1 Lent/ Year A
February 26, 2023
Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7; Psalm 32; Matthew 4:1-11
Opening prayer: God of the wilderness, your Spirit leads us to face the truth, unprotected and exposed: in our times of trial help us to resist the worship of empty power, so that we may find our true food in Jesus Christ, the broken bread. Amen. (Prayers for an Inclusive Church 2009)
Every year, on the 1st Sunday in Lent, we hear a similar version of today’s gospel reading, that begins with Jesus, being led by the Spirit into the wilderness, after his baptism…
The wilderness story every year, unfolds with the devil, the tempter, Satan, challenging Jesus in his time of extreme hunger and weariness through a variety of ways…trying to tempt him to give into the empty power of the ways of the world, that leave us famished way beyond any 40 day fast in the wilderness. Jesus emerges from his time in the wilderness, having wrestled with some questions about his purpose and calling after his baptism… Bishop and author Jake Owensby poses these questions simply, and suggests that they are two questions that we ought to consider, too: “Who or what is your God? Who are you?”
We might want to keep these two questions close to us…in our heart, mind, and prayer life… as we move through these 40 days of lent in the church year and as we draw closer to celebrating the resurrection of Jesus, the true Bread of Life, on Easter Day.
Lent is a season of the church year when we are invited to go a little deeper to wrestle with the more difficult and challenging questions we face in our daily lives, to help us discern our identities, the purpose of our life and being in this world…
This Lenten season…I, personally, will be considering these questions in relation to the first temptation in today’s gospel reading:
The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.”
But he answered, “It is written,
‘One does not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
I will also be considering the two questions, this scripture verse, in the context of our Baptismal Covenant…to help me discern who God is calling me to be as a beloved child of God, and in my relationships with all those I’ll encounter in the coming weeks, and throughout my life…
Especially focusing on these two questions from our Baptismal Covenant:
*Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself?
*Will you strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being?
I invite you this week, as we begin the season of Lent, if you haven’t already…to consider taking on a Lenten practice that will help you wrestle with some of the questions that are troubling you, challenging you, tempting you to turn away from God and others…take time for silence to just be in the presence of the Holy One…find a prayer partner to connect with, engage in some 1:1 visits with someone, join together with others in the book group, or other online offerings…Be intentional and engaged in something that will help you let go of all the worldly concerns, the worship of empty power, that leaves you chronically famished and hungry, knowing that there has to be something more to this life..…
Set aside time throughout these coming weeks to discern “Who or what is your God? Who are you?”
Take time to discover who God is calling you to be, as a beloved child of God, and in your relationships with those you will encounter in the coming weeks, and throughout your lifetime… Set aside time, every day - to be fed and nourished with the life-giving love and spirit of God, by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
HYMN: I am the bread of life
1 I am the bread of life;
they who come to me shall not hunger;
they who believe in me shall not thirst.
No one can come to me
unless the Father draw them.
And I will raise them up, And I will raise them up
and I will raise them up on the last day.
2 The Bread that I will give
is my Flesh for the life of the world,
and they who eat of this bread,
they shall live for ever.
And I will raise them up, And I will raise them up
and I will raise them up on the last day.
Rev. Julie Platson, Rector
St. Peter’s by the Sea Episcopal Church, Sitka, Alaska