Weekend Wisdom - February 18th, 2024
“The Spirit drove Jesus out into the desert, and he remained in the desert for forty days, tempted by Satan.” Mark 1:12
The ancient city of Jericho in the Judean desert is considered to be the oldest city in the world, dating to over 8,000 BC. Jericho is about 20 miles east of Jerusalem, and four miles west of the site at the Jordan River where Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist. Jericho is also the ‘lowest’ city on Earth since it is 864 feet below sea level. About 10 miles southeast of Jericho is the Dead Sea, the lowest place on earth at over 1,400 feet below sea level. I believe that it is no coincidence that Jesus chose this area for his baptism and the beginning of his public ministry.
Near the center of Jericho is the site where Jesus called Zacchaeus the tax collector. From that location, you can see a massive rocky mountain to the northwest, called The Mount of Temptation.
After his baptism in the Jordan River, Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit into the Judaean Desert where he fasted for 40 days and nights and was tempted three times by the devil.
According to tradition dating to the 12th century, two of those three temptations occurred on the Mount of Temptation. The site of the temptation to turn a stone into bread is located in a grotto halfway up this mountain. And the site where the devil offered all the kingdoms of the world to Jesus in return for worshipping him is located on the summit.
During a pilgrimage to the Holy Land in May 2022, we took the “Jericho Cable Car” up to the Greek Orthodox Monastery built into the side of this mountain. Monks and hermits have inhabited this mountain since the early centuries of Christianity. They lived in natural caves, which they turned into cells, chapels, and storage rooms. Although photographs were not allowed inside the monastery, we were blessed to see the grotto dedicated to the first temptation of Jesus. It is a very holy place. It was hard to imagine how the monastery was built and that community of monks live there.
Throughout our 40-day Lenten journey, we will certainly be tempted by the evil one to forgo our call to prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. When those temptations come, recall that Jesus ate nothing for forty days and prayed constantly as he prepared for his three-year public ministry. He knows our challenges better than we do. In times of weakness, turn to the Lord for strength and perseverance!
May God bless you and your family!
Deacon Mark
