First Sunday of Lent At the beginning of Lent there is the unique opportunity to enter a short season where we might be able to respond in a new way to the world. Many psychologists suggest 6 weeks is the ideal length of time to break a habit and pick up a new one. It is as if God invented Lent specifically to give ourselves the perfect chance of renewal and transformation. Jesus spends forty days and nights in the desert fasting and praying. At the end of his experience he would have been hungry, would have sought companionship, would have been wanting a shower and a haircut! After forty days alone, he was vulnerable, ripe for temptation. so the devil was smart; he knew how to hit Jesus where he was most vulnerable; he tried to allure him with tantalizing temptations. Temptations come when we are most vulnerable. It is an enticement to put our own desires and needs first, to give into our impulses without considering too seriously the consequences. Resisting temptation is resisting self-centeredness! Like Jesus, we must choose to surrender ourselves to God who alone should be the center of our lives. The dust that shapes the journey, the cross that guides it, the color that surrounds it, the light that fades through it, the word that foretells it, The wilderness that invites it. This is Lent, and into it’s wilderness God calls us. Adapted from Renew International: Prayer Time Cycle A
First Sunday of Lent: Into The Desert I’ve heard it said that it takes 28 days to change a habit. Lent goes for 40 days so this season isn’t about self-improvement. Besides, the devil didn’t drive Jesus into the desert for self-improvement. Rather he was driven there to feel weakness, vulnerability and then extreme temptation. Jesus was firstly tempted to allow basic needs to dominate his life. He was asked to allow his desire for food to determine his actions rather than God’s word for him. Jesus was then tempted to enter into power games in his exercise of authority. If he went under the power of the devil, all people would go under him. But Jesus was to offer his salvation in complete respect for human freedom. Jesus was then tempted to put on a dramatic show that would capture people’s attention. He was to offer ‘show rather than substance.’ That Jesus underwent such a long period of time experiencing weakness, vulnerability and testing should make us reassess their role in our lives. And considering the temptations he faced should lead us to ask questions about our own lives: How do I allow my perceived needs, or even my wants, to determine my actions and lifestyle rather than being the person God is calling me to be?Do I play power games and www.dreamjackpot.com, by allowing myself to be dominated or by dominating, rather than simply serving or allowing myself to be served?Do I allow myself to be captivated by ‘show’ or ‘appearances’ rather than do the labor of uncovering true substance in my life and in the lives of others? The answers to these questions can haunt us for some time…but then we are given the next forty days just to do so. Adapted from Renew International
Lead Us Not Into Temptation At the beginning of Lent there is the unique opportunity to enter a short season where we might be able to responding in a new way to the world. Many psychologists suggest 6 weeks is the ideal length of time to break a habit and pick up a new one. It is as if God invented Lent specifically to give ourselves the perfect chance of renewal and transformation. Jesus spends forty days and nights in the desert fasting and praying. At the end of his experience he would have been hungry, would have sought companionship, would have been wanting a shower and a haircut! After forty days alone, he was vulnerable, ripe for temptation. so the devil was smart; he knew how to hit Jesus where he was most vulnerable; he tried to allure him with tantalizing temptations. Temptations come when we are most vulnerable. It is an enticement to put our own desires and needs first, to give into our impulses without considering too seriously the consequences. Resisting temptation is resisting self-centeredness! Like Jesus, we must choose to surrender ourselves to God who alone should be the center of our lives. The dust that shapes the journey, the cross that guides it, the color that surrounds it, the light that fades through it, the word that foretells it, The wilderness that invites it. This is Lent, and into it’s wilderness God calls us.
To Be Tempted It is said that certain items are “rust-proof.” Other things are billed as either “dust-proof” or “spill-proof” or “bullet-proof” or “child-proof” or “scratch-proof.” But here’s something which no human being ever has been or ever will be: “temptation-proof.” Temptations are luring. They present us with a seeming good we do not presently have but want. Without a lure, temptations do not exist. Temptations always lure us to a false good. In our Gospel today, Jesus is faced with three perceived goods. And each temptation put to Jesus involved some misguided personal gain – power, prestige and possessions. By resisting the temptations, Jesus shows us that our true gain is not in satisfying ourselves but in something better – utter fidelity to God. Temptations are not an indication of sin, rather, they are occasions for us to show that our lives are turned to God. In resisting temptations, we are choosing who we want to be – those who faithfully serve God by doing good for others. Lent is a focused time to grow in holiness and transformation; it is a time to take the test of who we want to be. We don’t have to go out to the desert to find temptation. But we do need God’s nearness to resist it. And that God has promised us.