Good Soul Mechanics

A Reflection on the Gospel for February 21st, 2021:
​First Sunday of Lent

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Mark
1.12-15

After Jesus was baptized, the Spirit drove him out into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the Angels waited on him.

Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.”
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Pause. Pray.

And then read more...

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The angels waited on Jesus as He suffered many temptations in the desert. They stood by and watched as He faced starvation, desolation, mental and physical anguish. They just waited. Why? Are not our own guardian angels enlisted to take up just this sort of battle on our behalf? Why didn’t they do something?


It’s plausible, I suppose, that in their waiting they actually were doing something. It’s plausible that in the absence of physical intervention, they were participating in a greater good. They accompanied our Lord—with intentional silence.


Jesus, who was made incarnate by the Holy Spirit, responded to His promptings in total trust. He walked into the wilderness of His soul and engaged in the battle that we also face, to some degree, each day. Who is it that we turn to in the midst of these battles? How do we make it to the other side of being pummelled by wild beasts in the wilderness?


Snowshoeing with friends up a mountainside recently led me to reflect on these questions. I suffer from lower back pain at times, and so when I travel up a steep incline, it’s important for me not to hinge forward so that I don’t further injure my back. I must remain upright. When I break from good form—good body mechanics—it is usually because I am sliding back into the temptation to do it the easy way, to do it my way, or because I’ve simply lost focus. Narrowing my focus on Jesus teaches me good soul mechanics and leads me on the path of uprightness. It is particularly important when in the ominous shadows of the wilderness to remain focused and upright.


There are times when the desire emerges in me to be accompanied in my suffering as I trudge on through the wilderness. It’s good to have friends to hold me upright when I break from good form. There also exists in me a desire to hold others in their pain—to stand them up when they’re falling down. But I must aim to strike a balance in this. There must be room in my suffering and in the suffering of others for God to straighten us up, for His hand to be the hand that shapes our form. And there must be an acknowledgment in my heart that if I lean too far into reliance on others, or worse, reliance on myself to carry the responsibility of remaining upright, I am not leaving room for the Holy Spirit to move as the intervenor who is most necessary. Our accompaniment of others is good, but ultimately, it is only He who can mend the broken. It is only He who can drive out the wild beasts who prey on us. It is only He who can restore us for His glory.


Let us pray for trust in God’s plan. Let us pray for the courage to be intentionally silent at times in our accompaniment. Let us pray for perpetual focus on God.




Lori MacDonald

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