Making our way through the desert
Our readings today focus on what happens after the devastation. We skip over the flood and go straight to God promising to never again destroy his creation. Mark’s telling of Jesus’ temptation is alarmingly brief; he’s driven into the desert, he’s tempted, he’s ministered to, he survives and he returns inviting his people to change. Jesus invites us to repent, to turn around, to believe, and then he goes straight out to call the first of his disciples. He gets about doing the work he was sent to do.
We’ve all had desert experiences. We’ve been among our share of wild beasts, seen our share of devastating floods, we’ve had our share of cousins arrested, and I’ll bet in more ways than we’d like to admit we’ve felt temptation. And for each of us the most compelling part of the narrative — our story — is what we do once we make our way through the desert.
At Catholic Charities we minister to people living through desert experiences. We may not be angels, but we help people find their way through the devastation, and we help people focus on what comes next.
How will we get about doing the work we’ve been sent to do?
Jay Brown is CEO of Commonwealth Catholic Charities serving communities across the Catholic Diocese of Richmond. He likes the Celtics.