11A voice came out of the sky, “You are my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” 12Immediately the Spirit drove him out into the wilderness. 13He was there in the wilderness forty days tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals; and the angels were serving him.
Mark 1:11-13
Jesus knew who he was and to whom he belonged as the beloved Son of God. Do we know who we are and to whom do we belong?
We are in the beginnings of our 40 days of temptation and testing.
Let’s dive into today’s Gospel reading from the Daily Office.
The Spirit is in Jesus guiding him in to the wilderness. The angels of God were looking out for him. And most assuredly, his Father is with and in him as well. Jesus is never alone yet he faces his temptations one on one. He makes his own choices in line with who he knows himself to be, drawing upon his relationship with his Father to always remind Him who he is.
Do we know that we are never alone or forsaken in our own trials? Yet when we still have to face them, it still feels lonely. I here a lot of Christian songs on the radio praising God’s power and that is indeed a source of awe. These songs often speak of an imminent almost magical rescue. Do you know that you are still God‘s child even when the trials continue and there is no apparent rescue? God also isn’t the trial or the cause of temptations. I do not view the Father as a cosmic puppeteer; that would be inconsistent with love. We have a co-suffering God who is always with us. It’s a temptation to lose heart when we suffer. And when we do, it is okay. Do not shame yourself when you fall. You are not alone.
Our God also takes all our (toxic) shame away as it always lies to us. Weneed not listen to anything that contradicts our belovedness and shame dies. This is what the Church is called to proclaim. You are loved AND liked by God. Even though you fail, this is community, we all do and a still God’s children. We all choose poorly and we are to always lift each other up anyway. Our own children choose poorly but their belovedness is never fickle from us. Why do we imagine God to be so? You are the beloved child of God and nothing will ever change that fact.
During lent we usually impose some sort fast upon ourselves to awaken our thirst and hunger for God. (If you haven‘t, I encourage you to give it a go.) When tempted, we can become aware of the challenge and invest in our relationship with God, not to fix us but for us to see our dependence. Your failings do not surprise him, nor should they surprise any of us.
When we are facing the everyday temptations that we all carry, it can be hard to remember that we are not alone. This is how the season of lent mirrors our lives.
You are God’s beloved child in whom the Father is well pleased. The holy Spirit gives us direction while trust our steering. She (yes, believe the Holy Trinity has feminine, masculine and spirit make up) still get us where we need to go.
And we now have our Big Brother, who took on our humanity and knows how rough it can be and thus really has sympathy for us. He has promised to never leave or forsake us.
We will face our wilderness and wild animals. We have enemies of our soul that wage war against us however you see it, evil exists and opposes that which love.
Jesus knew who he was and to whom he belongs. May you grow increasingly aware of who you are as God’s beloved child.