The Desert Road to Easter

1st Sunday of Lent Feb. 26, 2012 (Mk 1:12-15)

At once the Spirit drove him out into the desert, and he remained in the desert for forty days, tempted by Satan. He was among wild beasts, and the angels ministered to him.

After John had been arrested, Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God: "This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel."

Being man, Jesus also experienced temptation. After being baptized by John, just before He began His public ministry, Jesus retreated into the desert, driven by the Holy Spirit. There He was tempted by Satan, as all men are tempted. But Jesus never fell into sin. He was tempted but He overcame temptation.

Jesus' victory over temptation tells us that even as men, we can overcome temptation. We are always tempted to sin but we do have the ability to refuse to sin. In the desert, Jesus was among wild beasts, but He also had angels there to minister to Him. As children of God in this world, we are also like lambs among wolves, but we have God with us. On our own, we'll probably fall victim to the devil and to his temptations, especially in our world today where the value of prayer and sacrifice is neglected and where committing sin and giving in to temptations are encouraged. But we have God to strengthen us and to help us live according to His will. He sent us His Spirit to lead us in holiness and His angels guide us in our earthly journey.

This holy season of Lent, the Church reiterates the importance of turning away from sin and turning towards God. Jesus Himself, after being victorious over temptation, proclaims the message: "The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel."

The whole Lenten journey is a preparation for the celebration of Easter. We die in our sinfulness in order to worthily and more meaningfully celebrate the joy of Christ's resurrection. Prayer, fasting and almsgiving are the practices which aid us in the challenge of repentance.

In prayer, we recognize that we need God and we ask for His help in order to change our lives and to turn away from sin. In fasting and abstaining, we practice control over our bodies and we learn discipline that helps us triumph over the urges and temptations to sin. In almsgiving, we practice selflessness in sacrificing for the welfare of others, as Jesus showed us. These practices, which we must learn to do even outside Lent, help us to turn away from sin and to turn to God.

The call to repentance is a call that we must heed constantly. But even if we falter and sin every now and then, God gives us the strength to come back to Him. Lent is a special time to repent, if we haven't already done so. A joyful and meaningful celebration of Easter requires a well-spent Lent.

May we all have a fruitful Lenten journey towards a triumphant Easter!

Man: His Power Against Temptation

1st Sunday of Lent Mar. 1, 2009 (Mk 1:12-15)

The Spirit drove Jesus out into the desert, and he remained in the desert for forty days, tempted by Satan. He was among wild beasts, and the angels ministered to him.

After John had been arrested, Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God: "This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel."

We are subject to temptation. This is because we, whose destiny is eternity in heaven, are born in time in this world where sin has crept. The lures of the evil one is very strong in this material world. So we have no choice. We will be subject to temptation; that's inevitable. We may sometimes crumble in the face of it. But we have the power to stand up and resist all temptation.

We Filipinos often hear, and even use, the "Tao lang, nagkakamali rin." argument. But this should not be abused. True, we have weaknesses. But we also have special capabilities that comes from God. We are gifted with intelligence, with a reason which tells us what is right; but often we do not listen to it. We are given faith, so we may call on God, our Father; but we do not pray. The "Tao lang, nagkakamali rin." statement should not make us dwell in our mistakes, accepting them as if they were alright. It should be a reminder, a challenge for us all to be bothered by the fact that we are weak and flawed, and thus be inspired to try and live a more virtuous life.

Jesus, in our Gospel today, shows us that living a virtuous life even when we're immersed in a culture of sin and death, is very possible. Jesus lived in the desert among wild beasts (Mk 1:12), yet He remained unharmed. In the same way, Jesus sends us like lambs among wolves. We are exposed, and sometimes, even threatened, by the wolves of evil in this world, but we are strong. The secret of Jesus' strength comes from God. The angels ministering to Jesus remind us that we, too, are in need of help; we offer to God our worship while we admit that we are sinners.

In this very dangerous world, Lent challenges us to die with our old selves in order to be made knew. We are called to acknowledge sinfulness and to repent. Most especially, we are called to believe in the good news of the kingdom.