The Purpose of Lent, Comshalom March 2017.

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The Spirit drove Jesus out into the desert, and he remained in the desert for forty days, tempted by Satan.     Mark 1:12.

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Brooding on the beginning of Lent and Jesus being “driven” out into the wilderness by God’s Holy Spirit, a thought occurred which seemed to have nothing to do with today’s readings. The thought was “first day”. Do you remember the first day you entered high school (or grammar school/comprehensive/secondary-modern for the Brits reading this)? I do. Being 11 years old at the time, I was young enough to not object to my mother coming with me to make sure I entered the correct building at the correct time. I entered an alien world, where the 17-year old sixth-formers (grade 12 for the Yanks reading this) seemed to be grown adults, even though they were students like me. Or do you remember your first day at work, a place filled with strangers, you trying to gauge them as they gauged you? Or the first time you went into a foreign country where everyone was fluent in a language you did not speak or even vaguely understand? The first of anything might well be one of the most challenging moments in one’s life, because you might sort of know what you are getting into, but there is much which you don’t, and that is a challenge, especially when you are surrounded by strangers.

Well Jesus in the desert was clearly not surrounded by strangers, but he certainly was on the first day of something momentous. It was the first day, following his baptism, of his realization that he was the Messiah of God, the Chosen One, verily the Son of God, and his mission, or vocation, was to fulfill all the prophecies of the Messiah as seen in Scripture. He had all the powers of the Godhead there, in his hands. It was beyond even winning the largest lottery ever! He had the power to do anything he wanted. So immediately he encountered temptations beyond measure, as Scripture clearly states. He was the prime target of the Devil as a direct consequence. And the Devil’s objective was to get him to use all that power for himself alone. The other gospels spell out the temptations. Hungry? Turn those rocks into crispy, crunchy, fresh-baked bread. Want all the wealth of the world? Simply bow down to me, says the Devil. Jesus had those 40 days to figure out what it meant to be the Messiah – and what it did not mean. What did it mean to be God’s Son, and what behavior on his part did that imply or even demand?

Isn’t that is what the 40 days of Lent are all about? Because of our baptism, we too are the children of God. We have all been gifted by God, namely our talents. What we make of them is material for a Lenten meditation. So perhaps this Lent we can consider if we have truly used them in the way God wants. Have we resisted the temptation to use all or too many of our gifts to enrich ourselves and ignore all others? Now is the season to ponder that question… Remember that the very first time Jesus did employ his absolute power was to turn water into wine! Because his mother asked him to… And he wanted to spare the bridal couple a disaster… Now there’s a starting point for a Lenten meditation: When did I last help someone generously, without murmur or, better, with an element of joy? Have I experienced the joy of giving?

The Joy of Giving, Rahul Sindhwani, Quora.

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