“At once the Spirit drove him out into the wilderness, and there he remained for forty days tempted by Satan. He was among the wild beasts; and angels attended to his needs.” (Mark 1:12-13)

The angels were doing what they most like to do: serving Jesus. He is in the desert, is fasting, is among wild beasts, is tempted by Satan. But he is also surrounded by angels who attend to his needs. The angels contemplate Jesus, worship his majesty, follow his steps, take down his words, and, above all, they watch his days and his nights and look after his safety. They respect his fasting, but they protect his solitude.   

Satan, who, after all, is also an angel to start with, knows these jobs and uses precisely this information to tempt Jesus:

“The devil took him to Jerusalem and set him on the parapet of the temple. ‘If you are the Son of God’, he said, ‘throw yourself down from here; for scripture says, He will put his angels in charge of you, and again, They will support you in their arms for fear you should strike your foot against a stone.’ Jesus answered him, ‘It has been said, You are not to put the Lord your God to the test’.”

The angels will take you in their hands. You can throw yourself down from the parapet without fear. Yes, but not quite as you say. The angels’ protection is guaranteed, but is not to be abused. We are not to tempt God. We are not to tempt his angels. Here I am learning an important principle to deal with angels. Never to misuse their friendship. It is written: You are not to put the Lord your God to the test.

The angels are by my side to help me fast forty days if there is need for it, not to turn the stones of the desert into bread. To know that they are by my side gives me strength to fast and to pray, to reject temptation and to stick to determination, to honour my responsibilities and to remain open in generosity. To know that they are watching me helps me behave; and to know they will defend me helps me enter the fight. Angels are watching me.

Life is a desert, and we know it. Desert of sand and aridity, of hunger and thirst, of immensity and solitude. Dunes of doubt and storms of temptation. Alone before life in all its dry extension all around us. Mirages of illusion. How can we face the test of the desert, how to find our way in the extended monotony of the sand, how to maintain hope in the repeated lengthening of its days and its nights?

We have the angels around us. We know they are here, they are near, they watch us, they are ready to come to our help, they silently help us in our endurance test. God has sent his angels. With them, the desert becomes a space of grace as it became for Jesus.