The First Sunday of Lent

In today's gospel from St Luke, Satan first suggests that Jesus should relieve his hunger by turning stones to bread. The poor fool has no idea what he is up against.
But I can see Jesus playing along with the Tempter, just for the fun of it. With a starved, half-crazed gleam in his eye, he picks up a roundish lump of rock and contemplates its sapid possibilities. Perhaps he licks his dry lips for a moment.

And then he drops the rock and laughs, “Satan, you're nuts! You want me to break my teeth on a rock? I can’t turn stones to bread.”

And then Satan shows him all the kingdoms of the world in a single instant. That’s quite a vision!  And says, “I will give you all this power and glory – for it has been handed over to me – if you will worship me.” Now the Father of Lies is telling lies. The earth and all its people belong to God. Finally, Satan grabs hold of Jesus and hoists him to the parapet of the temple, demanding that he prove his identity – “If you are the Son of God…” – as if Jesus owes him anything. Jesus, of course, refuses.

But let’s go back to that first temptation and my bold statement, Jesus cannot turn stones into bread. He’s God, isn’t he? Can’t he do anything he wants?

You forget. Jesus is an obedient God. As he says, "because I came down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of the one who sent me."

This is what I mean by, "He can't do it." I could go out to my car right now with my credit card in hand, and drive to Alaska. But I can’t. I’ve got responsibilities and duties. I am not free to do anything I want, or anything someone expects of me, or anything Satan suggests to me. It’s just not possible. And thank God for that!

Jesus is bound by chains of love stronger than adamantine steel. He can no more walk away from his obedience than I can jump off a ten story roof. In fact it would easier for me to do that than for Jesus to abandon the authority of his Father.

Jesus is solidly set in his love of God. As a man he has been raised in a loving household and taught the traditions of his Jewish people. He has studied the scriptures, digesting every word as if it were his own – because it is his own. He is the Word of God made Flesh.

As God Jesus has a billion times a billion years of intense union with his Father in the Holy Spirit to recall. Can he walk away from that for a loaf of bread? For all the kingdoms of the earth? I don’t think so. The bond between the Father and the Son is so tight as to be seamless. But Satan has no idea of obedience. He cannot imagine it; he cannot see it. As he approached Jesus in the desert he saw only a hungry, vulnerable man. He could not comprehend the absolute and total loyalty of Jesus to his Father. 

As we begin this season of Lent we want to fasten ourselves firmly in the love of God. We must be grounded and rooted in God. We want to be solidly set in gratitude for everything God has done for us.
This is a two-fold project, and you can begin with either one:

First, we do as faithful Jews do, remembering the long story of God’s fidelity. We go clear back to Abraham – Then you shall declare before the Lord, your God,

‘My father was a wandering Aramean

who went down to Egypt with a small household

and lived there as an alien….

As Christians we are People of the Book. We live in that house. Every story is our story, that is to say, my story. 

Were you there when they crucified my Lord? I certainly was. I remember it as if it happened yesterday. I can tell you details about it. I may not remember what I had for breakfast, though I eat the same thing every day, but I remember His passion, death and resurrection. His story is our story is my story.

I remember his birth in Bethlehem and the events that led up to it. I remember his resurrection and the events that flowed from there. These stories are far more important to me than the American Revolution or the Civil War; though I am continually amazed at how important those incidents are in my life.

Lent is the season when I remember the story of salvation with intense, unshakeable gratitude.

Secondly, Lent is when I remember my own story and how the Lord has delivered me. I remember my sins, and they only get more embarrassing the older I get. What was I thinking? Obviously, I wasn’t thinking! Good grief!

Yes, it is good grief to remember my sins and grieve over them. Like Adam, I used to blame others. “The woman whom You put here with me--she gave me fruit from the tree, so I ate it.” So now it’s God’s fault that Adam sinned? How pathetic!

God’s grace was there all along, illuminating all kinds of gracious opportunities and I chose the one’s shadowed in darkness. And then I complained I was forced to do it. Jeees!

Yes, Jesus. Have pity on me.

Jesus, thank you for turning my heart back to you and sanity and common sense. I am lost without you.

During Lent we want to return to God by way of penance; that is remorse for our sins and gratitude for deliverance.

Speaking of penance, remember the Sacrament of Penance begins with P and that rhymes with E and that stands for Eucharist, which means gratitude. When you go to confession go with a grateful heart, prepared to tell the priest of all the sins God has forgiven and of all the sins God has delivered you and of all the sins God still must set you free. (But don’t go on all night, please.)

Finally, remember, the Sacrament of Penance is not about you! It’s about God. This is a sacrament and all of the Sacraments are liturgy. And Liturgy is the Church's worship of God. It's about God. Baptism is about God; Marriage is about God, Ordination is about God. Penance is not about you.

 Amen? Amen!