First Sunday of Lent

Gospel Reading: Mark 1: 12 - 15

12 The Spirit drove Jesus out into the wilderness

I3 and he remained there for forty days, and was tempted by Satan. He was with the wild beasts, and the angels looked after him.

14 After John had been arrested, Jesus went into Galilee. There he proclaimed the Good News from God.

15 "The time has come," he said, "and the kingdom of God is close at hand. Repent, and believe the Good News."

Gospel Meditation

St Mark's account of the temptation in the wilderness is very short, just two verses. The church has added two later ones and these give us the option of meditating on a second moment in the life of Jesus - the beginning of his public ministry.

We look first at the two central verses (12 and 13) which be­long to the original tempting of Jesus in the wilderness.

The Bible tells us first that it was 'the Spirit' who 'drove Jesus into the wilderness'. Jesus was not there because of some minor instruments like the circumstances in which he found himself.

Far less was it the work of a spirit that we might label as 'false'; it was 'the true Spirit' who drove Jesus into the wilderness. God himself was in charge of what was happening to Jesus; it was clearly a force which was there to bring him the greatest good he could hope for.

The text also tells us that the Spirit made this move 'immedi­ ately', that is right after what went before. What had happened before was God's Spirit coming on Jesus in a movement of re­ newal. God appeared to him where he stood at the banks of the Jordan , shortly before he moved to take on his work by going to Capernaum and starting his ministry there.

The moment of being tested therefore happened 'immediately' rter the moment of purity. It was a realistic movement, a nealthy opposition to the coming of the Spirit. It reminded Jesus that his way to the glory of the resurrection was through the cross, in which he would be manifestly one with all the suffering members of humanity.

The expression 'with the wild beasts' is very important. It was truly a terrible situation. The Bible text often refers to God's testing' or 'tempting' his son; in this case the 'son' was Jesus himself. God's intention then was that this staying with the wild beasts should be helpful to Jesus as a human being.

Psalm 22:12-13 and 15-16 are important texts in explaining the meaning of 'he remained there for forty days'. They speak of Jesus being purified through a difficult ordeal. They explain the test given to the just man when he feels himself under the influ­ence of evil in all its many forms - like a person under the influ­ ence of dogs, lions or oxen.

It was a time of honesty and stability for him therefore; a time for him to be close to God. Satan gave Jesus a good shaking up. It was like God allowing Satan to 'test' Job in the Old Testament (see Job 1 and 2). As 'God tests gold in the furnace' so does he test the just man (note the text of Wisdom 3:6). God was keeping a watchful eye on Jesus, making sure that no harm came to him. It was all for his good.

Deuteronomy 8:2-4 conveys the same meaning when it says, 'He made you feel hunger, he fed you with manna which neither you nor your fathers had known, to make you understand that man does not live on bread alone, but that man lives on every­ thing that comes from the mouth of the Lord.

The clothes on your back did not wear out, and your feet were not swollen, all those forty years.' Similarly the book of Nehemiah ( 9: 21 ) says, 'Forty years you cared for them in the wilderness; they went short of nothing, their clothes did not wear out, their feet were not swollen.'

These verses are in our minds as we read them in other ac­counts of the temptation. They appear in the texts of Matthew and Luke; here they are more in our subconscious.

Verses 14 and 15 speak of a moment when God comes into the life of an individual or a community. St Mark notes that at such moments people experience several things.

•  A long-awaited moment has arrived. God's truth makes a new apperance. Things we did not think possible now seem rea­ sonable. We thought that things would always be as they were before. Now we see new things as a real possibility for us.

•  Spiritual growth seems a real possibility for us. God reveals himself to us in a new way. We had thought that we could feel no different. Now we know that our lives have taken on a new way.

Prayer

Lord, we pray today for all those whom your Spirit has driven out into the wilderness:

•  who have been betrayed by a loved one;

•  who have lost their job with no hope of getting another;

•  who find themselves in prison;

•  who have just learnt that they are terminally ill.

The days seem long to them, they feel battered by demons, surrounded by wild beasts. Lord, send them your angels to look after them.

Lord, we embark on projects easily and confidently:

•  a new relationship;

•  a leadership role in our community;

•  a new movement, a political party.

But the good feeling does not last. Your spirit must drive us out into the wilderness and we must remain there forty long days, tempted by Satan and surrounded by wild beasts while angels look after us. Only then are we fit to commit ourselves.

Lord, during the course of the year we turn our eyes to many ugly things about ourselves:

•  our meanness and envy;

•  the hurts we have not forgiven;

•  the desire to take revenge.

During this Lent, let your Spirit drive us into the wilderness and keep us there for forty days, where we will face up to the demons within us and the wild beasts tearing at us, knowing all the time that your angels are looking after us.

Lord, we thank you in the name of all those for whom this Lent will be a season of grace, when Jesus will come into their lives.

They will know that the moment they were running away from has finally come, a life of holiness will seem within their grasp, they will turn away from their sin and give themselves trustingly to the new vision you have brought them to.

Lord, we thank you for those who continue to work for reconciliation where there is hatred and violence:

•  in Israel/Palestine, the land of Jesus ;

•  between Iraq and the US ;

•  in Sri Lanka ;

•  in work places where workers and employers have no trust;

•  where racism divides people.

They are Jesus going into Galilee after John has been arrested, proclaiming

•  that it is a moment not of despair but of grace;

•  that love and harmony are real options;

•  that people can put their trust in the victory of good over evil.