“Christ suffered for you to give you an example of how to follow in His footsteps.”[i] This word “example,” hypogrammon (ὑπογραμμὸν), means “a writing-copy, an example, pattern.”[ii] One way that Jesus gave us an example is in the temptations he faced in the desert. First of all, Jesus took on these temptations in our place. In them, He also teaches how to face temptation ourselves. As we enter more deeply into Lent, we see the Lord enter into the desert or wilderness. As we read in Saint Matthew’ s Gospel:
At that time Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. He fasted for forty days and forty nights and afterwards was hungry. The tempter approached and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become loaves of bread. He said in reply, “It is written: One does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.”
Then the devil took him to the holy city and made him stand on the parapet of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written: He will command his angels concerning you and with their hands they will support you lest you dash your foot against a stone.” Jesus answered him, “Again it is written, you shall not put the Lord, your God to the test.”
Then the devil took him up to a very high mountain and he showed him all the kingdoms of the world in their magnificence and he said to him, “All these I shall give to you if you will prostrate yourself and worship me.” At this, Jesus said to him, “Get away Satan! It is written: The Lord, your God, shall you worship and him alone shall you serve.” Then the devil left him, and behold angels came and ministered to him.[iii]
Deep in the solitude of the desert, the Son of God teaches us how to do battle against spiritual evils. We must be armed with the weapons of self-restraint.[iv] But this campaign of Christian service of fasting, prayer and almsgiving is not the only thing that happens in the desert wilderness. Thinking on the Book of Exodus, in the desert is found the path that leads from sin (Egypt, that place of slavery) to new life through conversion. God personally draws His people to Himself as His own, protecting them, feeding them, and providing for them. It is a place of covenant: the place where He makes them His possession, a people peculiarly His own.[v] Remember the words of the Prophet Hosea, speaking of God’s mercy to Israel: “Therefore, behold I will allure her, and will lead her into the wilderness: and I will speak to her heart.”[vi]
May this Lent be a time of solitude with the Lord for each of us. May we attentively seek His face and listen to His voice beckoning us to deeper conversion and forming our hearts for Himself alone.
[i] 1 Peter 2:21 Greek Text Analysis. Accessed March 1, 2021. https://biblehub.com/text/1_peter/2-21.htm.
[ii] Strong’s Greek: 5261. ὑπογραμμός (hupogrammos) — a writing to be copied, an example. Accessed March 1, 2021. https://biblehub.com/greek/5261.htm.
[iii] Matthew 4:1-11
[iv] “Ash Wednesday – Collect.” Ash Wednesday – Morning Prayer. Accessed March 1, 2021. http://www.liturgies.net/Liturgies/Catholic/loh/lent/ashwednesdaymp.htm.
[v] “Deuteronomy 26:1-19 .” The New American Bible – IntraText. Accessed March 1, 2021. http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0839/_P55.HTM.
[vi] “Hosea 2:14 Douay-Rheims Bible.” BibleHub. Accessed March 1, 2021. https://biblehub.com/hosea/2-14.htm.
Posted March 1, 2021
