Today's readings are Gen. 9: 8-15, Psalm 25, 1 Peter 3:18-25, Mark 1: 12-15
Every year the gospel for the First Sunday of Lent is the temptation of Jesus. Last year we heard this story from St. Matthew’s perspective, this year from St. Mark, and next year from St. Luke. Now, St. Mark’s account of Jesus’ temptation is by far the shortest of the three. Nowhere do we hear of the three temptations that Satan presents to Jesus that Sts. Matthew and Luke include in their versions. Mark gives us a bare bones account — just 2 verses - but every word counts.
In his narration of the Temptation, St. Mark shares 5 important points: 1) that Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River, hence, the Holy Spirit would have come upon him; 2) It is the Holy Spirit that sends Jesus into the desert wilderness; 3) Jesus is there for 40 days - the 40 days recalling the Israelites’ 40 years wandering in the desert on their way to the Promised Land, the 40 days Moses spent on Mt. Sinai, and Elijah’s 40-day walk to Mt. Horeb where he would meet God (Deuteronomy 9:18, Exodus 34:27-29, 1 Kings, 19: 8-13); 4) The wilderness setting – it’s a desert. The Jewish people knew that in this harsh desert environment, a person would have to endure much to encounter God; And 5) the four “powers” present in the story – two of them are good: the Holy Spirit, and the angels who minister to Jesus. The other two powers are evil or dangerous: Satan, who puts Jesus to the test, and the wild beasts such as the leopards and jackals who inhabited the area. In mentioning these powers St. Mark indicates that during these 40 days of Temptation it was as if heaven and earth hung in the balance while Satan and the wild beasts clashed with Jesus and the Holy Spirit and God’s comforting angels. Thankfully, Jesus overcomes this test.
It has been a bit more than 11 months since the 1st lockdown of this pandemic happened. And while I certainly wouldn’t say we been living in the desert, the term wilderness that St. Mark uses to describe the desert seems rather apropos.
During these months, we have been in a wilderness of uncertainty and despondency. It has been a time when so many things we treasure have not been possible, such as extended gatherings of families and friends. So many businesses have been closed and so many jobs have been lost. Schools have been closed while the students, parents and teachers and staff struggled with on-line learning. Our places of worship have been closed. Weddings and baptisms and funerals have been postponed or only celebrated with few in attendance.
And in this wilderness, oh, how temptations have come our way. Temptations that, considering the circumstances, are quite understandable. Fear. Depression. Anger. Turning to substances to quell those fears. And you can add your own. What have been your temptations during these 11 months?
What do we do then to get through this safely? We take a cue from the very last words of our gospel, when Jesus says, “Repent and believe in the good news”.
Consider the word repent. For some, it means being sorry for the wrongs you have done. But repentance is much more than that.
Repentance begins with an honest self-evaluation of how we have been doing – in our relationships with others, with our God, and with ourselves. Hence, we reflect on our behaviours, our actions, our words, our feelings. We recognize what has been sinful and name it. And as we do, we realize that many of those sins were caused by temptation.
The next thing we do is ask - what are your temptations? And what are their causes, especially during this time? What is causing me to be fearful, to be angry, to be down, or want to turn to abusing alcohol or other drugs? Just being aware of those causes takes away some of the power they can hold on us.
On to the next part - believe in the good news - good news being the modern English translation of the word Gospel.
What should we believe? Believe that God is holy and has graciously given you the gift of your life and your faith. Believe in the teachings of Jesus. Believe that you are called to practice your faith in all aspects of your life, even when you can’t come to mass. Believe that the challenges and beauties of this life, even during this time are just a foretaste of the glory of the life that is to come. Believe that God is very present to all of us during this pandemic and is providing support to the health care workers and the scientists that are working so hard during this pandemic.
Let me tell you something I don’t believe - I don’t believe that God sent this pandemic our way to punish us for the sinfulness of the world. But I do believe that during this pandemic God is asking us, “Have you woken up yet? Have you started to re-examine the priorities of your lives – what you thought was important versus what truly is important, like faith, family, community, our social responsibilities?