In the life of faith, there are usually some mountaintop experiences along the way. However, the life of the faithful is often murky. Simply because we are human, we often try to figure out life and plan for the future. But in the present, we cannot always easily see much of the road before us. Even if we sense a clear calling from God, we will not always possess perfect clarity about the steps to get there. This is where faith and faithfulness come into play. As Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Faith is taking the first step even when you can’t see the whole staircase.”

Faithfulness is faith in action

            The core calling of Jesus to his disciples was “Follow me.” It wasn’t merely “believe in me” or “trust in me” or “pray to me” or “talk about me.” This is not to say that these things are unimportant, but it is to highlight the reality that the baseline for the mode of life that God calls us to practice is one of following Jesus moment by moment and living in the present. It’s a matter of practicing faithfulness in the here and now, and approaching our future a step at a time. It involves following Jesus’ model for living.

            Our gospel lesson today offers a glimpse of a pivotal moment in Jesus’ life. On the heels of Luke’s account of Jesus’ baptism and the recounting of Jesus’ ancestry, Luke reports that Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, was led into the wilderness, where he would remain for 40 days. This is a period of behind-the-scenes preparation for the public ministry that will encompass the remainder of his life. That ministry will achieve God’s mission of announcing a new era of salvation for all humanity. Alone in this solitary place, Jesus encounters the devil, who tempts him. The devil’s temptations are real, and they present a series of c

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