Today’s gospel comes to us from Mark, which along with John is the Gospel we study this year. Mark is interesting because it is the first and the shortest gospel. It is written in a way that one must look at every word to understand what is happening. It is an early example of the difference between a short story and a novel. In a short story, every word counts and, therefore, every word including descriptions of color, action, etc. are not incidentals but are keys to understanding the story. A novel is less restrictive. So it is with Mark, every word counts.

You should notice at first, the commonly understood story of the temptation of Jesus in the desert is just not there. We learn only that Jesus was tempted in the desert. He was among the wild beasts and the angels ministered to him. That is the entire temptation narrative in Mark. The source of the longer story is not the source of Mark’s account.

Jesus is there for forty days, which is not an exact number. But he is there for along time roaming in the desert. What is happening here?

First, this account immediately follows His baptism and now driven out to the desert by the Holy Spirit. The Greek word telling us that the Holy Spirit drove Jesus out of the desert is the same word used in the driving out of demons. [Source: Sacra Pagina, Mark] Demons leave reluctantly, so we can assume, just as Jesus did not want to go to the cross [who would?] but did so out of obedience to the Father, Jesus went reluctantly out into the desert. What does he experience?

When I was in a hermitage in Colorado, I listened to tapes on desert living and the author taught that any place could be the desert for us. Many may feel they are going through difficult times and that might be their desert. Maybe people suffer from a disease that leaves them unable to be part of normal life. Maybe people suffer from a loss of a job, or even from a difficult job or marriage. These can be difficult times that can be as testing or even more so than a stint in the desert alone. The question that can be most trying to us is “Who is your God now?”

This was the testing that Jesus received. Indeed, in the longer account we know that all temptations were for Jesus to bow to Satan making him His god.

The real question to each us in difficult times is who is our God now, and our true God is the one whom we trust in difficult times.

Presently, we are going through a difficult time. Indeed, even a university administrator has called for the jailing of Bishops if they do not want to go along with the HHS mandate. But who is our God now? Those who seek to silence Catholicism have literally rejected our God, some have fully embraced the Devil in their seeking a model for building a society, so the Devil, as in the accounts of the temptation of Jesus in other the other Gospels has become their god. He promises a just society where all will be satisfied and makes himself appear more powerful than the one who taught the poor would be with us always. But all the devil’s promises are false and only the fool embraces him. Modeling ourselves on Jesus in the desert, in our time of testing and pain, who is going to be our God. Is it going to be us? Is it going to be money? Social acceptance? Career? or is it going to be God Himself?

This question is what forged Jesus in his mission as He was forced to address that question before He began his mission of preaching that the kingdom of God is at hand. He probably had to answer that question everyday for time in the desert. We can answer the question for ourselves everyday as well.

My greatest struggle with counseling others is dealing with people who are looking for help but who reject God. I really feel it is a virtual waste of time for me to help them because until a person understands and accepts God as his God, he cannot understand the realities needed to deal with his deepest realities.

Lent is a good time for us to ask this question: Who is our God?

Once that question was forged into Jesus, He was able to begin His mission preaching that the Kingdom of God is at hand.

Once that question is forged into our community, we are able to understand more deeply our reality and how to live it today. Proclaiming that the Kingdom of God is in our midst and is at odds with those who embrace false gods with empty promises.

Who is your God now? Let us ask this question today and get ready to live the answer even if it leads us reluctantly out into the desert.

God bless you,

Fr. Robert J Carr

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