First Sunday of Lent – 18th February 2024
Strange as it may seem to us so soon after Advent and Christmas, but this is the first Sunday of Lent. On Ash Wednesday, we began our Lenten Pilgrimage with Jesus as we prepare to celebrate Easter. However, we have some way to go with Jesus and each other before we can experience the joy and new life of Easter.
Our gospel this Sunday sees Jesus being led into the desert. The gospel puts it rather more seriously than Jesus being led into the desert! It opens with the words: ‘The Spirit drove Jesus into the wilderness (desert) and remained with him for forty days.’ Why was Jesus led or driven in to the desert?