14th
February 2016 ~ Luke 4:1-13 “Trust the wilderness”
The temptations are not just an embarrassing episode in the life
of Jesus but are an integral part of his mission. Jesus is tempted to eat when
he is not supposed to eat, to take the easy route of power through
exploitation, when that is not His way. Ultimately, God is in control here;
this wilderness is ‘Spirit’ led. And so it is for us. When it comes down to it,
each of the temptations are about the same thing, our ability to trust in God.
This should not direct us towards complacency but to listening.
We listen to God’s Word and this year’s Trocaire campaign is
urging us to listen to what God is saying through the Book of Creation; to trust
in those signals and signs. Listening to the story of Teresina this year, we
hear of an effect of climate change that is often overlooked: a family forced
apart because of dry land. This past year we have seen large movements of
refugees around the world. We know that the next generation of refugees will be
climate refugees. It does not have to be this way. As we enter the ‘wilderness’
of Lent, let us spend time with the temptations in the Gospel today and hear the
call to ‘trust’. Trust what God is trying to tell us through the Book of Creation.
It is in the wasteland that we find the signs of God’s renewal.
‘I
urgently appeal for a new dialogue about how we are shaping the future of our
planet. We need a conversation which includes everyone, since the environmental
challenge we are undergoing, and its human roots, concern and affect us all’. Pope
Francis, Laudato Si’,
1, 14
No comments:
Post a Comment