First Sunday of Lent Reflection

First Sunday of Lent
Carla Orduno, Board of Directors

The First Sunday of Lent places us in the desert with Jesus — and honestly, that’s
uncomfortable. The desert is quiet. It’s slow. It strips everything down. There’s no distraction
there, no noise to hide behind. Just hunger, silence, and truth.

What stays with me is that Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert. It wasn’t random. It wasn’t
punishment. It was part of the journey. That shifts something in me. Not every hard season
means I’m lost. Sometimes I’m being led.

Jesus is hungry when the tempter comes. Vulnerable. And that feels real. Temptation doesn’t
usually show up when I’m strong and steady. It comes when I’m tired. When I feel unseen.
When I feel like something is missing.

“Turn these stones into bread.”

Fix it. Control it. Meet your own need.

I see myself there more than I’d like to admit. When I’m uncomfortable, I want relief now. I want
answers now. I want security now. But Jesus doesn’t let hunger make the decision for Him. He
chooses trust over control.

Then comes the line that feels personal: “If you are the Son of God…” It’s subtle, but it attacks
identity. Prove it. Show it. Perform. And I think that’s where so much of my own struggle lives --
in trying to prove I’m capable, worthy, strong enough.

Jesus doesn’t prove anything. He already knows who He is. He doesn’t need applause or
validation. He stands firm in truth.

The last temptation — power without sacrifice — might be the hardest. A shortcut. The outcome
without the obedience. And that’s real life. Wanting the promise without the process. The reward
without the waiting.

This Gospel makes me sit with some uncomfortable questions:
Where am I trying to take control instead of trust?
Where am I trying to prove myself?
Where am I looking for the easier way?

The desert opens things up in me — impatience, insecurity, fear of not having enough or not
being enough. It exposes how much I rely on quick fixes instead of quiet faith.
And yet, that part comforts me — the desert is not forever. Faithfulness matters. Strength
comes. God provides.

Lent isn’t about proving how strong I am. It’s about remembering who I belong to — especially
when I feel weak.

​And in the desert, when everything else is stripped away, that truth becomes very clear.