FIRST SUNDAY OF LENT - FEBRUARY 18, 2024

FIRST SUNDAY OF LENT

The beginning words of this Sunday’s Gospel are also the first words we must reflect upon as we enter into the season of Lent: “At that time Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil.” Jesus’ time in the desert is the basis of the penitential nature of the Lenten season. The reason the Gospel writers give for him going into the desert, though, is so that he would be tempted by the devil. Why did Jesus need to be tempted by the devil and why do we model the most significant season of the liturgical year for ourselves after this period of temptation? The answer lies within these words of the Gospel - Christ was led into the desert by the Spirit, and we are empowered to face our temptations with the help of the Spirit, as well.

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One of the most famous passages in Scripture can be found in Psalm 23: “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.” We know that Christ entered the desert for 40 days primarily so that he could focus on praying. As a Jew who was well-versed in Scripture, he must have uttered these words from psalm 23 often. Christ’s prayers were often addressed to the Father because of their intensely intimate relationship with one another. However, the love between the Father and the Son is considered its own Divine Person, unique from the other two - we name it the Holy Spirit. As we read in the Gospel, it was this love between Father and Son that led Christ into the desert to be tempted. It was love expressed through obedience to the Father that made Christ desire to strengthen himself for the mission that laid ahead of him after his time in the desert. It was love for us that led the Father to send His Son to our world, and that love fortified and strengthened him when he needed it most in the face of temptation. In this Sunday’s first reading, we hear of the salvation of Noah after the effects of the flood. The world was filled with the wickedness of humanity, and as Peter mentions in his letter from the second reading, only a few persons, eight in all, were saved through water. Over time, God has enlarged the number of those saved, even offering the opportunity to all of us living today, as long as we model Noah in the Ark, Abraham in Ur, Moses in the deserts, and Christ in the wilderness: we must express our love for the Father through obedience. We have the opportunity to obey God through the guidance of the Father, the teachings of the Son, or the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Fortunately, the season of Lent gives us the ideal opportunity to form our obedience to God perfectly.

While being tempted in the desert, Christ was empowered to say no to temptation because the Spirit of God, the Love between the Holy Persons of the Trinity, resided within him. If the Spirit led him into the desert, then the Spirit remained there with him. As we enter into our own spiritual deserts for the next 40 days modeled after Christ’s time in the desert, we can be assured that the Spirit remains with us. If we fall back into the temptations we sought to overcome during this season, though, we risk disobeying the will of God, who wants nothing more than our well-being and blessedness; disobedience is a lapse in love. We undergo the season of Lent so that we may experience life and humanity at its fullest, in perfect harmony with God. By doing so, we participate in the love that exists between Father and Son. We participate in the Spirit. However, we must first acknowledge the Spirit’s constant presence throughout our journey in life.