Year C Lent I Deuteronomy 26:1-11, Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16, Romans 10:5-13, Luke 4:1-13

Greetings on the first Sunday of Lent, the season of the Church that began with prayers on Wednesday and, for some, with the distribution and imposition of ashes made from burning the palms we carried last Palm Sunday. We probably have some opinion of Lent from, “I thought only Roman Catholics observed it,” to, “What am I supposed to do during this time?” to, simply, “What is Lent?”.

To clear up any misconceptions, Lent is a season set part in the Church from the earliest times. Historians agree it first appeared in Church practice after the Council of Nicea in 325 AD. Back then the chief practice seems to have been fasting, and a lot of people today think that that it what they are meant to do now in this day and age. Fasting, or just eating wisely, is a good practice, but has led to an annual “giving up chocolate” that really misses the point.

But returning to “what is Lent”, during this time we prepare for the glorious salvation won for us by our Lord by first dealing with the reasons that we needed Him to come and save us. How we do this is left up to us, but one way to observe Lent, with or without chocolate, is to see the forty days as journey.

Our first reading today starts off with the Deuteronomist saying, “When you have come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance to possess, and you possess it, and settle in it…” and then it focuses on the instructions for a nomadic people to properly give thanks to God, thanks for having finally come home to a settled place and life. The Lesson speaks of the Children of Israel as the descendants of a “wandering Aramean” and we, as their descendants, for the Church began in the synagogue, are their spiritual children.

We know about wanderers. People today throughout the world are on the move. We know that historically we are living through one of the largest migrations of human beings ever witnessed. We are particularly sensitive right now to the plight of those fleeing war and destruction, to the displaced, the terrified, and the devastated.

Our own tendency as Americans is to be uncomfortable with new races and cultures, yet our heritage was just that kind of migration to a land “flowing with milk and honey.” Our world is still full of “wanderers”. So, at the beginning of our own Lenten journey our first Lesson reminds us that we were once strangers, immigrants, and wanderers, who found their Creator in the midst of the wilderness.

The other theme in Deuteronomy is that of offering and celebration. It is perhaps odd that Lent would begin with that emphasis, but on this Sunday we are also asked to make an offering, an offering of ourselves, and to celebrate, as we do today with Holy Communion, as a way of remembering how we can do both wherever we are. And, we are to make this offering and celebration fully aware of “the aliens who reside among us.”

One thing we can do on our Lenten journey is reach out to the stranger, the one we don’t know, and remember that God welcomes them, as He does us. Lent starts with an expanded community, not a select faithful few.

Psalm 91 is a favorite of many, even the devil, who quotes part of it to Jesus during the forty days in the wilderness. It is important to note that Hebrew thought didn’t make much of distinction between body and soul. The promises of protection in this Psalm are not physical amulets to keep us safe. They are, rather, promises based on a relationship with God that will always be there, regardless of what happens to us. Because he is bound to me in love, therefore will I deliver him; I will protect him because he knows my name.€

Because of our relationship with God, strengthened by our Baptism, we are safe to venture forth.

In our Lenten journey we approach others with the stance that everyone who calls on the Lord will be saved. Our Lenten journey will be a generous one, extending graciousness and forgiveness. This is truly a time to put away differences and distinctions, whether they are religious, political, or personal. Spiritual travel to a new place has to start with some new premises, and one is surely that the truth is not just found in one church or one point of view. God has always found ways to mix us up with one another so we can be shaped and formed in God’s “image” not our own.

The gospel reading from Luke depicts Jesus’ physical and spiritual journey in the wilderness. Those who have visited the Holy Land know there are, even today, vast areas of wilderness in which one could easily get lost and die from thirst or hunger. Most of us have not experienced that kind of deprivation in our lives. Our “wilderness” today might be the Internet, or the mall! Strange to think of places of plenty as wildernesses, but what they promise and offer never truly fill our longing and craving.

The three temptations are ours as well.

The devil said to Jesus, "If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread."

Commanding stones to become bread is the temptation to make something into what it was never intended to be. Stones are stones, and bread is bread. Making sexual objects out of people, or judging people by the colour of their skin, or their national origin, are all modern day examples. People are not objects, but when we make them into objects they become less than human.

Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And the devil said to him, "To you I will give their glory and all this authority;

Offering power over the things we don’t control is the second temptation. There are moments when we would all like to run the world. Right now we are watching one man in our world who it would seem wants to do just that. But while we are not like him, the temptation to control things is more subtle than we perceive. Much of modern success and motivation is based on how to get others to do our bidding. We may manipulate our lives, looking better, learning to think “better”, all with the object of getting what we want. Jesus’ reply to that is to expose the humbug in it and remind us to worship the Lord, and serve only Him. Anything else is a waste of time, his and ours.

Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from herefor it is written,

“He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you,'

We’ve already spoken about the third temptation, of being protected from suffering and harm. We do not like the thought that suffering is part of God’s plan, that suffering can lead us to holiness.

What we need to remember is that Jesus journeyed to Jerusalem and faced the worst evils we know: betrayal, beating, and crucifixion. While He might have preferred it to be otherwise, following the will of God He went anyway. Jesus’ journey stands as a stark reminder that our Lenten journey is not soft or quiet. We are always faced with contradiction and suffering. But in the recesses of our minds, in the time of our faithful prayer, we know that because Jesus did do these things for us we are never far from His gracious help and goodness.

So our Lenten journey begins.

What will we do to make this time spiritually meaningful and rewarding? We may give up things, but we may also choose to begin something new. We may do both.

May our journey be one of honesty for each one of us. May it be one that expands our horizons and connects with others unlike ourselves. May it be a journey grounded in our Baptismal relationship with Jesus, one that builds up our dignity and that of others. May it be one that helps us to learn that in Jesus we are never powerless, but that in walking the road to Calvary with Him, each one will find Him mighty to save.

As St. Paul told the Romans, and us:

The word is near you, on your lips and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

Let us pray:

Give us grace, O Lord, to resist temptation and answer readily the call of our Savior Jesus Christ and, in our words and action, to proclaim to all people the Good News of His salvation, that we and the whole world may perceive the glory of His marvelous works; and be filled with Your Love, in Jesus Name. Amen.