FROM THE DESERT TO THE GARDEN
Good Sunday morning. And so our Lenten journey 2026 begins. The season of Lent begins not with a celebration (though we are in the midst of celebrating the Lunar New Year 😊); but we start with a confrontation. On the First Sunday of Lent, the liturgy pulls us away from the comforts of the "city" & drives us into the barren silence of the Judean wilderness. In the desert, we encounter the stark reality of our human condition through two pivotal & diametrically opposite narratives: the fall of Adam in Genesis & the victory of Christ in the Gospel of Matthew.
This journey into the desert is not a hollow ‘going through the motions’ tradition or a mere exercise in willpower; it is the essential pathway to the "new life" we are promised at the Easter Vigil. To reach the empty tomb, we must first face the full reality of the desert.
Understanding Our Need for Conversion
Wb begin with a look back at our origins, to the “In the beginning …” In the Garden of Eden, we see the blueprint of all human sin. The temptation faced by Adam and Eve wasn't just about fruit; it was about the rejection of creaturely limits. The serpent’s whisper—"You will be like gods"—is the seductive & perennial temptation to move God from the centre of our lives & install ourselves in His place.
When we look at the world today, can we not see the echoes of this original "No”? We see it in our attitudes – our pride, our desire for autonomy without accountability, & our tendency to use others as means to an end. This is why the Lenten call to repentance (from the Greek metanoia) is so vital. Repentance is more than feeling guilty; it is a "change of mind" & a "reorientation of the heart." It is the moment we stop running away from God in our own shame & turn back toward the light of His face. As King David earnestly prayed in Psalm 27:1,8, we also cry out to the Lord this Lent: “The Lord is my light and my help: whom shall I fear? Of you my heart has spoken: ‘Seek his face’. It is your face, O Lord, that I seek; hide not Your face.”
The New Adam: Victory in the Wilderness
In the Gospel, we see the "New Adam," Jesus Christ, entering the desert to undo what was done in the Garden. Where Adam was tempted in a lush paradise & failed, Jesus is tempted in a starving wasteland & triumphs.
The three temptations presented by the devil represent the three great idols that insidiously attempt to steal us away from our baptismal identity:
1. Pleasure & Sensuality (Bread): The temptation to prioritize physical comfort & immediate gratification over spiritual sustenance.
2. Presumption (The Temple Pinnacle): The temptation to "test" God or use our faith as a way to control Him, demanding signs rather than trusting His providence.
3. Power (The Kingdoms of the World): The temptation to seek worldly influence & security through compromise rather than through humble service to the Kingdom of God.
Jesus answers every temptation with the Word of God. His victory over temptation in the desert isn't just His personal win; it is a victory won for us. By refusing to turn stones into bread, He reminds us that "one does not live by bread alone." By refusing to throw Himself down, He models perfect trust. By refusing worldly power, He remains the faithful servant.
The Call to Conversion: Dying to Self
Lent invites us to enter this same desert. The traditional practices of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving are the tools of our conversion. They are not punishments; they are "spiritual surgeries" meant to remove the “blockages” from our hearts.
Fasting thins the ego & our carnal drive so we can feel our hunger for God.
Prayer re-establishes our communication with the Creator.
Almsgiving breaks the chains of greed & connects us to our brothers and sisters.
Through these disciplines, we undergo a "dying to self." This is the "Repent and believe in the Gospel" we heard on Ash Wednesday. Our minds & spirits join David in his psalm of heartfelt repentance ‘Miserere Mei, Deus’ as we cry out “Have mercy on us, O Lord, for we have sinned.” (Psalm, 51:1 – today’s Psalm Response). By so doing, we allow the "old man" (the Adam within us) to die so that the "new man" (the Christ within us) can be raised to life.
The New Life in Christ
The desert of Lent is never an end in itself. Its horizon is always the rising sun of Easter Sunday. St. Paul reminds us in the 2nd Reading (Romans 5) that "just as through one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so through one man’s obedience many will be made righteous."
The goal of our Lenten conversion is to arrive at the baptismal font—or the renewal of our baptismal promises—ready to receive the New Life. This new life is not just "Life 2.0"; it is a participation in the Divine Nature. When we emerge from the forty days, we shouldn't just be people who gave up chocolates, meat, alcohol or social media; we should be people who have been re-conformed to the image of ‘the Son of God, who loved us and gave himself for us’ (cf Galatians 2:20).
Easter is the celebration of the "New Creation." Just as God breathed life into the dust in Genesis, the Holy Spirit breathes the life of the Risen Christ into our repentant hearts. The linkage is clear: No Cross, No Crown; No Desert, No Garden; No Repentance, No Resurrection.
A Prayer for the Journey
As we begin this First Week of Lent, let us not be afraid of the silence or the hunger of the desert. Let us trust that the same Spirit who led Jesus into the wilderness is leading us. May our repentance be sincere, our conversion be deep, & our hearts be opened to the overwhelming grace that awaits us at the Feast of Victory.
Here’s a Lenten Hymn ‘Led by the Spirit’ based on today’s Gospel.
https://youtu.be/C6KRhmCqvq8?si=Yoatg80LQKztAUT5
Finally, to close this reflection, let’s pray in our hearts the Collect (Opening Prayer) for this Sunday:
"Grant, almighty God, through the yearly observances of holy Lent, that we may grow in understanding of the riches hidden in Christ and by worthy conduct pursue their effects."
Article by Damian Boon, HFC Blog Team Lead