In this weekend’s Gospel, “the Spirit drove Jesus into the desert where He remained for forty days.” The “desert” is an appropriate locale for our understanding of the temptations of life: it is arid, filled with death-like symbols, and for many—at least me—an unappealing place. I remember the first time I went to Nevada to visit my cousins, I remember stepping outside the airport and just thought “Why do they like this place so much?” To me, who loves the New England landscape, it just made me think of a nuclear blast zone. Stone-filled yards and draught resistant plantings paled in comparison to the lushness and color of New England. Perhaps I am just too parochial, no pun intended.
Back to the gospel…today we are told that Jesus faced temptations. That He was tempted by Satan. I highlight this verbiage because far too often we Roman Catholics have a very stringent definition of being “holy.” For us, holiness is a perfected state where no sin exists, no crack in the “armor” of Faith is present, and therefore, no chance of falling to temptation. This understanding erects a serious barrier for us to progress towards holiness. For in actuality, holiness, at least in this earthly realm, is not a perfected state but rather it is defined as being “set apart” from the world: no better, but different; seeking a new way of life. From the Catholic website, OnePeter5, a key point of holiness is: “Holiness is typically taken as a synonym for moral goodness. However, this is only one sense of the word. Holiness may be understood in three sharply distinct senses: the ontological, the moral, and the ritual. The one definition that is critical to all three is this: holiness is the clear distinction of one from many. To be holy is to be unique, to be set apart from what is common, imperfect, or wicked.”
Today’s brief gospel goes on to say: “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.” This is key to our understanding Christ’s message in the gospel: Indeed, the “Kingdom of God is at hand.” And if we believe that, then we need to start building our own lives to live in that Kingdom, to turn our lives towards God and seek His Will—His Ways—lived out in-and-though our daily activities of life. In our families and marriages, in our work ethics, in our relationships, in our celebration of faith in the Church, and the things we choose to do or say—as well as those things we choose not to do or say. Indeed, I guess we are a “pro-choice” people…again, no pun intended, but we are called to make choices that lift up others, seek the excellence, and lead them in goodness to the Lord.
Lent is a great time to begin this journey anew into the Will of God. Let us open our eyes to the Kingdom of God around us. Let us Repent for our sinfulness. And, then let us be “pro-choice” in the morally good things before us: to lift up one another, to see a need of hunger or loneliness or sickness and feed it, comfort it and heal it. The choice is ours. Choose Christ as we journey these forty days into the “desert” of Lent.