The Journey through the Wilderness
Pleasure, Possessions, Power
It is this journey that the Season of Lent reminds us of! It is the nature of this journey that the gospel reading of today narrates to us from the life of Jesus.
Every year on the first Sunday of Lent the liturgy of the word invites us to meditate on the temptations of Jesus. The synoptic gospels (Mk, Mt, Lk) capture at the beginning of the public of ministry of Jesus what John narrates as a lifetime of discernment of the will of the Father (read Jn 6:15, 30-31; 7:3). The narrative of the temptations of Jesus in the synoptic gospels resembles those of the people of Israel in the wilderness. On another level, in Jesus “we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin” (Heb 4:15). Therefore, the temptations of Jesus are also our own. The gospel of today reminds us that the journey of our life is often marked by trials and temptations, even as the Spirit leads us forward.
“Man does not live on bread alone”: The hunger that goes beyond that of the body! [Pleasure]
The first test for the people of Israel in the wilderness was hunger (Dt 8:3). This was soon after their miraculous crossing of the Red Sea (Ex 16). When they experienced hunger their temptation was to go back to Egypt, where, they said, “we used to sit round the flesh pots and could eat to our heart’s content!” (Ex 16:3). Their perception of the traps is reversed. They see the freedom of being in the presence of God as a trap! The Lord God reminds them that he is capable of giving them bread from heaven, but man does not live on bread alone.
Faced with hunger, Jesus does not give into grumbling, nor use his powers to satisfy himself. He is more than just the body. And hunger is more than just that of the body. By resisting the hunger of the body, Jesus is open to the Word of God – the will of God.
Today, we live in a world of KFCs and McDonalds. It is so physical. It revolves around the body. It exaggerates the role of PLEASURE This season of Lent reminds us that we are not just the body. Our hunger is not just that of the body. Our hearts yearn for the beyond. “Our hearts are restless, till they rest you.” Therefore, we do not live on bread alone! We need to feed our souls too!
“Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him”: The possessions that is beyond that of the world.
The Lord God desired to lead the people of Israel to the Promised Lord – which was a symbol of the covenant between the Lord God and the people. The Promised Land was a symbol of total communion with God. The people focused on a physical land, which was not yet in view (even to this day)! It seemed a mirage. Even as Moses was on Mt Sinai, the people of Israel turned aside from the way the Lord had led them through. They worshipped a golden calf (Ex 32:8). The Lord God reminds them, I am the Lord your God, and you shall “bow down in the sight of the Lord your God” (Dt 26:10) – as we heard read in the first reading of today.
When faced with a similar situation, Jesus chooses to trust in his Father! Despite the promise of power over “all the kingdoms of the world”, Jesus prefers the heart of the human person. He invites us to worship that to which our heart is ultimately directed: God alone!
The bull! The golden calf! In this context, this season of Lent invites me to focus on God, and only HIM!
“Do not put the Lord your God to the test”: The power/ trust that is beyond magic.
Having been fed with the manna, the people of Israel presumed that they had the right to demand from the Lord God whatever they wanted. They demanded that God prove that he cared for them by meeting all their needs. Faced with thirst, they demanded water. And when the problem was not immediately solved, they question: “Is the Lord among us or not?”(Ex 17:7). And Moses reminds them, “Do not put the Lord your God to the test, as you tested him at Massah” (Dt 6:16).
Often we hear preachers say, “Faith is taking a blind leap!” Is that so? Is Jesus’ unwilling to take that leap from the pinnacle of the temple the lack of trust in his Father or is it the ultimate expression of faith? God does not have to show he cares for me just through magical powers. I do not have to condition God even with my faith. I do not have to put the Lord to test.
Today there is a tendency in some churches towards an exaggeration of magic and miracles. This season of Lent invites me to sing:
I believe in the sun even when it is not shining
And I believe in love even when there’s no one there
And I believe in God even when He is silent.
Temptations divide the world into two classes; those who fail and go down under them and those who meet them successfully and gain strength of character through overcoming them. To te one class they are stumbling blocks; to the other they are stepping stones. To the one they are hindrances; to the other they are helps. It is not our temptations but the way we respond to them that counts.
If you are the son of God… devil tempts on the very personality of Jesus, as God.
If you are the son and daughter of God. Puts doubts into us.
Am I led by the spirit! Am I led by the word of God to do things?
Go to the heart not just mind: need to reflect and return.
Fr. Franco Pereira, S.D.B.
