LENT AS A DESERT MOMENT

Homily for the First Sunday in Lent, Year A

Fr. Ugochukwu Ugwoke, ISch

Genesis 2:7-9; 3:1-7; Romans 5:12-19; Matthew 4:1-11

A man who lost his job once told me that the hardest part was not the loss of income, but the loss of certainty. He felt exposed, vulnerable, and alone. Yet later, he said it was in that “desert” season that he rediscovered prayer, clarity, and his dependence on God. What he experienced reveals a spiritual truth: deserts are not places of abandonment, but places of encounter and transformation.

The Gospel of this First Sunday of Lent begins with a surprising statement: “Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil.” The desert is not an accident; it is intentional. The Spirit leads Him there. In the Bible, the desert has a deep theological sense. It is the place where false securities are removed and the truth of one’s relationship with God is revealed. Israel passed through the desert for forty years, not simply as a journey of geography, but as a journey of spiritual formation. Deuteronomy 8:2 explains its purpose: “God led you these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart.”

The desert reveals the heart. This is why Christ goes there. After fasting forty days, He faces three temptations that correspond to the fundamental distortions of human desire. First, the temptation to turn stones into bread is the temptation to reduce life to material satisfaction. It is the illusion that physical fulfillment can substitute for spiritual dependence. Christ responds, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” He affirms that human life finds its deepest meaning not in consumption, but in communion with God.

The second temptation - to throw Himself from the temple - is the temptation of presumption. The devil even quotes Scripture, revealing that temptation often disguises itself in religious language. It is the temptation to use God rather than trust God. Christ responds, “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.” True faith does not manipulate God; it surrenders to Him.

The third temptation - the offer of worldly kingdoms - is the temptation of power without obedience, glory without sacrifice. It is the temptation to achieve good ends through compromised means. Christ rejects it absolutely: “You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve.” In this moment, Christ reorders human desire toward its proper center: God alone.

This Gospel must be read in light of the first reading. Adam was tempted in a garden of abundance and fell; Christ was tempted in a desert of deprivation and remained faithful. Adam grasped at what was forbidden; Christ refused what was offered. Where Adam failed, Christ succeeds. St. Paul explains this theological reversal in Romans 5:19: “Through the disobedience of one man many were made sinners; through the obedience of one man many will be made righteous.” Christ enters the desert as the new Adam to restore what the first Adam lost.

This reveals the meaning of Lent. Lent is our participation in the desert of Christ. It is not merely a season of giving things up; it is a season of being led by the Spirit into deeper truth. Through fasting, we confront our disordered attachments. Through prayer, we rediscover dependence on God. Through almsgiving, we break the illusion of self-sufficiency. Lent strips away illusions so that grace can rebuild the heart. Like Adam, we are going to be tempted, but like Christ, we shall emerge victorious.

The desert is uncomfortable, but it is necessary. It is in the desert that distractions fade and God’s voice becomes clearer. It is in the desert that temptation is exposed and obedience is strengthened. And it is in the desert that we learn that God is enough. If we walk faithfully through this Lenten desert, we will discover that the desert is not a place of death, but the doorway to resurrection.