Name: James R. Walters ’04C, ’06GEd, ’09G, ’12Ed.D.
Title: Director of Residence Ministry and Faith Formation
“And the Angels came and ministered to Him.”
On this first Sunday of Lent, we find Jesus praying in the desert. Recently baptized by John the Baptist and on the cusp of beginning His ministry and revolution of love, Jesus goes to the desert to be with God, to grow in a deeper relationship with His Creator.
After 40 days of fasting, Jesus is tempted three times. Because Jesus knows who He is as God’s beloved (MT 17:5), Jesus remains faithful to this true identity—an identity we also claim.
After the final temptation, we read, “and the Angels came and ministered to Him.”
As we begin our 40-day Lenten journey, these final words provide comfort. By claiming our true identity as God’s beloved, it requires a radical life—one where we stand for justice, serve those on the margins on their terms, and love unconditionally. If we live this way, we too will seek comfort as we will need to overcome external and internal challenges and temptations.
American journalist Dorothy Day wrote, “The greatest challenge of the day is how to bring about a revolution of the heart, a revolution which has to start with each one of us. When we begin to take the lowest places, to wash the feet of others, to love our brothers with that burning love—that passion which led to the cross—then we can truly say, ‘Now I have begun.’”
As we begin this Lenten journey, we are reminded this day to claim our identity as God’s beloved. We are challenged to allow this season to transform our hearts so we can truly be Christ-like for all members of our human family.
Finally, let us not only seek the comfort of heavenly angels, but let us be angels to one another on this shared journey. Let us be, as priest, professor, writer, and theologian Henri Nouwen described it, “wounded healers” for one another. Let us seek to understand, and let us pray for one another as we begin this revolution of the heart—a revolution reflecting God’s love.
Read more reflections from Come Back to Me: Lenten Reflections from St. John’s University.