In 1976, author Doug Alderson wrote a remarkable article for Campus Life Magazine, describing a 2,000-mile hike he made along the Appalachian Trail. Stretching from Georgia to Maine, the trail passes through New York – and even through the grounds here at Graymoor.
Doug set out on his journey just after graduating from high school, carrying more than a backpack. He was burdened with unanswered questions: Was there a God? Did life have a purpose? And what was his place in it all?
In the article, he wrote, “There had to be more to life than money, TV, parties and getting high.” His hike became more than a physical challenge; it was a search for inner peace – a journey to discover who he truly was.
The journey proved far more difficult than he had imagined. The trail often became steep and dangerous. Rain fell day after day. His clothes were constantly soaked, his feet blistered and wet, and at night his body ached and shivered from the cold. Yet, despite the hardship, Doug pressed on.
Those long hours alone on the trail gave him time not only to think, but to grow. With no one around to influence him, he came to know himself more deeply.
Five months later, Doug returned home, a changed person. He joked that even his dog looked at him strangely – as if to say, “Where have you been? You look different.”
He was different. Doug had found what he was searching for. He discovered that God exists, that life has meaning and that he himself had a purpose. Reflecting on his experience, he wrote, “I was my own person. I liked what I saw in myself.”
Doug Alderson stands in a long tradition of people who stepped away from the noise of life to reflect on its meaning. Moses did it. The Old Testament Prophets did it. John the Baptist did it. And in today’s Gospel, Jesus does it as well.
In the wilderness, during 40 days of solitude, Jesus encounters three great temptations. We might think of this moment as a preview of the Gospel – revealing just enough to help us understand who Jesus is and what He came to do.
The temptation story first reveals Jesus’ humanity. He faces the same inner struggle we all face: the battle between good and evil. Yet there is something strikingly different about His response. Jesus never even considers giving in to Satan’s false promises. Not once.
In fact, the devil himself acknowledges that Jesus is no ordinary man when he says, “If you are the Son of God.”
At the same time, this scripture passage reveals Jesus’ mission. It points us back to the first reading, when Adam and Eve are tempted by the devil and give in. From that moment on, humanity became enslaved to sin.
But Jesus comes to undo that damage. Where Adam and Eve failed, Jesus remains faithful. He comes to free us from slavery and to restore what was lost.
As we begin the season of Lent, this Gospel is especially fitting. It reminds us that Jesus has already won the battle. At the end of these 40 days, we will celebrate His victory over sin and death.
And if we unite ourselves with Christ – through prayer, fasting and trust in God – that victory becomes ours as well.
