Then you, together with the Levites and the
aliens who reside among you, shall celebrate with all the bounty that
the Lord your God has given to you and your house. [Deuteronomy 26: 11]
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most
High, abides under the shadow of the Almighty. He shall say to the Lord,
"You are my refuge and my stronghold, my God in whom I put my trust. [Psalm
91:1-2]
For there is no
distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous
to all who call on him. For, everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall
be saved. [Romans 10: 12-13]
Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned
from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty
days he was tempted by the devil...Jesus answered him..."One does not live
by bread alone...Worship the Lord your God and serve only him...Do not put the
Lord your God to the test." [Luke
4:1-2a,4b, 8b, 12b]
40 days and 40 nights thou wast fasting in the wild…tempted and
yet undefiled. So goes the 19th century hymn [#150 in "The Hymnal 1982" of the US Episcopal Church]. And so our time of 40
days and 40 nights has begun again; shall we be “undefiled” at its conclusion? Realistically,
not likely. Temptation is a human foible and even with the best of intentions,
we all – more often than we’d like to admit – fall prey to the allure of some
thing or another, sometimes to especially unhealthy levels and to our own or
others' detriment, or both. Yet isn’t our situation different? Jesus was
tempted by the Devil, after all, with promises of earthly
power and glory and authority. But do we dismiss ourselves from this
self-examination because of our mere mortalhood? It would seem that as he was
"full of the Holy Spirit," it must have been much easier for him. Yet
this preparation for his imminent ministry, this long retreat, fully human as
he was, was no picnic in the park. Sure, we might not be promised power
and authority by a supernatural being, or spend all that time alone in a
wilderness, but the pull to just turn toward the glitter of all that beckons,
those idols we create for ourselves, can be very difficult to resist in our
brief human journey. And that brings its own kind of wilderness.
The readings for this week give chapter and verse on how God hears us, shelters
us, and saves us if we but turn toward the Lord our God. The literal
translation of "repent" from the Greek is, at its basic level, to
turn away from sin by turning toward God. These 40 days bring us
the time to reconcile our earthly wants with our eternal souls. We are to clean
out our spiritual closets and blow the dust off hidden temptations,
overindulgence, and the shallow distractions that distance us from Christ. It's
time to turn the light on what we hide from ourselves and re-awaken to the call
of salvation. I bid us each, over these weeks, to worry less
about what to “give up” and concentrate more on what to “take on” to discover
what will turn us back toward our Risen Lord and Savior. Keep the word
near you, on your lips and in your heart as Paul tells us. Prayer is a
starting place, even if only asking “WHAT, HOW, WHERE DO I START?”
Jesus gave 40 days and 40 nights to his
spiritual growth and strength for the beginning of his earthly ministry. Can
you give 40 minutes over 6 weeks? How about 10 minutes 4 times a day? How much
time is spent on the idols of our daily living, not counting work time, the
phone, the tablet, the computer, social media, online shopping, flipping
channels on the tv remote, etc. Take 10, in a quiet space – the morning or
evening shower, that time in the other part of the bathroom – wherever.
Take on a definitive, intentional, conscious turn toward the Lord by
thought and by action, by desire, and most importantly by faith. For
one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the
mouth and so is saved. What could be more important for those of us
who call ourselves Christian? Here's a start, copy this onto post-it notes for
the laptop, the refrigerator door, the coffee pot, or the car dashboard. Ask
Alexa to read it to you at regular intervals, and take a long slow deep breath
every time you see it, hear it, or say it out loud; this one line from this
week’s Psalm: You are my refuge and my stronghold, my God in whom I put my
trust. Got 40 minutes? We can always make time for the things we really
want to do. We can easily blow 40 minutes scrolling Facebook, playing Wordle,
or Minecraft. It’s time to be tempted to turn toward the One Who is calling.
Give in.
LET
US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY
Leader: ~ Almighty
God, Most High, as we enter the pilgrim way of Lent once more, let these 40
days and 40 nights fill us with unceasing prayer. Strengthen our souls to
dismiss the enticements of this earthly life, and to proclaim, with faith on
our lips and in our hearts, that Christ Jesus is our Risen Lord.
Jesus, Son
of God
RESPONSE:
Deliver us
from idol temptation
~
Almighty God, Most High, grant us the fortitude of Christ in the wilderness to
stand before the Powers of this World, this Nation, and this Community, to
demand for all people the release from affliction, injustice, inhumanity, and
oppression imposed by the evils of greed and corruption. We pray especially
for: add your own petitions
Jesus, Son of God
Deliver
us from idol temptation
~
Almighty God, Most High, shelter in Your love all who suffer in body,
mind, or spirit, and encourage all who give them help. We now join our
voices to pray aloud for those in need… add your own petitions
Jesus, Son of God
Deliver
us from idol temptation
~
Almighty God, Most High, ease the hearts of all who grieve, as those we
love in our living memory are now risen in the joy and glory of eternal
life. We pray especially for: add your own petitions
Jesus, Son of God
Deliver
us from idol temptation
~
Almighty God, Most High, we pause in this moment to offer You
our other heartfelt thanksgivings, intercessions, petitions, and memorials,
aloud or silently… add your own petitions
Jesus, Son of God
Deliver
us from idol temptation
~
Almighty God, Most High, may all who are chosen to bring us Your Word and
Sacraments in times of sorrow and times of gladness, abide under Your Shadow,
bound to you in love. We pray especially for: add your own petitions
Jesus, Son of God
Deliver
us from idol temptation
The
Celebrant adds:
O Lord, our God, rescue us from the wilderness of our own making, turn us from
fear to faith, and from complacency to action. Help us keep the Word near on
our lips and in our hearts as we call upon Your name and serve only You. We ask
through Jesus, the Christ of our Salvation; and the Holy Spirit, Divine Breath
of our Souls; who together with You are One God, now and forever. Amen.
