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Homily
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1st Sunday of Lent – B – Feb. 21, 2021
Today we have heard the shortest of the three Gospel accounts of Jesus’ 40-day journey in the desert. The other Gospels dwell extensively on the three temptations Jesus undergoes in the desert, and at one point Jesus even speaks to Satan. Mark doesn’t include much drama, but he does offer us a story with a lot of meaning.
Mark tells us that the Spirit “drove” Jesus into the desert. The Spirit who descended upon him at baptism dwells with him and moves him. This 40 day journey points to important moments in the history of the Hebrew people. It recalls the Israelites’ 40 years in the desert during the Exodus. It also reminds us of the 40 days Moses spent fasting and repenting for the sin of Israel, and Elijah’s 40-day walk to Mount Horeb where he would meet God in the gentle breeze.
The desert is also a rich symbol; it connects Jesus to the ministry of John the Baptist. John was the voice crying out in the desert, “Prepare the way of the Lord.” Now Jesus, the Lord, the Word of God, is in the desert preparing himself. Before beginning his public ministry, Jesus disengages from his troublesome culture and goes out to the desert, and draws courage and strength from this. But then he re-engages; he goes back to the towns and villages, and eventually to Jerusalem.
The desert is a place of testing. It’s the place where all the usual signs of God’s presence are absent. The desert is where a person meets adversity, where a person is vulnerable. It is not a place where one would encounter “blessing” in terms of what “blessing” meant in the Bible. It was not a place one would find refreshment, joyfulness, prosperity, “shalom” or the peace of God. But in the desert, a person must seek God in the midst of that adversity and vulnerability.
In this short excerpt from Mark, there are four “powers” present with Jesus: the Spirit who drove him into the desert, Satan who put him to the test, the wild beasts who threatened him, and the angels who ministered to him. The forces of evil and natural danger clash with the Spirit and God’s comforting angels.
This test sets Jesus on his path of being the living sign of God’s powerful love even to the point of submitting to those forces of evil and natural danger in his passion and death. This image of Jesus in the desert doesn’t remain in the desert - Jesus is tested but then immediately begins his public ministry. He has this encounter with evil and danger, but then uses those forces for his own purposes. He uses them as a launching point for his preaching and teaching.
Mark moves us into Jesus’ ministry with an ominous introduction: “After John had been arrested.” John was Jesus’ forerunner; he prefigured Jesus’ ministry. But at the same time, John symbolizes the history of ancient Israel that precedes Jesus. Through his arrest and martyrdom, John recalls the Prophet Isaiah’s description of the Servant of the Lord, who suffers and is unjustly put to death. This is a sign of what is in store for Jesus. Just when John’s ministry comes to its violent conclusion, Jesus begins his own ministry, which will also come to a violent conclusion.
Now, for the very first time in Mark’s Gospel, Jesus opens his mouth and speaks. He makes four brief statements, two descriptive and two imperative. The descriptive statements are: “This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand.” The time refers not to a clock hour or calendar day, but to time as the convergence of grace and nature. Maybe the word “epoch” would be more appropriate. It’s the beginning of a distinctive period of human history. In this time, or epoch, everything is prepared and ready for the fulfillment of the promises God made in the Covenant since the beginning of creation, which we recall in the first reading.
Jesus introduces the beginning of this time with the statement, “the kingdom of God is at hand.” The rest of the Gospel will fill out the meaning of that phrase. But what he means is that God’s reign is becoming present in the person and mission of Jesus. God is entering human history as never before.
This demands a response, and Jesus describes that response with his two imperatives. First, “repent.” As we know, that is not a call to sorrow, but to joy. “Repent” might be likened to an invitation to come to our senses, to appreciate what life is really about. It’s an invitation to perceive all of existence from a different perspective, aware that God is near.
The second imperative is: “Believe in the Gospel.” Believe that God is good and has chosen to be with you in this time and place. Believe in God’s compassion so much that you receive it joyfully and share it eagerly.
We live in a world and a time in history in which evil and natural danger are very present. We live in a country that can be very violent. Political discourse has taken a very angry and uncharitable direction. The US homicide rate in 2020 rose 30 percent, one of the largest increases ever. Nearly a half-million Americans have died of Covid-19.
Jesus in the desert illustrates that good and evil can coexist, but eventually the good will overcome the evil. Jesus teaches us that withdrawing from society for a time is useful for reflection and reconnection with God. But ultimately it must lead us to engage in the culture rather than to withdraw from it; to engage by promoting the values of a Gospel that many people today don’t really know. Believing that you can engage a sinful society and make it become less sinful.
The past 12 months have shown us that evil and death are very close to us. But Jesus informs us that God is even closer.