BLOOMING IN THE DESERT
     The gospel for this first Sunday of Lent gives us the story of the temptation of Jesus in the desert/wilderness where he spent 40 days before he started his public ministry.  This story is also the most immediate biblical foundation of the Lenten season.  But, why the desert? Why not the beach? Why not in the middle of a bustling city?
     I mentioned in my Ash Wednesday reflection that Lent comes from the Germanic word “lencten” which means springtime. But, if it’s springtime, why is it that the primary environment that Lent is proposing to us is the wilderness, where it is dry, arid, and almost no vegetation is found?  There seems to be a contradiction. How can spring happen in the wilderness? Well, if Lent is supposed to be the spring time of the soul, the seed of the Gospel of Jesus can only bloom or spring up if we are able to center ourselves back to the essentials, to the fundamentals. God’s word needs focus, total attention, less distractions, and the best place for that is the wilderness where we are stripped of the usual conveniences, so there we have more time to consider the things that are truly important — no competing gadgets, no internet, no television, no cellphones, and also no people around — just ourselves and God! And so, for God’s word to bloom in us once again, we first have to visit the wilderness.
     And, when we are only with ourselves and with God, we are able to travel to the deepest corners of our hearts, and we are given the opportunity to unmask those things that we’ve been hiding under the rug that weaken the spirit, those temptations that win us over and over and over again.
     For springtime (that is, the blossoming of God’s Word) to take place in us in this season of Lent, are you ready to pursue the riches hidden in Christ and give up the riches or wealth that the world pursues?  Only then, the desert or the wilderness will bloom, and spring will be realized.  – Fr. Cary