Wilderness and floods

As we journey through lent each year, the Church provides us with similar foundations. Each year, on the first Sunday in Lent, we journey with Jesus out into the wilderness as he is tempted; on the second Sunday, we travel with Peter, James and John up a high mountain where Jesus is transfigured. These two elements can help to orient us through the season of Lent and prepare us for Easter.

In this year, the church pairs the temptation in the wilderness in the Gospel of Mark with the end of the story of the great flood from the book of Genesis. The connection between the two stories is even clearer when we remember that just before today's Gospel, Jesus has journeyed out to the Jordan valley, to be baptised by John in the Jordan River - when the heavens are thrown open, the Spirit descends upon him and the voice of the Father is heard - 'this is my beloved Son.'

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Recorded at St Paul's, 10am (11'40")