February 21 and February 22

First Sunday of Lent

From Deacon Dick~

Lenten Theme: “Draw Near To God and God Will Draw Near To You” (James 4:8)

Today’s Gospel finds the Spirit leading Jesus into the desert … a place of solitude, silence, and scarcity … a place of vulnerability where he is tested by the devil.  As we strive to “draw near to God,” we enter our own interior desert, not alone, but with the promise that Jesus will draw near to us. 

We are constantly tempted by a vast array of attractive allures.  And so, we need Jesus more than ever as our Teacher and Guide.  Consider Jesus’ example in encountering the evil one.

Having fasted for 40 days, Jesus is hungry and vulnerable.  Like us, he’s tempted to take some short cuts. The evil one chides:  Why go through any discomfort …why not satisfy your hunger by turning stones into bread?  People will be drawn to you by such spectacles!  But Jesus’ eternal sustenance comes from the mouth of God not from the passing allures of the world.

The devil encourages Jesus to bow down before him in exchange for temporal power.  Isn’t that the way the world works?   Couldn’t Jesus accomplish his mission more effectively by playing the political game of influence and deal-making?  Then people would have to take orders from him as his followers.  Instead, Jesus chose to remain a peasant from Galilee.  He would wouldn’t stand above the people, but would walk with them.  

Lent does not begin with a story about us.  It begins with a story about Jesus who, like us, was drawn by the same human yearnings for fulfillment, and tempted to take shortcuts.  His journey into the desert enabled him to refuse to abuse his power so that his Father would remain at the center of his life.  May Jesus, the experienced desert traveler, walk with and draw us ever closer to his heart.

(With gratitude to Jude Siciliano, OP for the basis of this this reflection)