Join us today as we celebrate Holy Communion for the first Sunday of Lent, 3/06/22. To follow along at home, click here and print the Holy Communion Program. Text of today’s homily below.
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Homily for the First Sunday of Lent -- Sunday 3/6/22
Readings: Dt 26:4-10, Ps 91:1-2, 10-11, 12-13, 14-15, Rom 10:8-13, Lk 4:1-13
Luke 4:1-13 American Standard Version
4 And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan, and was led in the Spirit in the wilderness 2 during forty days, being tempted of the devil. And he did eat nothing in those days: and when they were completed, he hungered. 3 And the devil said unto him, If thou art the Son of God, command this stone that it become bread. 4 And Jesus answered unto him, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone. 5 And he led him up, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 6 And the devil said unto him, To thee will I give all this authority, and the glory of them: for it hath been delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. 7 If thou therefore wilt worship before me, it shall all be thine. 8 And Jesus answered and said unto him, It is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. 9 And he led him to Jerusalem, and set him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou art the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence: 10 for it is written,
He shall give his angels charge concerning thee, to guard thee: 11 and,
On their hands they shall bear thee up,
Lest haply thou dash thy foot against a stone.
12 And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said, [g]Thou shalt not make trial of the Lord thy God. 13 And when the devil had completed every temptation, he departed from him for a season.
We, as baptized Christians, sometimes experience manifestations of the Holy Spirit in the form of apprehensions of the truth. We see the world in a new way. Our vision clears and we start to see the lies, corruption and evil both large and small that permeate human kingdoms; and, like Jesus, we begin to turn our backs on the ways of the world. That can feel like going into a desolate, lonely place.
When our friends are all out drinking, carousing, and partying, getting drunk and having a great time, we feel left out. When family members put rich foods and decadent treats on the table, we are invited to overindulge. When our neighbors are driving fancy cars and wearing fine clothes, we’re enticed to do the same. The devil makes us feel out of place, uncomfortable, like outcasts for being different.
But Jesus has a message for us. The less value we place on the needs of the body, the more we are able to happily do without during difficult times, and the more willingly and joyfully we can share with those less fortunate. He tells us that one does not live by bread alone. Food, wholesome entertainment, clean clothes, a safe bed – the simple pleasures of life – provide for the health and nourishment and of the body. Denying the temptation toward excess provides nourishment of the spirit.
The temptations of the mind are every bit as potent as the temptations of the flesh. We are surrounded by the petty kingdoms of humanity. Every workplace has its little princes and every social group its princesses, the kings and queens of the TV shows and movies strut back and forth, emperors and empresses that rule the nations of the world are flex their muscles and flash their smiles. And guess what? We too can have a piece of the pie that is power. All we have to do is suck up to our bosses, behave like our pop icons, or march in lock step with politicians and pundits, and compromise a little morality for expediency. The devil says, “If you’re going to make an omelet you have to break a few eggs, am I right?” Jesus says no, plain and simple. “You shall worship the Lord, your God, and him alone shall you serve.”
Denying the temptations of the flesh and of the mind are high aspirations and lofty goals. As Christians we know that our God is merciful. Jesus tells us, in Matt. 5:45, that our Heavenly Father “causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” If we make a mistake or two, and we honestly repent, we can reasonably hope that we’ll be forgiven. But what happens if we begin to think that resistance of these temptations is impossible? What if we think ourselves around to the position that God’s expectations of us are exaggerated?
In today’s Gospel reading we get an answer. Standing on faith alone and throwing ourselves off expecting God to catch us would be like doing what the devil tempted Jesus to do in our Gospel reading for today. Jesus says to us, “You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.” Resisting the temptations of the world is almost impossible, but we have to fight the good fight!