The Spirit drove Jesus out into the desert,
and he remained in the desert for forty days,
Jesus inaugurated a new and definitive Exodus, not from slavery to Pharaoh in Egypt, but from slavery to sin. He did not begin his journey into the desert by crossing the Red Sea on dry land. Instead, he began by his baptism. Rather than killing the Egyptians that pursued Israel, baptism put our old sinful self to death while allowing us to emerge us new creations united to Christ.
The Red Sea was not the end of the story of the Exodus, nor is baptism the end of our story. Israel had to contend with forty years in the wilderness. We ourselves follow Jesus who allowed himself to be driven by the Spirit into the desert for forty days.
Our baptism is like the flood of Noah. Jesus himself is the ark in whom we are "saved through water", "not as a removal of dirt from the body but an appeal to God for a clear conscience through the resurrection of Jesus Christ". In this analogy as well baptism is the beginning and then a period of forty days follows.
What then is this period of forty days that we now enter into in our yearly Lenten practice? It is a period where we learn to forget the idols of Egypt and to rely instead on the providential care of God. In the desert the "cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic" (see Numbers 11:5) still appeal to us, but we can learn to rely instead on the manna from heaven (see Exodus 16:30-32, John 6:32). We learn to trust in the providential care of God in a way that breaks the world's hold over us.
In this period of forty days we enter into the desert with Christ and into the ark that is his Church. We move away from the world so that we can more fully embrace our identity as dead to the world but alive in Christ.
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me (see Galatians 2:20).
We don't walk headlong into temptation on purpose, or at least, we ought not. Neither was this the real meaning of what the Spirit prompted Jesus to do. It was rather that temptation is inevitable for us and Jesus did not hesitate in his response on our behalf. He demonstrated that the best way to respond to temptation was immediately and decisively. He went into the desert because it was precisely there that his victory could be the most decisive. In the world there is so much noise and distraction that our victories over sin are often partial. We often don't fully recognize the temptations we face. We often hedge our responses against our myriad other concerns.
In the world you face persecution. But take courage; I have conquered the world! (see John 16:33)
During Lent we learn from Jesus to set distractions aside. But we do not go alone. He is our ark. He is the manna which makes our journey possible. He is the one who destroys the enemies who pursues us. We can only be victorious against temptation to the degree that we he makes his own victory a reality in us.
If in Christ we have been tempted, in him we overcame the devil. Do you think only of Christ’s temptations and fail to think of his victory? See yourself as tempted in him, and see yourself as victorious in him. He could have kept the devil from himself; but if he were not tempted he could not teach you how to triumph over temptation.- Saint Augustine
Perhaps we're beginning this Lent only with reluctance. It is likely that many of us were going through enough already that we didn't want to add any extra effort in addition to what we were already putting forth to deal with life day-to-day. But we are called to make this pilgrimage because God knows it will lead us to flourishing and fulfillment. We are not yet home and so we must keep moving. But even the desert need not be desolation for those who journey with God. The wild beasts may surround us, but we can experience the ministry of angels in a special way at this time. The bread from heaven is still set before us and it really can satisfy our hearts.
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