LENT – WHERE WE DARE NOT GO
Back on the 1st Sunday of Lent we read Mark’s Gospel account of the temptation in the desert where Jesus begun his 40 days in the desert among the wild beasts, being tempted by Satan, and tended to by angels. Then he begun his ministry proclaiming repentance and calling all to believe in the good news. (Mark 1:1-15). Mark does not seem to fill in a lot of details, but other versions of the story tell us more.
I am intrigued that Mark tells us the Holy Spirit “drove” Jesus into the desert to begin his 40 days. Jesus was not led or guided. He was forced to go. Lent is such a perfect time for us to consider not only what we choose to do to follow the path to God – prayer, fasting and almsgiving – it is also a perfect time for us to consider the events in our lives that were not about our choices or our free will but unwelcome pushes that brought us directly toward the presence of God. In that presence, we can experience a transformation (transfiguration) as shown us on the 2nd Sunday of Lent in the story of the Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-9).
Today, on the 3rd Sunday of Lent, we hear of either the Samaritan woman at the well (John 8.1-11) or the cleansing of the Temple (John 2.13-15). In the latter, Jesus drove the moneylenders from the Temple. For some moneylenders just doing their daily work as before, being driven by Jesus must have jostled them from routines and led to life-transforming reflections on the nature of their work. Likewise, in the former Gospel, a Samaritan woman’s duty and need drove her to a well to get water. Her encounter there awakened in her an amazement that sent her home proclaiming the story of her encounter with Jesus. In both stories, the transforming encounter was not one of their own choosing. Also, both stories show how the power of Christ can catapult us toward growth, whether or not we choose the events through which we encounter the divine.
Such events in my own life include the relatively benign and the profoundly tragic. I recall times when my professional obligations drove me to presentations and workshops I did not wish to attend. Then, in these very same workshops, I encountered core learnings that formed my practice as a teacher. God knew better than me, obviously.
Other bigger events involved tragic deaths, illnesses, betrayals and losses I would never have chosen for myself. Yet, through them, I was pushed in directions that have made all the difference in my faith life and mission. I offer that I am not the only person for whom unsought benign and tragic events have brought us through deserts into faith and mission.
During this Lenten season, then, let us prayerfully call to mind the times in our lives where we were not just beckoned, but pushed forward, toward God and the resurrected Christ. We recall those times when these encounters shoved us out of our complacency and toward transformation. They are clear examples of our own Gethsemane moments when, through God’s will being done, we were transformed into living examples of God’s love, mercy, understanding and joy, proclaiming that we have encountered the Lord who knows us intimately.
As we consider the unsought moments that bring us to a Saviour who inspires us, guides us, leads us and calls us, let us also offer prayers of gratitude to the faith that pushes us, through the Holy Spirit, to where we dare not go.
Jesus,
As with the moneylenders in the Temple
startle me out of complacency.
Ruffle my settled comforts,
poke me out of my spiritual sleep.
As with the Samaritan woman at the well
awaken my sense of self as God’s child,
push me towards God’s holy will for me,
and release me to spread your joy to others.
The Holy Spirit drove you into the desert
to face fears
to reject temptation,
to be comforted by angels,
and to eventually be presented in your transfigured glory.
Hurl me into the deserts of my life,
that I, like Jesus, can
be courageous,
be resolute,
be consoled in God’s gentle care.
That I may bring your glory to all around me.
Unwavering in my commitment
to do my part in God’s plan,
as God’s will is accomplished
and my fragility and imperfections
used for God’s perfect plan for all creatures and creation.
Amen.
Michael Way Skinner is a retired Coordinator of Religion, Family Life and Equity
with the York Catholic District School Board. He was a contributing author to World
Religions: A Canadian Catholic Perspective, and co-authored There Must be a Pony in Here Somewhere (Novalis, 2020) with his wife, Christine Way Skinner. Michael is a public speaker and award-winning educator who is deeply committed to faith as a source for inclusion and justice.
