Gospel : Luke 4 : 1 – 13
Year C
Jesus was driven by the Spirit through the desert …..
The Spirit has shown visibly His Presence in You, at the moment of Your Baptism. You allow Yourself to be guided by Him in all things. He leads You into the desert, like Your ancestors on leaving Egypt. You come to share our journey towards the Promised Land, towards the Father’s house.
The desert
It is a dry place, barren, where nothing can attract our attention … It is also a place of trials. The Hebrew people had experienced this, but it is equally a place where Your Word can resound more intensely. The word “desert”, in Hebrew, returns us to “word”; it is the same root: God leads His people to the desert to talk to Him. Freed from the slavery of Egypt, alone in desert territory, the Hebrew people are free to hear the divine Word. There, they can experience that man does not live by bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. (Deut. 8:3).
But they have often lived this time of trial in the desert in a bad way. They didn’t always listen to the Word of God given by Moses …. so You have come to experience the desert for Yourself:
For 40 days, He was tempted by the devil ….
You resist him by referring to the Word of God.
40 days
Every year, You invite us to rejoin You in the desert ….. in our consumerist society, which is so often a spiritual desert, we need to regularly come to a quiet place, near to You, to hear You in the solitude, to contemplate You, to restore our lives to harmony with the divine Word …. with You, Lord Jesus, Word of God, living Word.
These 40 days of Lent are the image of our journey on earth, the image also of Your Presence with us all through our lives. Guided by Your Spirit, enlightened by Your Word and nourished by Your Bread, let us, like You, reject the tempter and follow You faithfully.
