Mark 1,12-15.
 Mark’s gospel’s account of the temptations of Jesus is much briefer than Matthew’s or Luke’s. He gives no details of the specific temptations which Jesus faced. However, the sense of confrontation between him and Satan is unmistakable. The Spirit he had received in baptism drove him i.e. exerted strong force on him, to go into the desert, the habitat of evil powers, to be tempted by Satan for forty days. The desert was a powerful and evocative image for the People of Israel. So many of their defining moments were connected with the desert: the call of Moses, the giving of the Law at Sinai; the 40 years of desert wandering as they travelled to the promised land; and then of course the blossoming of the desert was a prophetic symbol of their new future on their return from their painful exile in Babylon in 538 BC.
 The driving of Jesus by the Spirit into the wilderness does not imply any unwillingness on Jesus’ part, but on the contrary implies an urgency to get the work of establishing the kingdom of God going. The temptation was a showdown between good and evil personified in the two combatants Jesus and Satan. The wild beasts in the wilderness could be a threatening image of this untamed, lonely, and dangerous place, or indeed they could imply peaceful coexistence with the victorious Christ, symbolic of the peace and harmony of the future messianic age when the era of sin will be over. The angels ministering to Jesus is a reminder of Jesus victory and Satan’s defeat.
We all have our own deserts, the untamed areas where we are not in complete control, like sin in our lives; the areas where we are not growing, the areas of aridity either from sin, anger, hurt or unforgiveness of ourselves or others which stop growth in our lives. Lent is a time to invite the Lord into our own deserts and let him spend time with us as we listen, pray, talk, and relax in his love and presence.
Addictions are areas of life to look at during Lent. Addiction means, too much of something or lack of moderation in something. Common addictive areas in modern life are alcohol, gambling, drugs, food, TV, and social media, gossip etc. etc. Self-mastery and self- control engender freedom, happiness, well-being, contentment, joy and peace.
Immediately after the arrest of John, Jesus begins his public ministry by announcing that the kingdom of God has come in him. His listeners are called to repent and believe. Repentance means more than turning away from sin. It means changing radically the way we think, examining the attitudes, values, and the priorities which motivate us. It means learning to think like God thinks, anchoring our lives in the Lord who is the good news we long for.
The temptation of Jesus shows his humanity and his acquaintance with our human trials and temptations. As we are reminded often in the Scriptures, we have a friend who can sympathise with our weaknesses and who inspires us to imitate him and claim our victory through his help.
Lent is a time to stretch ourselves, to try to be more committed to God, prayer, our families, friends, neighbours, our work, and recreation.
Fr Geoff O’Grady