WILDERNESS FORMATION

First Reading: Gen 9:8-15
Second Reading: 1 Pet 3:18-22
Gospel: Mk 1:12-15

Season of Lent is a time to retire to wilderness and be one with God. It is also a time to affirm God as our master. In the Gospel, Jesus is taken to wilderness immediately after the baptism. The wilderness serves as means to show one’s fidelity to baptismal promises. During baptism of Jesus, God the Father acclaimed Him as His beloved Son. Now in wilderness Jesus with human conditions has to maintain that relationship with the Father by withstanding the temptation. We notice that Jesus is led to the wilderness by the Holy Spirit (Mk 1:12). The baptismal grace remains with Jesus. Together with the power of the Holy Spirit Jesus raises up victoriously from temptations. As Christian we are called to fight our battle not alone but with the power of the Holy Spirit which we received through baptism and strengthen further by the Sacrament of Confirmation. Judas after betraying Jesus fights the battle all alone, by himself, without seeking God. He feels sorry for betrayal, throws away the money, yet he gets immersed in the sense of guilt which chokes him to take his life, similar to the fate of a warrior in the battle who rejects team work. On the other hand, Simon Peter fights the battle with Jesus, shows remorse for what he has done then goes back to Jesus and confesses the sin. This is a warrior who approaches the battle with the power of team work and succeeds. Lent is a time to fight our spiritual battle together with God, the Holy Spirit. We sit with Him to look at our sins, seeing through Him will make us sorry and repent, without Him we feel guilty, distanced and lost.

The distance from Mount Sinai to the Promised Land is just 11 days of walk, yet people of Israel took 40 years to cross this distance. God intended this long period of journey for Israel so that they could be formed well. The people who lived under subjugation in Egypt suddenly facing full liberty in new place – gained without any struggle – would lead them to misuse and become irresponsible. To sustain in the land that God is giving them, they need to undergo adequate training. 40 years of journey showed them who they are, how quickly they fall away from God, how their dealings are and so forth. Constant directions and warnings from God made them strong to withstand Philistines – the giant army in the Promised Land. Had they rejected this robust training from God in the wilderness, they would have quickly been swallowed up by Philistines and Amalekites. Thus, wilderness journey is necessary to face the freedom that God is giving. Jesus by going to wilderness immediately after baptism gets ready for the freedom that He will be exercising in the public ministry. Every year season of lent is a time to get ready for all that come on our way in the rest of the year. If we are disciplined, able to withstand all trails and temptations these forty days, we gain confidence to go forward with full gusto. So let’s embark on this journey with humility, with the help of God, the Holy Spirit.

In the first reading, God is promising, making a covenant with Noah that He would never again destroy the earth with flood (Gen 9:11). In the second reading, St. Peter describes the flood in Noah’s time as purification. Those who came out of the ark after the flood water are new creation, they embark on a new journey. This is a prefiguration of our Christian baptism, with water we start afresh from God. As chaos is washed in the flood, our sinful nature is washed away by our baptismal water. Those who came out of the ark, start a new life, setting a new order. With the coming of the Holy Spirit in baptism we have set out on a new journey. Jesus in the wilderness lives in harmony with wild animals. This symbolizes a new order, getting back to original order wherein adam and eve lived harmoniously with entire creation in the garden of Eden. Jesus brings new order.

The second part of the Gospel is about Jesus’ calling to enter into the kingdom of God with repentance. During baptism we give our promises by renouncing thrice to the questions about sin and Satan as well as accepting thrice the mysteries stated in the creed. During lent we often think of what to renounce but not so much on what to gain and become. Renouncing is only one part of the conversion story, another part of the conversion is accepting something. Jesus in the wilderness not only renounces Satan and his snares but also embraces the Will of God the Father laid out for Him. This lent should be a means to enter into the Kingdom of God. Renouncing alone is not suffice, we need to accept the demands of the kingdom of God. Let these six week form us to take up the demand of our Christian living in rest of the year. May each of us have a wilderness experience/formation to combat the evil forces.

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