In our everyday speech, we talk about undergoing testing or trials as a difficult experience. Students rarely look forward to exams, for example. And I’m not aware of anyone who is eager to be taken to trial in a courtroom. Yet when a person passes through a test or a trial successfully, they have proven themselves. And this proof can be a great gain.
In today’s Gospel reading, Mark tells us that Jesus was driven out by the Spirit into the desert, where he was tempted by Satan. This word “tempted” can also mean “test” or “trial.” Jesus, true God and true man, succeeds in his testing; he proves his fidelity to God by refusing to submit to Satan.
While by ourselves we human beings struggle and falter, sometimes failing again and again in the face of temptation, Jesus’s victory over Satan in the desert—which points to his complete victory in his death and resurrection—is a sign of hope. In the Lord Jesus, we too conquer temptation; in him, we too conquer sin and death. If we unite ourselves to Christ in faith, our final victory over temptation is also assured.
Today, then, let us consider how we approach the trials and temptations we experience. When we are tempted, let us turn to Christ in faith, confident that he will fill us with his grace.