Genesis 9:8-15 / 1 Peter 3:18-22 / Mark 1:12-15
The season of Lent can be called a season of spiritual activities.
We began the season of Lent on Ash Wednesday with the imposition of ashes on our foreheads as a sign of repentance.
Ash Wednesday was also a day of fasting and abstinence, and we are reminded to do penance for our sins.
And on Fridays, there is the Stations of the Cross. We are reminded that we have to carry our cross if we want to follow Jesus.
All these extra spiritual activities in the season of Lent have a purpose. That purpose can be seen in today's gospel.
The Spirit drove Jesus out into the wilderness and He remained there for 40 days.
The Spirit is also driving us into the season of Lent with all those spiritual activities.
The word “drove” may sound rather strange, especially if it is understood from the act of being of chased out.
But in the gospel, the word “drove” means that Jesus was driven by the power of the Holy Spirit to fight the devil and the temptations in the wilderness.
The wilderness is a harsh place of dry sands and heat.
It is almost like the devil's territory, and Jesus is like charging at the devil, and it was going to be a 40 day battle.
Besides the harsh conditions of hunger and thirst, there is also the danger of the wild beasts.
It was similar to the experience of the Israelites in their 40 year journey in the wilderness.
They complained about hunger and thirst, and they were also bitten by fiery serpents.
But Jesus overcame the harsh conditions, the devil's temptations, and the fear of the wild beasts.
Similarly, the Spirit is driving us with God's grace and power to face evil, to overcome temptations, and we are also assured of the protection of God's angels.
When we think of the wilderness or the desert, one immediate image that comes to mind is the dry sands.
The desert landscape changes because the sands move about with the winds.
That brings to mind a story of two best friends walking through the desert, and they got into a quarrel.
One friend punched the other in the face. The one who was punched was hurt, but without saying anything, wrote in the sand: Today my best friend punched me in the face.
They kept walking on until they came to an oasis, and they stopped for a drink.
The one who had been punched, slipped and fell into the water and began to drown.
His friend immediately went to save him. That evening, he wrote on a stone: Today, my best friend saved my life.
The friend who had punched and save his best friend asked: After I hurt you, you wrote on the sand, and now you wrote on a stone. Why?
The other friend replied: When someone hurts us, we should write it on sand where the winds of forgiveness can erase it away.
But when someone does something good for us, we must engrave it in stone, where it will be long remembered.
As we face the temptations of the devil, the wickedness and the viciousness of hurt and abuse, let us remember that these stand on desert sands.
They will be erased and blown away by the winds of forgiveness from the Holy Spirit.
And with prayer and penance, we will stand with God who is the Rock of our salvation.
Our good deeds of kindness and forgiveness, humility and charity, will be written on stones of love.
And God will remember us when we call out to Him in our need.