the newlyweds set out on the cross-country trip.
One afternoon, driving through Arizona, we pulled off the highway and stopped the car, captivated by a distant thunderstorm moving across the desert, truly a remarkable sight. It was so distant, we could see the entire storm as sheets of rain poured down and bolts of lightning struck the ground one after another – a spectacular display, but so far away it just didn’t seem real.
This same sense of unreality can affect us when we’re confronted by distant events. Wars in Eastern Europe and the Middle East, terrorist attacks, the persecution of Christians in place like Nigeria, crime in our cities – yes, storms like these can also seem very distant. After all, they’re not happening here…at least not yet. A lot of us simply push it all aside, unmoved by what’s happening in the world. In a word, it’s easy for us to become indifferent.
But then there are those who look out at the world and its troubles and sinfulness and see nothing else. Wearing blinders of pessimism, they forget God is Emmanuel, who promised to be with us always. Indeed, in Genesis, we heard one of the first of God's promises – His covenant with Noah – a promise He’ll renew and expand throughout salvation history, anticipating the Incarnation of the Word of God among us. Yes, it all points to Jesus.
Dear friends, there’s no place in the mind and heart of the Christian for either indifference or pessimism; for the Gospel, the Good News of Jesus Christ, is a message of unabashed optimism, and certainly not one of indifference. This, sisters and brothers, is what Lent’s all about: a time of optimism, a time of renewal, a time to turn away from yesterday, focus on today, and look expectantly to tomorrow.
In today's Gospel passage, Jesus is driven into the desert by the Holy Spirit, by His Spirit, to do the will of the Father, His Father. Here we witness the work of our triune God. Yes, the Trinity is at work. So often we compartmentalize our God, forgetting that Father, Son, and Spirit are One. Jesus, sacrificially, willingly throws Himself into the heart of a spiritual storm. Why does He do this? Why subject Himself to Satan’s direct and personal temptations? He does it for us. For Jesus, it’s a time, in His humility, to suffer, to experience the same temptations you and I encounter. He becomes our model.
For Jesus, those 40 days were a time of prayerful communion with the Father, a time of radical formation to prepare Himself for His ministry and, ultimately for His passion, death, and resurrection. It was a defining moment in His humanity, sharply dividing His hidden private life and His public ministry. God has given us a Redeemer whose love for us is boundless. In our sufferings, pains, and temptations, He leads us, extending mercy and forgiveness, since He too has experienced it all. Listen again to the words of our Psalm 25:
"He shows sinners the way."
And how did St. Peter put it in our 2nd reading?
“Christ suffered… that he might lead you to God.”
In this season of Lent, Our Lord leads us as His Spirit led Him, so we too can confront our own very personal deserts. We each have a desert or two, those barren pieces of our lives, that we’d prefer not to confront, or, at best, to just look at from a distance.
Is our relationship with God a desert? Is our prayer life arid, neglected except once each week on Sunday? Or perhaps we‘re like those who claim friendship only when they need help? Do we pray only in time of need? St. Paul instructs us to "pray without ceasing" [1 Thes 5:17]. What can he possibly mean by this? Are we supposed to be on our knees all day? No. Paul’s just telling us to offer all that we do to God. To place everything – our plans, burdens, worries, pains, our sufferings and our joys – at His feet. He’ll share them with us and bear them for us. Can you and I deepen our prayer life this Lent? Talk to and with God. Share your sorrows and joys with Him. Taste His goodness.
What about our family life? Is it like that chaotic storm roaring across the desert? Has mutual respect and patient understanding been replaced by the thunder of arguments and bolts of bitterness aimed at the hearts of those we love? Unkind words leave wounds. My dad used to say, “The strongest among us bite their tongues a lot.” You and I must learn to forgive as the Father forgives, to love as He loves. When we pray together daily, God unfolds miracles in our families.
Another desert: the habitual sin that plagues so many lives. And yet, God’s mercy and forgiveness await in the sacrament of reconciliation – a remarkable gift, too often refused.
Or do we live in a desert of self-absorption, focused on ourselves, while others remain unseen. People hunger for more than bread. There’s a lot of loneliness in our community, so many who hunger for a kind word, for someone to listen, to visit, for they too await the taste of God’s love in their lives.
Then there’s pride, the great temptation: to imagine we can achieve through our own efforts what only God can give. Interesting how we so often exhibit pride while God, in humility, became one of us. Remember how they taunted Jesus on the Cross:
“He trusted in God; let God deliver Him if He loves him” [Mt 27:43].
No angels came to Jesus on the Cross, but God’s plan wasn’t suspended. Although Jesus seemed abandoned, nothing separated Him from the Father, certainly not Satan or the desert or even the Cross. Jesus set His heart on the Father and trusted. The Father vindicated the Son when and where He chose. But He did vindicate Him.
Through His resurrection Jesus assures us that victory is ours if only we persevere in faith and trust. Lent, then, is really a joyous season. What did Jesus say?
"This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the Gospel."
“Repent and believe in the Gospel,” the Good News, and good news is always joyful.
Brothers and sisters, the Good News is life, the life God shares with us. Believe in life! Christ's life, your life, my life, life here and now and forever. Come alive! Let Christ live in you and through you. Open your life to Him and to the will of the Father. Like Jesus, we can use these 40 days to confront our deserts, and leave them behind. For Lent isn’t about yesterday. It’s about today. And today is life.
Yesterday is sin. Today is love. God's love for us and the love He calls us to share with others. It’s the love that keeps His commandments, the love that overcomes even death, the crucified love that takes away the sins of the world.
We tend to complicate everything, and yet God likes to keep things simple. He told us to do two things:
Love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength; and your neighbor as yourself. [Lk 10:27]
So, if you want to repent, to convert, to allow God to change you, love! Love God and love one another.
Yesterday is the despair of a world that rejects our living, loving God, the despair of the faithless, and of gloomy theologians who always seem to condemn. What words do we pray after each decade of the Rosary? That little prayer of Our Lady of Fatima:
“Oh, my Jesus. Forgive us our sins. Save us from the fire of hell. Lead all souls to heaven, especially those in most need of Thy mercy.”
Do you and I believe God can lead all souls to heaven? If not, why then do we pray for it? For me, salvation is God's business, not mine. I just pray for others and myself, and hope; for today is hope — hope in God's message of love and forgiveness, the Good News of eternal life. So, if you want to repent, hope! Come to know the mercy of God.
Yesterday was slavery, slavery to sin, to pride, to fear. But today is freedom! Not the false freedom of doing whatever we want, but true freedom -- the power, the gift, to choose good over evil. So, if you want to repent, be free! Open yourself to God in free obedience to His commandments, and to each other in unforced love.
And do you know something? The wonderful thing about all this is you and I don’t have to do it alone. Indeed, we can’t do it alone. But if we call upon our God, the Father and the Son will send their Spirit to lead you and me out of those barren deserts into eternal life.
God love you…and have a joyful Lent.
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