Session 2: First Sunday

Today, enter the silence of the wilderness… the sand stretches from horizon to horizon… a fierce wind whips at your clothes… the sun beats down from the sky… is this really the place where you will find God…? You are deafened by the lack of noise… even time seems to stand still… Walk with Jesus into the desert….

Luke 4:1-4

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.” ’

As you hear these words from the Gospel of Luke, let your attention rest upon Jesus… Notice how he is led into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit … Notice how constantly he is tempted… Notice how he hungers for food and thirsts for water… Spend some time contemplating the fragility of this figure….

The seconds stretch out in the desert… the minutes begin to stall… the hours come to a halt… each moment is offered to Jesus as a temptation… he can choose to receive life or reject it… Realise how temptation reveals the precious life that God is offering in each and every moment… Watch as Jesus chooses to do his Father’s will again and again… See how he holds out against the tide of time…

Ponder the ways in which you can be tempted… Notice how temptation has snatched away your time… Begin to see what resisting temptation can give back to you… the sensation of life received… the opportunity to do God’s will… perhaps this wilderness can become a place of nourishment for you too… perhaps this silence will become your bread… Speak to Jesus about your struggles with temptation…

You have given all to me
To you, Lord, I return it
Everything is Yours, do with it what You will
Give me only Your love and Your grace,
That is enough for me.
Amen.