Sermon: February 26, 2023
Reading Matthew 4:1-11
Jesus’ time in the wilderness is a time of reflection and self-discovery. He is confronted with three very real human temptations of self-gratification, the temptation of having faith and trust in God in a broken world, and finally, the temptation of ego. How Jesus works through these temptations will determine how he will live out his life and his ministry. By the choices Jesus makes, he will decide who he is and whose he is.
The temptations Jesus faced are temptations we’re confronted with almost on a daily basis. It doesn’t have to be a choice between good and bad, right and wrong. It can be a gentle seduction which draws us away from God’s loving embrace. It’s not difficult to fall victim to the enticement of the tempter’s whispers, "You are uncomfortable; satisfy the hungers within you, the desires that consume your thoughts.” It’s easy to fall victim to the chants of fear and doubt offered by the devil to turn away from our trust and faith in God as we navigate through an uncertain world. “Do as you please and trust in yourself. That’s how you save yourself from danger and pain.”
And rather than worshiping and walking humbly with God, the devil tries to draw us away with the allure and attraction of worshiping false gods and valuing things and power, more than our relationship with God and one another. How we respond to those temptations will determine who we are and whose we are.
The season of Lent offers us time to reflect on our journey with Christ into the wilderness of our lives. Allowing us to discover how we can still be beloved Children of God and be uncomfortable, how we can be in a broken world, and yet rest in the security of knowing that God is with us. Lent is a time to discover how we can be in the wilderness and still demonstrate God’s all-inclusive love.
Lent is not a time to beat ourselves up or anyone else for being human. It is a time to recognize the humanity within all of us, acknowledging that we all can be led astray in one way or another, but through God’s gracious love, we are forgiven. As children of God, it is up to us to embody God’s love, and demonstrate to one another the same grace and forgiveness that God show to us.
May the God who is mighty to save and loves us even as we stumble through the wilderness of our lives, grant us a holy Lent.
