First Sunday of Lent

Dear Friends,

In the Gospel today, we see Jesus led into the wilderness for forty days and forty nights to fast. There, He is tempted by Satan. But before we look at these temptations, it’s important to examine what happens just before this.

In Matthew 3, Jesus goes to the Jordan to be baptized. As He rises from the water, the heavens open and a voice proclaims, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” What a stark contrast. One moment, the beautiful assurance of Christ’s identity. The next, intense fasting and temptation.

And how fitting that this is the first Sunday Gospel of Lent. As Lent begins, many of us enter with good intentions — commitments to prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Maybe we start with fervor, eager to grow closer to Christ through sacrifice. But we can be assured that the evil one, just as he did with Jesus, will tempt us to stray. Satan is delighted at the thought of drawing you away from Christ this Lent, even using the very sacrifices meant to bring you closer to Him.

After forty days of fasting, Jesus is hungry. Satan’s first temptation? “If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” Notice what he’s doing. He twists the very identity Jesus has just received. I hear an underlying tone: “Prove yourself.”

How often do I hear that same whisper in my own life? “Prove that you are a good enough daughter, missionary, wife, mother.” I even hear it in Lent: “Prove that you can pray enough. That your fasting is intense enough. That you can give enough.” It’s exhausting.

But Christ is never asking us to prove ourselves. Before Jesus performed a single miracle, before He stepped into the desert, the Father declared, “This is my beloved Son.” The identity came before the sacrifice. And the same is true for us. You have nothing to prove this Lent. You are already beloved.

So when temptations come, when pride creeps in, when discouragement hits, when you inevitably likely fail, see them as opportunities to let God fight for you and remind you of your identity. Every time Satan tempted Him, Jesus simply placed the Father back at the center. May this Lent be a time of deep spiritual renewal for you. May Easter Sunday come and you be ever the more assured of God’s love for you and even in your weakness and failure, God’s deep desire to draw you closer to Him and make you like Himself.

Annaliese Cotnoir
Penn FOCUS Missionary