As if Covid were not enough, San Antonio went through an incredible and difficult time this week. In four days we had two snowstorms, sleet and ice, temperatures in the single digits, and outages of power and water. This has never happened in my lifetime (and that is a long time!). We still do not know the extent of the damage nor do we know of all the fatalities, which I fear will be discovered soon. What impressed me was the response of the so many groups, agencies, civic officials, and individuals reaching out to those most vulnerable. I served four parishes that were mostly low and modest income over 45 years. In the winter when I entered homes, often they were drafty, cold and heated by one space heater. A time like we just had spells disaster. Yet, hundreds if not thousands responded to help with food, water, housing and other needs. People checked on neighbors. San Antonio is known for this kind of response. The faith liaison for the city, Rev. Ann Helmke, coordinates a program called “Compassionate San Antonio.”
The gospel story today was the moment of Jesus entering deeply into the human condition so that he could feel total compassion with us. By his time in the desert he bonded with humans as he felt their weakness, their hunger, their threats, and their temptations. He also allowed himself to be ministered to by God. As he overcame each of these tests he was more ready to proclaim the Kingdom, show God’s compassion and ask all to repent. This testing of Jesus was key to his future ministry
Lent is a time to test the depths of our faith. Every first Sunday of Lent we hear one of the accounts of Jesus’ temptation in the desert. It is a great way for us to start Lent. Mark’s is the most concise account and does not go into the three temptations enumerated in Matthew and Luke. The focus is Jesus entering into battle with Satan, which shows us that we followers also must enter into the fight against evil with him.
In the gospel today Jesus has just come from his baptism, where the Voice from Heaven affirmed him as “Son.” Mark wants to connect this moment with the temptations in the desert. Jesus, still wet from the Jordan River, enters the desert and is tested. We are reminded of Israel crossing through the waters of the Red Sea, entering the desert and encountering many tests and trials. Jesus, forty days in the desert. Israel, forty years in the desert. We, starting forty days of Lent, our desert.
The language is harsh. Some translations say Jesus was driven or literally thrown into the desert. There are temptations by Satan, the adversary, while he is among wild beasts, thought to also have demons in them. The consolation in this fearful time were the angels, representing God’s presence and power, who waited on him while he was in this contest with evil. Sometimes our desert time might feel similar, alone with threats and disaster all around. At these times, think of the angels. You never can tell who is an angel for you, not one with wings and halo, but a fellow human sent by God for you whether they even know it or not. We had lots of them this week here in this city. God’s presence is there. Just look. Just know God sent them for you.
Jesus has the support of his Father as he enters into the battle with evil. This is his first test, but the rest of Mark will show us that the battle will continue all the way to the cross. Just because we are baptized does not mean we have a free ride. We need to be aware of the many forces of evil around us, and they are everywhere! We must be ready to confront them knowing that baptism gives us support for this task. Baptism is our commitment to follow Christ and God’s commitment to be with us on our pilgrimage.
It is also important to note where Jesus begins his ministry. It is not at the temple or some palace in Jerusalem. Israel had expected a political military Messiah. Mark wants us to change expectations and understand the Suffering Servant Messiah comes from the desert and from Galilee, a backward suspect area. This forces us to ask how do we follow this Messiah?
The desert was also considered by the people of Jesus’ time as a place to meet God most intensely. Israel’s experience showed that. It was a place for deep abiding intimacy with the God of our ancestors. All distractions are gone. It is just God and me, a thought both exciting and scary.
The desert showed a provident God who provided for the people by giving them water and food for their journey. The prophets would remind the people of what God had done for their ancestors as a call to return to a desert spirituality. It was also a call to treat the stranger and alien as they would want to be treated since they once were strangers and aliens in Egypt.
For Mark, the issue in the temptations is loyalty. Will you follow this Jesus or will you follow the evil one? This will be what we are constantly asked through this gospel. This is really what we are confronted with in our lives almost all the time. What does it mean to be his disciple?
The ancient Mediterranean world believed that spirits were always trying to interfere with human life. For Jesus to be tested in the desert and throughout his ministry confronting evil spirits to heal and free people would have been a clear sign of God’s favor. Mark will show us that Jesus entered into the great battle with the forces of evil. Often in Mark we will see Jesus expelling demons as he battled showing compassion in favor of the weak and vulnerable. People throughout the gospel are always asking who is this who commands demons. Ask it for you.
The battle of Jesus with evil was a battle to show and live the compassion and love of God. Lent is a time for us to feel compassion as well. That is why we fast, pray and give alms. It connects us with our own human weakness, vulnerability, and threats, with Christ who was 40 days in the desert and with those around the world who suffer. We enter into ourselves and these practices help us find the capacity for compassion Jesus had all his life.
Fasting is a moment to prepare us for the battle Jesus fought. Isaiah the prophet says, “This, rather is the fasting that I wish: releasing those bound unjustly…Setting free the oppressed, breaking every yoke; Sharing your bread with the hungry, sheltering the oppressed and the homeless; Clothing the naked when you see them, and not turning your back on your own. Then your light shall break forth like the dawn…” -Isaiah 58: 6-8
Lent gives us an agenda which should be practiced every day, namely to participate in the paschal mystery of Jesus, his life, passion, death and resurrection. We do this by a constant conversion, a constant turning of our minds and hearts to God, by repentance for our sins and a commitment to live out our Baptism. Lent tells us that pain, suffering and death are realities in the experience of every human. However, by living our faith, we unite these as a sharing in the sufferings of Christ. It is a free and loving participation in Christ’s passion so that we can show compassion.
Can Lent be for you a uniting of all your sacrifices, sufferings and setbacks of the past year of Covid, as well as the recent sufferings due to the extreme cold weather? Can these be put in the context of a sharing in the total giving of life Jesus showed us in his passion and death? Can you be that compassionate?
This is our desert as Lent begins. This is the battle against the evil one. We in San Antonio did not anticipate it would be in our face on Day One.
Fr. David Garcia is a retired priest from the Archdiocese of San Antonio, Texas, where he served for 44 years. During that time, Fr. Garcia was instrumental in the effort to have the Old Spanish Missions recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and also oversaw the multimillion-dollar restoration of San Fernando Cathedral. Fr. David served as pastor for several parishes in San Antonio, including the historic Mission Concepción. He also served as Senior Advisor for Clergy Outreach at Catholic Relief Services, the official international humanitarian and relief agency of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops.