Into the Desert We Ride

A Reading for the Holy Gospel according to Mark
 
     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.”

     While Mark’s account of the temptations of Jesus in the desert is the most concise, I believe it not only outlines the necessity of Christ's actions but also shows us just how small Satan is in comparison to Christ- only worthy of being mentioned in one verse to be exact. 

     Have you ever sat and thought about why Christ entered the desert, a place where He knew He would be tempted and pushed to the limit, so willingly? Though it might seem odd, and even crazy, the intention behind Jesus’ time in the desert it is actually quite a fitting launch point for Christ’s mission on earth. Until this point in human history, no man had gone up against the Devil and been able to resist the temptations he laid before them. From Adam to Abraham and from Moses to David, no man had been immune to the cold defeat of sin, and at some point, each of them failed. In order to begin His redemptive mission, Christ returned to the place where all humanity that came before Him failed. Jesus went into the desert to meet Satan one-on-one, amidst the desolation that the Devil had twisted and perverted to his own selfish will. In this act of entering into the wilderness and overcoming temptation, Christ, like the hero in your favorite movie standing up to a bully, figuratively punched Satan in the face, saying “Back off, they are mine now!” 

     After that 40-day showdown in the desert, Christ emerges with a message to His chosen people which could be summed as:  “Guys, I have some great news for you!” It was here that hope began to be seen and felt by all who encountered the Lord because Christ proved to all the world that He had dominion over their worst enemy. For the first time, all humanity now had a tangible vessel in which they could place their hope in order to be molded by and sharpened for the mission ahead. 
Lent is such an incredible season in the Church because of the great opportunity for this healing to take place. It’s almost like our Church Fathers knew that no matter what age this world was in, humanity needs a holy pause, a chance to step back and rehabilitate and grow past that which holds us back. I encourage you to enter into the beautiful season with the Lord, not ahead of Him or behind Him, but with Him, through Him and in Him for all forty days. 

     This week I encourage you to sit with this Gospel and be mindful of your ongoing temptations and be honest with yourself. To pretend like a temptation doesn’t exist is like surrendering before the fight even begins. I humbly ask you to bring this to the Lord as we enter the desert this week and allow Him to transform that temptation into an opportunity for grace and virtue. We have a God that doesn’t desire part of you but all of you, including the parts we don’t like. He doesn’t want to just change a part of you, He wants to transform all of you so He can elevate all of you to the fullness He so desperately desires for you. In order to do that, we have to shed what is old and corrupt in order to be made new in Him.

     Ask Yourself: What part of your relationship with the Lord do you need to heal this Lent? What are you called to let go of for that healing to take place? Lastly, what are you called to do instead of the thing we let go of? 

     What these three questions above describe are the three main practices of spiritual growth known as prayer, fasting and almsgiving. If you do nothing else this Lent, I want to encourage you to commit to each of these practices, even if it is only one of each, because all three are beautiful movements of the heart that align our hearts to the Fathers’. The only real requirement is less of you and more of God. I chose to use the word “healing” because like the great shoulders of the saints we stand upon today as members of the body of Christ, none of us are immune to the lethal wounds of sin, but each of us has been given a chance to be healed from them and transformed into something new. 

     Make no mistake, this isn’t a resolution or an intermittent fasting challenge but rather a season of life that we are called to utilize for our own path of healing and growth and this can only be accomplished through the workings of the one who not only resisted the wound of sin but conquered it forever. We too can assure ourselves of having a share in that victory if we commit ourselves to making less space for us and more space for Him.  Accept this call with intentionality and courage, and I am confident we all will emerge from the desert with a renewed battle cry and some great news of our own to share. 

To the desert we ride!
#getbehindmesatan


About the Author: West Giffin is the Associate Director of Youth and Young Adult Ministry (Red Stick Catholics) at the Diocese of Baton Rouge. West grew up in Baton Rouge and was an active participant in youth ministry programs during middle and high school and these communities allowed him to find true community and foster a personal encounter with Christ. Before working at the Diocese, West brought his love for fostering faith-based communities to Most Blessed Sacrament parish, where he was the youth minister for four years. When West isn’t working or pursuing his Master of Art degree in Pastoral Leadership from Notre Dame Seminary Graduate School, he can be found spending quality time with his son, Mason.

Coffee Order: Leaded (Black). 
What are the top three songs on your playlist? I’ll give you four - “Long Day” by Matchbox Twenty, “Wagon Wheel” by Darius Rucker, “Chicken Fried” by Zac Brown Band and “Good Day for the Blues” by Storyville


  Learn More About Red Stick Catholics

The Well is a weekly reflection series from Red Stick Catholics that was created to allow young adults from the Diocese of Baton Rouge to reveal how God is speaking to them through prayer and Scripture. Each reflection contains the upcoming Sunday’s Gospel, a reflection written by a young adult from the Diocese of Baton Rouge and prompts for how to pray with the Gospel and reflection during the week. If you are interested in writing a reflection, please email Nicole at [email protected] .