B: 1st Sun of Lent (18 Feb 2018) - HAVING INTERNAL PEACE - Mk 1:12-15

As we enter the Lenten Season, we normally begin with the episode on the Temptation of the Christ. What is more popular though is the three-fold temptation that Jesus received from the devil: that he turns the stones into bread, that he jumps off from the heights, and that he bows down to Satan. This triad is found both in Matthew (Mt 4:1-11) and Luke (Lk 4:1-13), albeit the order is different in each. Another crucial detail is that it is only in Matthew and Luke where Jesus is found victorious in his battle, manifested in the tempter's defeat as he retreated from the site (Mt 4:11 and Lk 4:13). However, in our reading today, Mark doesn't show all of those. Here, Jesus is only described as tempted by the devil for 40 days without any specification if Jesus won the battle or not. It appears that the devil is always with him all throughout.

An aid in answering whether Jesus was victorious or not is by looking at the background of our First Reading which talks about the aftermath of the Great Flood. Our imagination tells us that it is such a catastrophic situation... waters are pouring heavily for a whole year! Yet amidst this chaos, there is genuine peace inside the ark of Noah where man and animals are safely co-existing with each other during this turmoil (cf. Gen 7:1-5). This theme is further continued after the Flood when Yahweh forged a covenant with Noah and all that is with him in the ark, including the animals (Gen 9:9-10). This reminds us of the first biblical story when the first man is living peacefully in harmony with the beasts in Paradise (cf. Gen 2:18-20). In both OT passages, temptation and chaos were certainly present (sinfulness of mankind during Noah's time and the serpent's alluring words in the Garden). Nonetheless, despite the presence of evil, man is at peace with creation.

In a similar vein, the Markan Jesus was tempted by the devil. Satan seems to be present there and does not leave Jesus alone. But despite the continuous temptation for 40 days, Jesus finds peace with the beasts. Jesus' co-existence with them may allude to our Genesis stories of the Garden of Eden and the Great Flood. With these, Jesus is rightfully called the New Noah and the New Adam who were both at peace with beasts.

In our own contexts, temptations, sufferings, and troubles are never absent. In fact, they are not easily won over for they keep on returning as long as we live. Yet, it doesn't give us license to quit and to give up in life. Peace can still be present within us. It just takes one's resolve to be resilient in life. Even if there are many forms of beasts in our society nowadays... reified in man's exponential greed for money, corruption in the government, over-commercialism in the world, thirst for mundane pleasure, and false quest for more power, still peace can be attained if we will just be like Christ… who sees angels comforting him behind those beasts (cf. Mk 1:15).

- Rex Fortes, CM