We have begun our journey towards the cross. We have made the decision to follow Christ and journey with him towards the cross. So why do we turn back to the very beginning of Christ's journey (Mk. 1:9-15) rather than face forward towards the journey that is Lent? There is I suppose a dual answer here, the simple one being that we need to understand the start before we can begin the journey. Perhaps, more importantly it is a reminder as we begin our journey that we have to face the past as much as the future that Christ brings. It is this second that for us is something that we need to delve into in more depth. So instead of starting at the beginning of Christ's journey we need to start at the new beginning of the end of Noah's journey (Gen. 9:8-17).
All new beginnings start at the end of something. The covenant (the first one) between God and humankind was made at the end of the flood. It denoted a new start for humanity with Moses and his family as the starting point or at least the imaginary starting point. It can be seen as the tale continues it is reasonable to say that there are others from around the world but Moses is the archetype for us. The covenant marks a new beginning where God withholds his wrath and makes a promise to us that we will never suffer the same devastation as has just occurred. However, the scene prior to the establishment is the scene of import as in this scene the details are spelled out as to how we should live (Gen. 9:1-7). All covenants with God contain that detail and we need to remember that before we celebrate the making of the covenant and the rainbow pointed at God.
In beginning our beginning of Lent we are also directed to Christ's beginning in the desert (Mk. 9:12-15). The temptations of Christ are not elucidated within Mark's gospel, which means that we are allowed to use our imagination to determine what those temptations are. Matthew and Luke outline three in detail but over forty days there are many temptations that we can think of that might occur. All the temptations would perhaps be in the way of our own needs rather than the needs of others. These are the foremost temptations for us and all humans living in the world. The temptations are an ever expanding list in today's world which Luke and Matthew succinctly categorise into three broad groups corresponding to the hierarchy of needs: Food, Power and Fame. We can however think of many more that fall outside of these main categories.
Christ comes out of the desert experience of temptation to begin the proclamation of the Gospel in place of John who has been arrested. Lent is for us an entering into that same desert experience to quell our inner demons and to lay to rest our temptations. The temptations are not the problem, the problem is our response to the temptation and its consequences in our lives. This is where we need to seek repentance as we journey to the cross. It is the understanding that as a person Christ withstood the many temptations without the detrimental move of taking the easy route. We also can do this as well, as we remind ourselves were we have succumbed. In recognising our own faults we can turn to God in the road to repentance and ask for God's continued presence in our lives.
If our decisions towards temptation comes with the consequence of turning from God then there is also a consequence to repentance. Not just in our relationship with God but also our relationship with our neighbours. No matter how much we have sinned against God in doing so the consequences have truly been with our relationships to our neighbour. In turning back in reconciliation, metanoia, we turn back to our neighbour and begin to right the wrong relationships that have resulted as a consequence of our temptations. In bringing back right relationship to our neighbour we begin once more to build the community of God. A community that is based on love and seeks justice with peace within our hearts and minds. This is the journey we have embarked on.
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