Angels And The Wild Beasts
The Gospel for this Sunday is St. Mark’s version of the temptation in the wilderness. Unlike Matthew and Luke, which is full of rich details of Jesus’ confrontation with Satan, Mark’s account is like the rest of his Gospel. Just spare and straightforward to the point. What we hear from Mark is that the Spirit drove Jesus into the desert where he was tempted by Satan. Why would the Spirit of God take him into the place of temptation? Although Jesus is divine, he is God, he is fully human like us in all things but sin. Which means he was tempted. The Gospels were so clear about that. So, from a purely human standpoint, there is something spiritually valuable about this kind of temptation. Why? Because it clarifies and strengthens who we are. In Jesus’ confrontation with Satan, Jesus underscores his mission. He comes to clear sense of his mission.
More to it, Mark says, “He (Jesus) was among wild beasts and the angels ministered to him” (Mark 1:13). In time of his temptation, Jesus stood between the physical and the spiritual. But who are the wild beasts? What's the symbolism of wild beasts? The wild beasts stand for the dark powers, for the forces of darkness and everything that wants to frustrate God's will, plan and purposes for us from being fulfilled. Angels represent God's providence, protection, grace and everything good that helps us realize our vocation in life. That Jesus is between these wild beasts and angels tells us where we are in this world, which is in the middle of two opposing forces, good and evil. But if we continue to lean towards the good, towards the ultimate Good, towards God, even though we will face temptations from time to time, we will prevail. Why? Because God's angels are on hand to minister to us, just as they ministered to Jesus, our Lord.
Fr. Marcel
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