February 22, 2015: First Sunday of Lent

The Spirit drove Jesus out into the desert, and he remained in the desert for forty days, tempted by Satan.
He was among wild beasts, and the angels ministered to him.

After John had been arrested, Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God:
“This is the time of fulfillment.
The kingdom of God is at hand.
Repent, and believe in the gospel.” (Mark 1:12-15)

Reflection:

Jesus needed to be alone to prepare for his ministry and to follow the will of his Father. Sometimes it helps to be in a quiet place so you can listen to God instead of all the voices in the world. Jesus wanted to be ready to tell his followers about the kingdom of God and to help them understand how they needed to turn their lives toward God. Maybe he also knew he would need to be strong if people did not understand his message and if things got hard for him. We all need quiet time to truly listen and to draw on God’s strength.

Action:

Do you ever need quiet times in your life? There can be a lot of noise in all that we do.
Perhaps this week you could find a few minutes to really be quiet before God, to listen to what he is asking of us, and draw on his love for the hard times in our lives.