The word for Lent in Spanish is Cuaresma, which comes from the Latin Quadragesima; that is, forty in ordinal numbers. That is because Lent (or Cuaresma) has as a direct root the forty days that Jesus spent in the desert fasting. The Church’s celebration of Lent is a tradition that goes back centuries. Nevertheless, with time and because of the idiosyncratic nature of the Church around the world, there is a biblical element that is an essential part of Lent that sometimes is left behind: Baptism. To see this clearly, we must go to the Gospel readings during this Lenten season.
There are several key Gospel readings for Lent, the first of which is the focus on Ash Wednesday. Every year, the reading is from Matthew, no matter the cycle. From there we have the three distinct practices of Lent: fasting, prayer, and alms-giving. And we are also reminded how we are to fast, pray and give alms. Jesus says: Take care not to perform any of these deeds that people may see them! (c.f. Matt. 6:1). The Gospel for the first Sunday of Lent does change according to the cycle, but they each focus on the same event in the life of Jesus: the temptations of Jesus during his forty days in the desert. Likewise, the reading for the Second Sunday also changes but focuses on the Transfiguration. With this common foundation, we then have different Gospel readings taken from John and Luke for the Third, Fourth, and Fifth Sundays.
Having the context of the readings, let us return to the First Sunday of Lent. Here, we will find ourselves with a very well-known passage in the Bible, that of the temptations of Jesus. In all of the Gospel traditions, we find that the reason why Jesus goes to the desert has to do with the Spirit. In Matthew, Jesus “was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.” (Matthew 4:1). Luke writes that “Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil,” (Luke 4:1-2a). And finally, what we will hear this year in Mark: “And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan…” (Mark 1:12-13a). No matter the Gospel, the Spirit leads or drives Jesus out into the wilderness to be tempted.
Of course, this is not the first appearance of the Spirit; it has been introduced just before at the narrative of Jesus’ baptism. If we read Mark carefully, we find the adverb immediately, suggesting that the temptations are an urgent step for Jesus right after the baptism. In other words, the Spirit that Jesus received during his baptism, the one who came down as a dove, will produce this quick movement into the wilderness.
This shows a direct relationship to Baptism and facing temptation. At the baptism of Jesus, there is a voice from heaven that says Jesus is the beloved Son of God. And when we read the temptations, described in detail by Matthew and Luke, we realize that two of them start with the interrogative sentence “if you are the Son of God…” The voice of the tempter is in diametrical opposition to that of God. The temptations of Jesus in the desert, while provoking him to use his divine power to personal benefit and for the sake of display, are at their core the same temptation: to demonstrate that he is indeed the beloved Son of God. The tempter is putting the voice heard at Jesus’ baptism in doubt. The moment Jesus acts on the temptations, he already doubts the voice from heaven. It is then reasonable to believe that the Spirit that Jesus received at his baptism has driven Jesus into the desert to fasten his identity as the beloved Son of God; so that the love of the Father would never be put into doubt throughout his mission on the way to the cross.
I would suggest that the reaffirmation of our identity as beloved sons and daughters of God should be precisely one of the primary purposes of these forty days we call Lent. Our Baptismal Identity is crucial to understanding why Lent even exists. It is true that during Lent we practice penance as a way to be prepared for the Easter celebration. But while penance is necessary, it is not the first or only step in our Lenten preparation. Again, an essential part of Lent is to remind ourselves that we are beloved sons and daughters of God, and our acts of penance should direct us towards an experience of this.
As mentioned before, we will hear that voice again from Jesus' baptism during the Second Sunday of Lent. At the moment of the Transfiguration, a voice from heaven will remind the disciples: this is my beloved son. So, this Lent let us not forget our Baptismal identity. Before we rush to do penance, let us first evoke our identity as children loved by God. In doing so, our penance will be more profound, dynamic and fruitful.
