Mark 1:9-15
9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. 11 And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” 12 And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. 13 He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.
14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, 15and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.”
Tempted or Tested?
Enter your inner altar.
Jesus' baptism occurred in the River Jordan, but His baptismal life started in the wilderness.
The Mount of Temptation (Jabel Quruntul or Mount Quarantania)
Immediately (a dear term to St. Mark) after His baptism, He was led by the Spirit into the desert. He spent forty days living safely among the wild animals and being served by the angels.
Was Jesus tempted as the expected political Messiah to use His almighty power and impose His identity as the evil spirit wanted? Or was He tested to reveal His human power by His obedience to the Holy Spirit?
In Jesus' footsteps, we are called at this time of Lent to show how faithful we are to the vows of our baptism. Lent is much more than food and beverage; it is a time of self-evaluation. The way to do so is pointed out by the Gospel---
Individual prayer, "When you pray, go into your own room, shut your door and pray to your Father privately. Your Father who sees all private things will reward you" Matthew 6:6. It allows us to have a private meeting with God. There, we enter our inner altar and share our secrets without hiding any of them or screening the good deeds from the bad, having the conviction that our loving "God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him" John 3:17. We need to have the courage to point out the bad, plan to uproot the bad and transform it into good, thanks to the Lord's encouragement.
Family prayers are most needed in our time to retrieve God's presence in our world today. Let us have a seat for God on our boat or at our table, allowing new generations to see and feel His loving presence. If others don't do it, keep doing it anyway. "Choose whom you will serve, but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord" Joshua 24:15. Happy are the parents who practice this family grace.
Church prayers where we join in as members of the secret body of Christ to pray together as sisters and brothers, forming the one kingdom of God on earth, chosen and assigned to be salt and light. Church prayers keep us united to Jesus through the Eucharist and, by the same sacrament, to each other.
By these three models of prayer, we are on the way to reconciliation with God, with ourselves, with our neighbor, and with the whole creation that the Lord has entrusted for us to use according to His will. Let us follow Him by practicing His ways as Son of God and Son of Man to be granted the gifts of the Spirit: "Wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety and fear of the Lord." Isiah 11:2-3.
Happy are those who are guided, inspired and loved by the Holy Spirit, seeking to improve their Christian life!