From the Mountain Top to the Desert
What a difference a week makes!
In last Sunday’s Gospel, we heard of Jesus, accompanied by Peter, James, and John, ascending a high mountain. On the mountain top, God’s glory shines upon the transfigured Jesus, and the voice of God proclaims: ‘This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased.’
In this Sunday’s Gospel, we find ourselves not on the mountain top, but in a wilderness desert. On the mountain top, Jesus was accompanied by his friends and is spiritually fed; in the desert, he is confronted and tormented by Satan. On the mountain top, Jesus is spiritually transformed, uplifted, and affirmed; in the desert he is tempted to deny his true self and to forsake his destiny.
There is, I think, much here with which we can identify.
More often than not in life we find ourselves not basking in God’s glorious presence on the mountain top but wandering in the desert wilderness. I do not know about you, but for me, the periods of desert wilderness—those times of isolation, loneliness, turmoil, and temptation—have been more numerous in my life than intense, transforming, mountain top experiences. I often wonder how much richer and more fulfilling life would be if I could stay only on the mountain top; how much easier life would be if I could avoid those times when I found myself wandering in a desert wilderness.
But when I pause for deeper reflection, I find that it was really in the testing of those wilderness wanderings, rather than on the mountain tops, that my faith grew most deeply and lastingly. This Sunday’s Gospel makes it clear that wilderness time is not lost or wasted time. Wilderness time is purposeful time and an essential part of the Christian life.
Our journeys in the wilderness are times of testing in which God prepares us for a task.
The Gospel says that Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. This seems to be a strange statement—why would the Spirit lead Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil? We often want to believe that the source of those uncomfortable encounters is the Evil One, but the Gospel reminds us that God has a hand in them. Temptation and wilderness are part of God’s plan. They are a part of God’s plan because they help us to adjust our perceptions and determine our priorities.
The temptations that Jesus faces in the wilderness are pretty familiar — if we make a careful comparison with our own lives. None of us has the power to turn stones into bread; but we all share with Jesus that temptation to muscle the rest of the world into answering our immediate needs and wants.
How about Jesus at the pinnacle of the temple?
How many times do we wish something difficult in life could be easier, or that it could be over faster?
Have you ever wished that life was like a good book and you could skip to the end to make sure everything turns out all right?
Already knowing where his journey was going to take him, how tempting it must have been for Jesus to just jump off the Temple rather than to suffer a long and agonizing crucifixion.
And how often have we, like Jesus, been tempted to worship that which ought not to be worshipped?
How often have we been tempted by what the world has to offer—power, wealth, immediate gratification?
Temptation is a part of all our lives. The test to overcome temptation will always be an inescapable part of our life journey.
The Gospel for this Sunday provides us with essential guidance for resisting temptation and finding a way out of the wilderness. Jesus’ experience demonstrates that there are three spiritual tools required for finding our way out of the wilderness: prayer, fasting, and faith in the Word of God.
This Lent may we too be led by the Spirit into the wilderness — to face that which tempts us.
May we too turn to prayer, fasting, and faith to strengthen and renew us.
And at the completion of our Lenten journey, may we too find angels there to greet us and to sustain us as we carry out Christ’s ministry of love and service in our homes, workplaces, and communities. Amen.
Norman+
