Monday, March 7 (Lent Week 1)

 

St. Mark's Basilica, Venice

 

Mark 1: 1-13 New International Version

John the Baptist Prepares the Way

1 The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God, ² as it is written in Isaiah the prophet:

“I will send my messenger ahead of you,
    who will prepare your way”
³ “a voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
    make straight paths for him.’”

⁴ And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. ⁵ The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. ⁶ John wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. ⁷ And this was his message: “After me comes the one more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. ⁸ I baptize you with^[e] water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

The Baptism and Testing of Jesus

⁹ At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. ¹⁰ Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. ¹¹ And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”

¹² At once the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness, ¹³ and he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.

  

Have you ever been on the cusp of something new, filled with anticipation, but also uncertainty? Perhaps having gained a new skill or understanding, ready to put that knowledge to use, but unsure as to how well you will do? I wonder if this was how Jesus felt after being baptized by John and then being sent out to the wilderness by his Father.

Did Jesus wonder how he would do on this test, if it even was a test? Or was he confident in the knowledge that he was up to any challenge, ready to defeat any obstacle? Did he know the details of what was to come, or did he embark with nothing more than faith in our Father and a prophecy here and there to guide him??

Lent is described as a time to observe and commemorate the passion, death and resurrection of Christ. This is true, but during and especially now at the beginning of Lent, I think it is also a time of great anticipation. Aside from the Christmas story, Lent and the days thereafter are when all the “action” happens in the Gospels. And I wonder, did Jesus have the detailed script of what was to come, or like the rest of us, did he have to rely on his teachings, his Faith in God and his strength of spirit to overcome his temptations?

I think all of us have experienced this quandary. Having just passed a drivers license test we take our first solo drive. We rely on our newfound skills, but don’t have any guarantee there won’t be a fender bender during the drive. We graduate from a formal training period and start a new job. We’re confident but uncertain. Parenthood arrives and everything we thought we knew about children evaporates, but we forge ahead perforce.

In any of these situations we are excited, probably a little nervous, and despite the best of plans, subject to temptations and barriers that could prevent us from our ultimate goals. And I think this can bring us closer to Jesus. Whatever else he was thinking in this moment, it truly brought out that he is a son of man, as tempted in his aims as any of us.

So, Lent can very much remind us of Jesus’s sacrifice, his struggle and how he overcame temptation to defeat the devil and fulfil his destiny. But Lent can also keep fresh for each of us now and throughout the year that when we keep learning and studying, praying and growing in our faith, our sense of anticipation can remain sharp. For whether we know what is to come or not, with faith we can surmount any obstacle and overcome any temptation. 

 

- Brad Gillespie