We begin our Lenten readings in a most appropriate place: the desert. In the desert, life is stripped to basics and everything, including our weakness, is exposed. We are forced to stand alone and vulnerable before God. Our faith is put to the test. Little wonder, then, that Jesus went to the desert to fast and pray before plunging into his public works. It's there, amid the rocks and reptiles, that the devil comes to him with three temptations.