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Luke 4 1-13 “Filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus returned from Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the desert for forty days to be tempted by the devil.”
In our society, we can feel ashamed to find ourselves in a desert of poverty, grief, illness, or marginalization - as if we are to blame for our own suffering.
In this Sunday’s gospel, we are challenged to contemplate the reality that Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit when he was led into the desert - a place of great trials and temptation. He was not led into a time of suffering by his own wrongdoing but by the Spirit of God as part of his path of salvation for all mankind.
Even though we don’t perfectly resist temptation like Jesus did - sometimes we too find ourselves in a desert time through no fault of our own. We can be traumatized by circumstances beyond our control and left to grapple with the impact of unjust systems in our lives, tempted to give up hope.
This Lenten season, I encourage you to contemplate the reality that Jesus is our hope, and he is present with you in the desert. Whether you are going through a personal hardship or struggling to pray, fast and give alms for others - he sees you clearly, loves you unconditionally and is with you every step of the way.
Heb 4:15 "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin."
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We all know the story of Adam and Eve. We could almost tell the story of their creation and subsequent eviction from Eden all the way through by heart. We know the story and we tell the story because it our story; it is the story of us.
Most of us can remember our own loss of innocence – the time you saw your father’s change lying on his dresser and slid one quarter into your pocket, only to turn around and find him standing at the door; the time you were arguing with a sibling only to find yourself so filled with rage that you lifted your fist in the air and brought it down across their face.
In flashes of anger or rage, in coveting relationships, in jealousy and lies, in these ways and so many others, we rupture relationship. Perfect bonds are broken. And while moments pass, and we move on with our lives, things are never quite the same again. We lose our innocence.
Sin, at its very core, is the rupturing of relationship - with God, with neighbor - the turning in on ourselves to feast on our greed and impatience, our lust and our anger, our power and our selfishness.
From the first moment we lose our innocence, sin becomes easier and easier. It becomes our natural way of life. And so, to disrupt the natural way, a savior was born. We call him Emmanuel, God-With-Us. And this Christ has not just told us, but showed us, that our way was wrong, all wrong. And that he is the means by which the rupture of relationship is mended, the rupture of sin is healed.
Our upcoming Lenten season is a beautiful time to re-enter a deep and real relationship with God and one another. A time that is set aside, set apart, to shift the way in which we think, moving our thoughts from simply being about me and mine, and into the recognition of us. The rebuilding of our personal encounter with the Living God remains key to the Lenten Season – the God who waits for us in the beautiful silence of the coming Lenten season.
Regardless of where we have come from, and where we are going, let us take time over the next few days to witness those pieces of ourselves that are rooted in self-interest, self-aggrandizement, and self-promotion. Let us prepare our hearts this Lent to encounter the patient God, who never tires of offering us mercy, and wholeness, a relationship of love.
Have a question about a program or event going on in Campus Ministry? Got an idea for something you'd like to see happen? EMAIL US at ministry@sau.edu.
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We have hit the point in the semester when routines aren’t new anymore, but the end isn’t near either. There isn’t a checkpoint to say: “Congratulations! You’ve made it to the in-between.” There are assignments to complete, papers to write, and exams are on the horizon. This is the point where tiredness starts to creep in, and you have a decision to make: either give up or push through.
What if there's a third option? To rest and replenish ourselves. The second reading at Mass this Sunday is from 1 Corinthians. Paul writes about the duality of humanity being both spirit and flesh. He says, “Just as we have borne the image of the earthly one, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly one” (1 Cor 15: 49). We are not in-between heaven and earth; we have a home in both since we are both body and soul. As we wait to enter our eternal home, we must take care of our whole self in this temporary home.
How do we take care of ourselves in this busy in-between time of the semester? I have asked myself this question a lot in the last few weeks. Lately, I’ve gone on walks, while listening to podcasts in order to care for both my body and my spirit. These 20 minute breaks give me time to rest my mind and replenish my energy to keep working. What’s one thing you can do each day to give yourself the break you need in order to take care of your whole self, body and soul?
And even though there isn’t technically a checkpoint, I’ll say it anyway: Congratulations! You’ve made it to the in-between. Rest, replenish, and keep going.
Have a question about a program or event going on in Campus Ministry? Got an idea for something you'd like to see happen? EMAIL US at ministry@sau.edu.
