Forty days can change the world.
That’s what we celebrate today:
forty days that did change the world
and forty days that can change the world for us.

 

For thirty years,
Jesus of Nazareth
had been the carpenter,
the so of Joseph and Mary
from a small town
on the side of a hill
in northern Israel.

 

Then it happened.
He had gone out to the desert,
along the Jordan River,
to hear a charismatic preacher
who was inspiring thousands
to go into the water,
to be baptized,
and to turn away from sin
and be faithful to the Lord.

 

Jesus just did what everyone else was doing.
He got into the water,
but unlike everyone else,
he saw the heavens opening,
heard a voice proclaim,
“You are my beloved Son,
with whom I am well pleased,”
and he saw the spirit
coming down from heaven
like a dove flying gently on the breeze.

 

And that’s where our gospel today begins.
He was immediately led by that same Spirit
into the desert
to be tempted by the devil.

There, he fasted for forty days and forty nights,
and his life was changed forever.
He would never just be that carpenter from Nazareth.
He would never be just the son of Mary and Joseph.

He had heard a voice from heaven,
and it would change everything.

 

During those forty days and forty nights
he would come to understand
who he was and whose he was.
He would come to understand
that God was with him,
that God had given him powers
to feed the hungry.

And he was tempted to use those powers
for his own benefit.
When he was hungry,
the devil challenged him to feed himself,
but he knew that that power
was meant for others.

 

And while we may not have the power to feed thousands
with just a few loaves of bread and a couple of fish,
God has given us powers and talents
meant to serve others rather than ourselves.
And we’ve been tempted to use those talents and powers
for ourselves and ourselves alone.
We’ve been tempted to look out for our own needs
and to forget those whose needs are greater than our own.

 

And though none of us has ever been tempted
to throw ourselves off the parapet of the Temple.
We’ve all been tempted to seek the acclaim and admiration of others.
We’ve all been tempted to say, “Look at me!
See what I can do!”

 

And though I doubt that any of us
has come face to face with the devil,
or been tempted to bow down and worship him,
there have probably been times when we were tempted
to take the easy way out,
to skip doing the hard work of being faithful to God.

If we could avoid suffering or pain,
hard work or the ridicule of others,
we’ve been tempted to do so.

 

Forty days and forty nights in the desert
changed Jesus’ life forever.
Facing the temptation to forget what had happened
in the waters of baptism,
changed everything.

Jesus had a mission,
more than following in the footsteps of Joseph,
Jesus now knew that there was more to life
than being that simple carpenter from Nazareth.

 

The forty days and forty nights of Lent
are a time for us to do what Jesus did,
to be led by the Spirit
to discover what it means for us to be
the beloved sons and daughters of God,
those with whom God is well-pleased.

 

These forty days and forty nights
are not a time to just look back
at what Jesus did.
These forty days and forty nights
are a time for us to look forward
to how we are to respond
to the voice that spoke at our baptisms,
to the Spirit that descended upon us that day,
and to face the temptations
to simply go on with life
as if we are not really the beloved sons and daughters of God.

 

Some of us may be tempted to believe that
Lent is a time for us to prove that we are worthy of God,
that if we do just the right amount of penance and sacrifice
God will forgive our sins
and give us a chance to be saved.
It’s too late for that.
God has already forgiven our sins.
We have already been saved in the Blood of the cross.
Lent is a time for us to ask ourselves,
“So what are we going to do about it?”

 

What are we going to do

after these forty days and forty nights?
What are we going to do

to live as a beloved children of God?
What are we going to do
knowing that God is already well-pleased with us?

 

Soon, we will be fed
with the very Body and Precious Blood of Christ,
the One who makes us
the children of God,
the One who fills us with God’s Spirit,
the One with whom God is well-pleased.

 

Then God will dwell in us.
Christ’s Precious Blood will flow through
our veins and arteries.
God’s Spirit will overshadow us,
and God will be well-pleased with us once again.

 

What will you do this Lent
to demonstrate that you know who you are
and whose you are,
as you prepare to renew your baptismal promises
at Easter?