Awaken Us to Your Presence

Mark 1: 12-15

¹²At once the Spirit sent him out into the desert, ¹³and he was in the desert forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him. ¹⁴After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. ¹⁵"The time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!"

The desert, good place, quiet place, scary place? In Mark's version of the temptations I realize something new, the possibility of Jesus being simultaneously with the wild animals (representing perhaps freedom without morals), Satan (the opponent of all God wants, the great deceiver) AND the angels (messengers of God, sources of good).

And that seems a lot like our lives, doesn't it? It would be easier if our choices were simply between good and evil starkly drawn. But in this life they are not. Rather we are faced with something more like salad dressing; a mixture of elements, some bitter, some sweet, some spicy, some just taking up space, all of which together make the reality we experience. And since our lives are so often shaken up we may never seem to have time to let them settle out so we can see what is what for us.

It took Jesus at least forty days in the desert, the empty place, to sort it all out and then move forward to begin his proclamation. Is there something you need to sort out this Lent? Take the time. There will be challenges, perhaps even evil to confront, but there will also be angels. -Peter Stebinger

Prayer- Awaken us to your presence, Spirit, and fill our tongues with good news.