Today, on the First Sunday of Lent, the church leads us into the desert with Jesus Christ. The Gospel from the Gospel of Matthew presents the powerful story of His temptation - a story that is not only about Him, but about us. After the Baptism of Jesus, He was led by the Spirit into the wilderness. The desert is not a place of punishment, it is a place of preparation. Before beginning His public ministry, before preaching, healing and saving, Jesus fasts and prays for forty days.