First Sunday in Lent

Baptism and Temptation

In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” 

And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.

Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.” 

Pope Sixtus IV commissioned Botticelli along with other artists to decorate the walls of his new papal electoral chapel ("Sistine" Chapel, after "Sixtus".) Botticelli painted three frescoed sections of the walls, one of which was "Jewish Sacrifice and the Temptation of Christ." 

In 1475, the Dominican practice of the rosary was revived in Germany and quickly became widespread among Dominicans, Benedictines, and Carthusians. Pope Sixtus IV, a Franciscan who served from 1472-1484, also encouraged the practice through papal bulls and indulgences.

The devil in Botticelli's painting wears clerical garb and carries rosary beads, a clear contemporary reference to the new rosary practices, which carried with them the promise of remission of punishment for confessed sins through indulgences. This fashioning of the devil as an active, practicing cleric was a popular motif in Temptation-themed art of the period. What it signifies is less clear; does the rosary indicate that, with Mary's intercession and Christ's grace, even the devil can be saved? Or is it a less benign fashioning, indicating that the devil is very clever and can disguise himself in the garb of the faithful?

"Christ's threefold temptation by the Devil, as described in the Gospel according to St Matthew [ACT note: the Lukan version differs in the order of the temptations and the closing section, but is essentially the same otherwise], can be seen in the background of the picture, with the Devil disguised as a hermit. At top left, up on the mountain, he is challenging Christ to turn stones into bread; in the centre, we see the two standing on a temple, with the Devil attempting to persuade Christ to cast Himself down; on the right-hand side, finally, he is showing the Son of God the splendour of the world's riches, over which he is offering to make Him master. However, Christ drives away the Devil, who ultimately reveals his true devilish form. On the right in the background, three angels have prepared a table for the celebration of the Eucharist, a scene which only becomes comprehensible when seen in conjunction with the event in the foreground of the fresco. 

The unity of these two events from the point of view of content is clarified by the reappearance of Christ with the three angels in the middle ground on the left of the picture, where He is apparently explaining the incident occurring in the foreground to the heavenly messengers. We are concerned here with the celebration of a Jewish sacrifice, conducted daily before the Temple in accordance with ancient custom. The high priest is receiving the blood-filled sacrificial bowl, while several people are bringing animals and wood as offerings. At first sight, the inclusion of this Jewish sacrificial scene in the Christ cycle would appear extremely puzzling; however, its explanation may be found in the typological interpretaion. The Jewish sacrifice portrayed here refers to the crucifixion of Christ, who through His death offered up His flesh and blood for the redemption of mankind. Christ's sacrifice is reconstructed in the celebration of the Eucharist, alluded to here by the gift table prepared by the angels." [from Sandro Botticelli, 1444/45-1510, by Barbara Deimling. Taschen, rev. ed., 2000, pg. 34-35.] 

Think of Lent as an Outward Bound for the soul.

No one has to sign up for it, but if you do,

then you give up the illusion that

you are in control of your life.

~ Barbara Brown Taylor

Grace has a grand laughter in it.

~ Marilynne Robinson

(from Gilead!)*

Genesis 9:8-17
Psalm 25:1-10
1 Peter 3:18-22
Mark 1:9-15