Temptations of Jesus

GOSPEL

(Jesus is led into the desert by the Holy Spirit and there he confronts and defeats the spirit of evil. It is not Satan, but God must rule our hearts.)

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to St Mark (1:12-15)

The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. And he was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to him.
Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the Gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and believe in the gospel.”
This is the Gospel of the Lord

SERMON AT ST SAVIOUR, SCARBOROUGH

Today's gospel reminds us of our Lord's 40 days in the wilderness tempted by Satan. St Mark's very brief account nevertheless tells us enough to instruct us about Lent.

Three simple points:

1. The period of Lent is 40 days i.e. Ash Wednesday to Easter Day less the Sundays. It is quite a spiritual marathon if the Lenten disciplines of prayer, fasting, and alms giving are observed rigorously and faithfully. We shall need the grace of perseverance and stay close to Jesus on his journey to Jerusalem as we set our faces steadfastly towards Easter.

2. The place of Lent is the wilderness i.e. not a physical wilderness like our Lord but seeing the context of our contemporary life as a spiritual wilderness. Carlo Carretto has a book called 'The Desert in the City'. He himself had encountered God in the Sahara Desert out of which came his first book 'Letters from the Desert'. He wrote 'The Desert in the City' for those unable to follow him there literally because of the demands of their life elsewhere. He writes "You can find the desert anywhere, even in the city...the desert does not mean the absence of men, it means the presence of God". It seems that Jesus was driven into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit for his own good, as the best place to face and overcome the temptations of Satan, and we are called this Lent to accept the desert of our lives as the best(indeed the only) place where we can fight and defeat our demons.

3. The purpose of Lent is being tempted i.e. facing our demons in the power of unseen forces ('looked after by angels'). We us the word 'temper' to describe the process by which steel is tested and made strong. Jesus was tempted in every point as we are yet without sin. His being tempted by Satan was a testingof his determination to do his Father's will. It strengthened his spirit and prepared him for his ministry ahead which was to climax in his passion and crucifixion in Jerusalem. To be tempted is not to sin. When temptation overcomes us then we sin. When we resist and overcome we are made strong.

I trust that we shall all have a good Lent this year - 40 days of being tempted in order to make us strong in the Lord and truly able to celebrate the joy and victory of Easter when it comes.