“You are my refuge and my stronghold, my God in whom I put my trust” (Psalm 91:2).

Lent I – Sunday Reflection – March 6^th, 2022

(Deut 26:1-11, Psalm 91:1-2, Luke 4:1-13)

Today is the first Sunday of Lent. Lent of course began this past Wednesday, Ash Wednesday and runs through the next 40 days, (not counting Sundays) leading up to Easter Sunday and the celebration of Christ’ resurrection.  Emphasis during these Lenten days is to be given to our relationship with God, beginning with the imposition of ashes on ash Wednesday, being marked with ash, as a sign or our own mortality, with the words “remember you are dust and to dust you shall return.”  An act which calls us to remember who we are, that we are mere dust, created from the dust of the earth, but more so it is about our God, our creator, who has loved all things into being.  Our response to that is to be humbled, penitent, and forgiving. 

In the old testament reading, the Isrealites on the verge of entering the promised land after 40 years sojourning in the wilderness were to give an offering of the first fruits of the land to the Lord.  And in doing so they were to remember their pasts, where they came from, the trials and tribulations of the exodus, their wandering in the wilderness, but also to recall what God had done for them (Deut 26:1-11). They didn’t get to the promised land on their own, God was with them, “as a pillar of cloud by day to guide them on their way and a pillar of fire by night”(Exodus 13:21).  It was through his provision, and protection they got there.  Still it took them 40 years of wandering before they made it to the promised land. It was not because God wasn’t with them, but because of their grumblings and disobedience to God, they didn’t trust in God or his promises enough.  

And so Lent, for us is a time of self-reflection, or self-examination, that we might strengthen our relationship with God so that we can be more ready for the times of struggle, times of difficulty, but also that we might know and have his peace in our lives.

In, psalm 91, it says, “He who dwells in the shelter of the most High, abides under the shadow of the Almighty”. (1)To put one’s hope, one’s trust in God, was to abide in his presence, to know that he was with us.  But it also gives comfort and strength. “He shall say to the Lord, “You are my refuge and my stronghold, my God in whom I put my trust” (2).

Jesus in the gospel when he is tempted in the wilderness for 40 days, unlike the Isrealite’s 40 years journeying through the wilderness, Jesus doesn’t give into the temptation placed before him by the accuser, (or Satan or the Devil if you prefer to use these terms), but because of the arsenal of defense Jesus had built up against it.  Jesus goes into the wilderness filled with the Spirit, he just returned from the Jordan where he was baptized and affirmed by his Father,
this is my Son, the beloved in whom I am well pleased, (Luke 4:1).  And so when the tempter challenges Jesus on his identity, “If you are the Son of God.”  Jesus didn’t have to prove himself to anyone, he knew who he was, he was the Father’s Son, and the Spirit accompanied him into the wilderness. 

Challenged by the tempter to turn stones into bread, and no doubt Jesus was likely feeling hungry about then, because no matter how often you might fast, when ever it is placed before you, the hunger for it is felt.  And the tempter knew just where to tempt Jesus, when he was the most vulnerable.  But Jesus was ready for him, saying, “It is written, one cannot live on bread alone (4:4)” We need the substance of God’s word for our life, to sustain us not only during what we might consider the testing times, in times of trouble, but that we might resist in all the ways that evil, tries to entrap us with its well and power, to turn away from God, and to turn to the darkness that is in our world.  That is what Satan wanted Jesus to do, to give over his well to him. 

“Taking Jesus up and showing him all the world in an instant he says, “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. All you have to do is worship me, and it will be yours (4:5-7). “ Temptation like many in the world find so hard to resist, because of the promise it gives, the promise of having more power, more authority, more privilege, ‘if you but do what I ask’.  A simple solution it may seem for Jesus not to have to go to the cross, just to take charge of the world right then. But Jesus knew also what Satan really wanted here was for Jesus to worship him, not that he would give him the world, that wasn’t Satan’s to give anyway, but that Jesus would give over his well, and turn from God.  Evil comes disguised in the best of comforts sometimes, and it is in our readiness to defend against that, that we prevent ourselves from being taken in by it.  “It is written Jesus says, worship the Lord your God, and serve only him (4:9)”.

The strongest defense we can give to evil in our world is the resistance we give to it, and with God’s help we can.

Not all temptation however is easily identifiable as when the tempter takes Jesus up to Jerusalem, and placing him on the pinnacle of the temple, says, “if you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, “for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you,” and on their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.”   (4:10,11). Satan uses Jesus’ own tactic of defense to try and entrap him, he too knew the scriptures.  It is not only the good or the religious who can quote from the bible, anyone can pick it up and use it to their advantage when they want too, even to do evil. 

And so the best defense we can give to that is not just to know the word, but to know our God, be in a loving relationship with him.  Jesus in the scriptures is seen often with the Father in prayer, and it is in our prayer time, our worship, and study that we too draw close to the Father, and come to know his truths for ourselves, not only in word, but also in the life we live through it.  “It is said, Jesus answered him, do not put the Lord your God to the test (12).”

The temptations Jesus was presented with in the wilderness were no doubt a testing of his defense against the tempters snare, that he might be prepared and ready for his greatest challenge of all that would come on the cross.  But we also know God was there with him, and that too is our greatest defense against the evil in our world, is knowing our God, knowing his promises, his truths, so that in our own times of testing, we will not fall prey to it, but are upheld by the promises of our God we carry in our hearts. 

So I pray you will have a Holy Lent, take some time for your own spiritual self-discipline through worship, and prayer, and the study of God’s word, keeping it close to you always.  And please pray for Peace in our world, Peace for the People of Ukraine that war may cease within their borders.

Take care, stay safe, and if you stopped by here, I hope you will leave a comment or like my blog, and share it with others.

God Bless.

“Because he is bound to me in Love, therefore will I deliver him;

I will protect him because he knows my name.”  (Psalm 91: 14)