Lent: a time in the Desert Wilderness

An explanation of the ‘desert space’ in front of the altar

In the Gospel for the first Sunday of Lent, Jesus is led into the desert wilderness, by the Spirit. For Jesus, as for us during Lent, the desert is:

• a place of encounter with God,
• a place of fasting and
• a place of testing.

On the second Sunday of Lent we read and reflect on the Transfiguration. The white cloth reminds us of the glory of God and our ultimate destiny of full communion with God.

On the third, fourth and fifth Sundays of Lent, we read and reflect on three significant encounters with the Lord:

The Samaritan woman at the well (John 4.5-42)

The man born blind (John 9.1-41)

The raising of Lazarus (John 11.1-45)

On each of these Sundays (and the week that follows),

we place a simple symbol of the Gospel account to remind us of a key aspect of our Baptism and shared faith in Christ:

• A bucket (Jesus, the water of life, welling up to eternal life);
• A lamp (Jesus, the light of the world, the true and eternal light);
• A plant (Jesus, the Resurrection and the Life;

“unless a grain of wheat dies ….”).