Lent 1C

Luke 4:1-13

¹Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, ²where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished.

³The devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread." ⁴Jesus answered him, "It is written, "One does not live by bread alone.'"

⁵Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. ⁶And the devil said to him, "To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. ⁷If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours." ⁸Jesus answered him, "It is written, "Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.'"

⁹Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, ¹⁰for it is written, "He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you,' ¹¹and "On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.'" ¹²Jesus answered him, "It is said, "Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'"

¹³When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.

Lent

The Church's year of grace has moved into the 40-day long season of Lent. "Lent" is an old word for springtime that refers to lengthening days and more daylight. The music tempo lento is a lengthening, slowing-down pace. Lent is one of the church's oldest observances that probably began not long after Jesus' death, resurrection, and ascension, although throughout the centuries lent has had different lengths ranging from a few days to our current practice of forty days – Ash Wednesday through Wednesday in Holy Week – minus Sundays. Sundays are In Lent but not Of Lent, because every Sunday is a festival of resurrection.


Lent 1

Every lectionary year (A, B, and C) for the first Sunday in Lent the gospel reading is Jesus' temptation in the wilderness. Synoptic gospels Mark, Matthew, and Luke all include an account of Jesus' testing by the devil – Satan – traditionally the prosecuting attorney in Judaism. Mark provides no details; Matthew and Luke reverse the order of the second and third temptation or test.


Wilderness

In addition to personal, family, and other struggles everyone experiences now and then, only since winter 2000 as a people we've had a presidential impeachment trial, the start of a once in a century worldwide pandemic with Covid-19, anxious waiting for results of the November 2000 elections… right now memory actually fails me, but many stayed awake on 31 January 2020 to make sure the year 2020 really left. And then? Insurgents stormed and occupied the US Capital on 06 January 2021. (The Day of Epiphany!) Less than a week into the new year! Covid never left. Another presidential impeachment trial. Constant partisan dispute about the validity of the official outcome of the 2020 presidential election. More Covid, despite finally effective vaccines. And now the Russian president and his operatives have invaded Ukraine in what amounts to an undeclared war. It feels as if the world is in a near constant state of wilderness.


Today's Gospel Reading

Jesus' 40 days in the wilderness immediately follow his baptism with the announcement of his identity and calling as The Son of God. Remember, Jesus' explicit wilderness time (somewhat similar to what we might do during a spiritual retreat by ourselves or with others) happened right after confirmation of his divine identity. The Holy Spirit filled Jesus, and then that same Spirit of Life led him into a place more extreme than the wilds alongside the Jordan River.

The late Henri Nouwen points out the devil accosted Jesus with three of the world's greatest temptations; in his rebuttals, Jesus asserted his baptismal identity. Here are Nouwen's ideas followed by my own comments on each one:

• To be relevant: Turn these stones into bread? Luke 4:3

But Jesus himself is the bread of life, he is far more than basic survival food, Jesus is The Stuff of ultimate revival, a.k.a. Living Bread, nutritious grain that won't rot or mold or decay!

• To be powerful: Have authority over all the kingdoms of the world? Luke 4:6-7

Jesus is Lord over and against the insufficiency of temple sacrifice, the dehumanization and violence of Roman or Russian or any other imperial rule. In Christ Jesus all the world possesses the cross of Calvary, the power of life over the death-dealing, life-negating pretenses of too many ecclesiastical, institutional, and earthly governments.

• To be spectacular: Throw yourself down from the temple spire? Luke 4:9

But Jesus himself is the temple; Jesus is more than the temple. In fact, each of us is a temple of the Holy Spirit, so no further need for a brick and mortar structure because we have and we are living temples.


Where We Live: Baptismal Identity

Lenten practices and observances emphasize repentance – thus colors of purple and lavender – and baptism. Just as with baptism, the turning around, repentance aspect of Lent is about living bathed in grace, and responding with grace to the world around us. Traditionally Lent has been a time of preparation for baptism during the Easter Vigil; it's also a time for those of us already baptized to remember how in grace God claims us, names us Christian, calls us to live out our baptismal identity in witness and service, and in the power of the Spirit sends us filled with the Spirit into the world to be the gospel, to live as good news to everyone everywhere.

In today's passage, Jesus quotes from Deuteronomy with words that point to the neighbor, the other, and not to himself. Jesus had spent a lifetime attending synagogue and being instructed in Torah, so he embodied the substance and meaning of scripture.

How about us? What about us? Martin Luther reminds us God has redeemed us from the "unholy trinity" of sin, death, and the devil. What scriptures, prayers, hymns, do we rely on to reclaim our baptismal identity when the going gets rough and tough? Maybe especially over the past couple of years? When we're confused or uncertain about our next move? What scriptures do we recall when life is glorious and we want to thank and acknowledge God?


A Prayer for Ukraine

May God grant the Ukrainian people the fortitude to resist and reverse any onslaught from Russia.
May the defeat of Putin's army bring about a rebirth of freedom for the Russian people.

May Russia and its neighbors live together in amity through democracy.
May the hope of the Rosh Hashanah liturgy ring throughout the land—

May all evil dissipate like smoke, for the removal of tyranny ushers in the overall reign of God.

Peace for all.
Amen.

This prayer for Ukraine, written by Reuven Kimelman, Brandeis University professor of classical rabbinic literature, is inspired by the liturgy of Rosh Hashanah. That liturgy prays for recognizing the one God and the unity of humanity through the elimination of tyranny. It takes its cue from the biblical verse, “When God is acknowledged sovereign over all the earth, God will be one and God's name one.” Zachariah, 14:9