Time of Fulfillment
Jesus was in the desert, "among wild beast and the angels ministered to him."
With this brief description, Mark set the stage for "the time of fulfillment" that Jesus would soon announce.
There was an earlier time in history when Adam and Eve, and, with them, humanity, were living among animals, and in "a garden where creation was in harmony" (Genesis 2: 19-20) [1].
However, once sin damaged their relationship with God, in "the fallen state, humankind [was] expelled into a place where the land and its animal inhabitants rebel against a man and a woman, who are themselves in conflict" (Genesis 3: 14-19) [2].
Now, Jesus heralds first in his life, then in his words, "the time of fulfillment." Later on, with his cross and resurrection, Christ inaugurates a new creation where God's relationship with all God's creation is restored.
Lent offers us, the people redeemed by Christ, the opportunity to live more fully in this time of fulfillment that God has begun in us through Baptism.
With prayer, we return to God.
With fasting, we open to God's grace restoring in us what sin has damaged.
With almsgiving, we repair and rebuild relationships with others.
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[1] Francis J. Moloney, The Gospel of Mark: A Commentary. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 2002; p. 38.
[2] Ibid.
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