Time in the Wilderness with Jesus

Almighty God, whose blessed Son was led by the Spirit to be tempted by Satan: Come quickly to help us who are assaulted by many temptations; and, as you know the weaknesses of each of us, let each one find you mighty to save; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

(Luke 4:1-13) After his baptism, Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished. The devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread." Jesus answered him, "It is written, 'One does not live by bread alone.'"

Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And the devil said to him, "To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours." Jesus answered him, "It is written, 'Worship the Lord your God and serve only him.'"

Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written, 'He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you,' and 'On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.'"

Jesus answered him, "It is said, 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'" When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.

God’s first act after the baptism of Jesus was to lead him into the wilderness, “to be tempted by Satan.” The Wilderness was a place both physical and metaphorical for Jesus to struggle, not only with Satan, but more importantly with God and with himself. To wrestle with the questions, “why did God send me here in the first place? What am I called to do? How am I to do it?”

You might be thinking, but Jesus is God, he should know the answers to these questions already. Remember, our faith teaches us that Jesus is not only fully God, but also fully human. I believe the human part of Jesus needed this wilderness time to be alone with the Holy Spirit, to go through the proverbial battle between the angel on one shoulder and the devil on the other shoulder.

The temptations Jesus faced during his time in the wilderness: physical needs, power and glory, proof to the world that he is God’s special person, are the same temptations we face when we have the courage to go into the wilderness alone as Jesus did. Jesus’ wilderness time helped form and transform him. It serves as an example for those of us who are his followers. Lent for us is a reminder that we, like Jesus, need Wilderness time, that we need to be reformed and transformed just as Jesus did.

Last week I saw on twitter a book by Brene Brown, psychologist, social worker, and Episcopalian, entitled “Braving the Wilderness.” The secondary title is “The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone.” The book was truly a gift from God to me. In it, Brown first defines true belonging as being true to yourself. Secondly, she states that true belonging means being respectful to those who disagree with you, even if they are not respectful to you.

Wow, sure sounds like this was what Jesus’ wilderness time was all about.

After his wilderness experience, Jesus stood up to the religious and political authorities of his day and stood with the “least of those” in society: the poor, the orphan and the widow, the divorced women who were forced to beg or prostitute themselves to feed their families. He talked with those with whom a Jewish man was not supposed to talk: Samaritans, women, lepers, tax collectors and Pharisees. No one was left out of his love.

Yes, it got him ostracized and eventually killed, but he did it anyway, because his time alone with God in the wilderness clarified in his mind, heart, and soul that “for this I was born and for this I came into the world.”

During this season of Lent, I invite you, to join me in the wilderness, praying that we like Jesus will be able to say, “for this I was born, for this I came into the world.”