Psalm 91.1-6; Luke 4.1-13
LORD, you have been our dwelling place in all generations …
It is good to give thanks to the LORD, to sing praises to your name, O Most High …
The LORD is king, he is robed in majesty; the LORD is robed, he is girded with strength. He has established the world, it shall never be moved.
O come, let us sing to the LORD; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.
O sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD all the earth.
The LORD is king! Let the earth rejoice; let the many coastlands be glad!
It’s the month of March.
Springtime and freshness, renewal and growth … a time to start over, a time to begin again … take a deep breath, hitch up our jeans, step ahead to a new season … set the clock a full hour ahead … to get a jump on the day!
I googled “quotes about springtime” and found the following:
"In the springtime, the heart regrows hope"
"The day the Lord created hope was probably the same day He created Spring"
"With the coming of spring, I am calm again"
Springtime doesn’t come easily - if you live in Michigan or Wisconsin … winter holds on fiercely … one day, it’s lovely, and everyone dons a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, and then the next day, there’s snow on the ground … it’s a miserable time of the year …
Winter doesn’t let go easily …
But the daffodils and the crocuses pop up through the snow, shoving it aside … springtime wins the day …
To move into Lent, we rise up with hope …
Real hope, hope forged in the rough and tumble world of daily life.
Real hope … forged in the wilderness with Christ.
Real hope … the possibility, but never easily gained … hope has a price tag on it …
The Spirit takes Jesus into the wilderness … alone … amidst the barren rocks and parched bramble, Jesus meets head-on the primal questions:
Who am I?
Where have I come from?
Where am I going?
What’s right, what’s wrong …
How shall I live?
Jesus eats nothing … forty days, nothing … we might well ask if anyone can go so long without food … apparently it’s possible, but not recommended … when it’s over, he’s famished!
Why does Jesus choose this radical way of self-denial?
There’s no specific answer, and nowhere - is anyone commanded to such radical fasting, though over the centuries, many a soul has found fasting to be of value.
I tried it once for a week, with three other friends - juice, water, and vitamins … for me, it was totally unrewarding … I’ve never tried it since.
The point is this, I think: Jesus made himself seriously vulnerable … Jesus leaves behind all the usual defense mechanisms - food, shelter, comfort, companionship …
Jesus weakens himself in body and soul, to face the Tempter, the Tempter that comes to all of us, all the time, especially when we’re weak, when we’re vulnerable, when we’re tired and worn out.
The Tempter says, Make yourself some bread. No sense being hungry, and besides, you can feed the world.
The Tempter takes him up to view the whole wide world, and says, I’ll give it all to you. You won’t have to work for any of it. Just bend the knee a little bit to me.
The Tempter takes him to the pinnacle of the Temple, Throw yourself down from here - God will take care of you … go ahead, show off a little … have some fun. You’ll have the world at your feet.
Jesus. says. No!
But let’s not pretend it was easy for Jesus.
Never for a moment doubt the reality of the temptations … Jesus has to decide, Jesus has to choose, Jesus has to sort it out, figure it out … these are real temptations for the Son of God.
The Tempter offers the easy way out, the shortcut to success, a surefire deal … Jesus chooses the right way, the hard way, the long road of faith, a deal that requires the cross.
The simple fact of life: what’s easy is not always best for us … what’s hard often proves the greatest value.
Columnist David Brooks writes:
When faith finally tiptoed into my life it didn’t come through information or persuasion but, at least at first, through numinous experiences. These are the scattered moments of awe and wonder, he says, that wash over most of us unexpectedly from time to time.
I love how Brooks puts it: when faith finally tiptoed into my life …
Most of the time, God is hidden … a kindness to us …
The unfiltered glory of God short-circuits us … like a power surge.
To make it easier for us, God shows up in subdued ways …
We pay attention …
We for God in the shadows and the dark corners of life … God is there …
We list for God in the voice of our own conscience, in the sounds of God’s world … in the sounds of music … in the consoling words of a friend …
We look for the face of God in the faces of people all around us … the butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker …
God draws close to us … our soul is moved, tears may come, our voice is quieted … who can speak in the presence of The Divine?
When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.
Let all the earth keep silent; the LORD is in his holy temple.
Places like this are designed to help us experience the presence of God … brick and mortar, stone and steel, yes, to the glory of God.
But it can be anywhere:
Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there, says Jesus.
Trees budding, birds singing … the rolling seas and the cry of a gull … for those who have eyes to see and ears to hear …
All nature sings, and round me rings
The music of the spheres.
This is my Father's world:
God meets us in places of great sacrifice … Gettysburg and Normandy …
Places of human achievement and strength: the Eiffel Tower …
Monuments to the great dreams of good people, the Lincoln Memorial …
In small things - the smile of a child, a scrapbook full of memories, a glass of wine with a loved one … a piece of music, a piece of pie, the peace of Christ …
So it is with springtime … so it is with Lent … the days lengthen … the chill of winter gives way to the warmth of spring … the world turns …
something stirs, something holy comes this way,
something tiptoes up behind us … like God in the burning bush, so sayeth the LORD to us: Take off your shoes; you are on holy ground.
Jesus in the wilderness says “No!” to the temptations … so that he might say “Yes!” to us!
In him, it is always Yes! For in him, everyone of God’s promises is a Yes!
Amen and Amen
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