Looking Beyond Lent
February 19, 2024 | By Emma Ventresca BF ‘26
image description: close-up shot of grain amid a vast landscape
At that time Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert
to be tempted by the devil.
He fasted for forty days and forty nights,
and afterwards he was hungry.
Matthew 4:1-2
As we begin our Lenten journeys, we find ourselves without something. Whether we have sworn off chocolate, a favorite TV show, meat, or gossip, we desire the Lord to create a new heart within us. It is often tempting to count down the days until the finish line of our Lenten promises, to fixate on what things we have left behind, and to eagerly await Easter’s arrival so that we may take them up again. But Lent is a forward-looking season and is meant to reorder our lives toward resurrection. How might we use this period of waiting to reorient ourselves toward “fullness of redemption” (Psalm 130:7) and true discipleship?
The Gospel reading today recounts how Jesus “fasted for forty days and forty nights.” His sacrifice was not simply a practice but a preparation. Before and throughout His public ministry, Jesus withdrew from others and alone prayed to the Father. As we embark upon our academic and extracurricular obligations each day, we must also retreat into the desert of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, seeking God in stillness and solitude. These offerings make our hearts more receptive to God’s call, clearing away the blinding fog of earthly distraction.
Importantly, Jesus’ time in the desert did not mark the end of His work but rather a new beginning. Harkening back to the Israelites’ forty years of wandering in the desert before reaching the Promised Land, Jesus dedicated Himself to intense prayer and fasting. In a similar way, we are not called simply to trudge through the Lenten season but to allow it to renew us and revitalize our faith. We should be cognizant that the earthly goods we give up—and spiritual practices we add—can transform us. Though we bear small crosses in these sacrifices now, our desire to conform our lives to Christ’s extends far beyond these forty days.
This will not be an easy task, however. In fact, immediately after His period of preparation, Jesus is tempted by the devil’s promises of earthly riches and glory. He experiences hunger, an earthly suffering, but does not give into the demands of the evil one. As we move into the Easter season, let us not be tempted to return to a stagnant way of life, discounting the goodness that God has done through our Lenten sacrifices. Rather, let us extend our visions of Lent beyond forty days, recognizing that this season looks forward to the rest of our lives.