Lent 1: What are you really giving up for Lent?
Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16
Luke 4:1-13
This Sunday in Lent is at the beginning of a familiar part of the church year: giving something up for Lent. The church sanctuary is stripped down, there is a more solemn tone to the service, and we hear about Jesus being tempted in the Gospel reading. This passage follows Jesus’ baptism in Luke’s Gospel, where we are told that at his baptism, God speaks and says that Jesus is his son. Jesus, Light from Light, true God from true God, is tempted by the devil and what happens is remarkable.
The devil in this story we also know as satan, with a little “s”. This is the same satan that
caused Job’s afflictions, loss of wealth, family, and eventually his health. The word “satan” is
Hebrew for “adversary” or “accuser” and takes the role of testing the faith of both Job and
Jesus. In Luke’s account, satan tests Jesus’ righteousness, his “rightness” with God, and
Jesus responds. Now, recall that I just recited a small part of the Nicene Creed that describes
Jesus: light from light, true God from true God. Jesus has the power to banish satan, to do
away with his adversary using the same power that he later uses to heal people. But he
doesn’t. He responds instead by quoting passages from Deuteronomy that explains his reason
for refusing to bend to the will of satan. With all of the smiting that God did to the unfaithful in
the Old Testament, you would think Jesus could do the same to his adversary. But he doesn’t.
caused Job’s afflictions, loss of wealth, family, and eventually his health. The word “satan” is
Hebrew for “adversary” or “accuser” and takes the role of testing the faith of both Job and
Jesus. In Luke’s account, satan tests Jesus’ righteousness, his “rightness” with God, and
Jesus responds. Now, recall that I just recited a small part of the Nicene Creed that describes
Jesus: light from light, true God from true God. Jesus has the power to banish satan, to do
away with his adversary using the same power that he later uses to heal people. But he
doesn’t. He responds instead by quoting passages from Deuteronomy that explains his reason
for refusing to bend to the will of satan. With all of the smiting that God did to the unfaithful in
the Old Testament, you would think Jesus could do the same to his adversary. But he doesn’t.
Traditionally, the Lenten season was a time of preparation for those wishing to be baptized,
and they studied scripture and were instructed in the faith. Today, part of that instruction
includes understanding the implications of the baptismal vows we say, or are said for us. One
of those vows is “Will you persevere in resisting evil, and, whenever you fall into sin, repent
and return to the Lord?” The response to this vow is “I will, with God’s help” during the service,
but it doesn’t say a lot about how we resist evil. The passage from Luke gives us a clue.
Another of the baptismal vows is “Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your
neighbor as yourself?” The implication in this vow is that Jesus is not just in others for us to
recognize, love, and serve, but Jesus is in ourselves as well. We promise to love our
neighbors, serve their needs, and treat them the way Jesus treated the least of his followers.
And we expect others to do the same for the presence of Christ in us. But satan also lives
within us, and we see the adversary when we do not look for Jesus in others, but look only at
ourselves instead. We see the adversary when we love ourselves at the expense of others
through selfishness, pride, and conceit. We see the adversary when we are kind to those who
can do something for us and ignore those who can’t help us get ahead.
This is not a pretty picture of who we can be, and in our remorse over broken promises we
ask “Am I good enough?” or “How do I fall short?” or “Why am I so bad?”. Those questions
occur when we realize that we have listened to the adversary within us, who has directed our
thoughts and actions. This is what makes Lent difficult, and why it is often easier to go through
the motions and give up chocolate or caffeine without finding the discipline to make a
significant sacrifice. The honesty in self-examination is not constructive when we ask
ourselves what’s wrong with us, or why can’t we measure up to what God wants us to be. How
can we be open and honest about our sins, transgressions, and shortcomings, when we are
reminded of God’s wrath toward the unfaithful?
If we remember God’s wrath, we must also remember God’s love. Listen to the last part of
Psalm 91 again:
and they studied scripture and were instructed in the faith. Today, part of that instruction
includes understanding the implications of the baptismal vows we say, or are said for us. One
of those vows is “Will you persevere in resisting evil, and, whenever you fall into sin, repent
and return to the Lord?” The response to this vow is “I will, with God’s help” during the service,
but it doesn’t say a lot about how we resist evil. The passage from Luke gives us a clue.
Another of the baptismal vows is “Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your
neighbor as yourself?” The implication in this vow is that Jesus is not just in others for us to
recognize, love, and serve, but Jesus is in ourselves as well. We promise to love our
neighbors, serve their needs, and treat them the way Jesus treated the least of his followers.
And we expect others to do the same for the presence of Christ in us. But satan also lives
within us, and we see the adversary when we do not look for Jesus in others, but look only at
ourselves instead. We see the adversary when we love ourselves at the expense of others
through selfishness, pride, and conceit. We see the adversary when we are kind to those who
can do something for us and ignore those who can’t help us get ahead.
This is not a pretty picture of who we can be, and in our remorse over broken promises we
ask “Am I good enough?” or “How do I fall short?” or “Why am I so bad?”. Those questions
occur when we realize that we have listened to the adversary within us, who has directed our
thoughts and actions. This is what makes Lent difficult, and why it is often easier to go through
the motions and give up chocolate or caffeine without finding the discipline to make a
significant sacrifice. The honesty in self-examination is not constructive when we ask
ourselves what’s wrong with us, or why can’t we measure up to what God wants us to be. How
can we be open and honest about our sins, transgressions, and shortcomings, when we are
reminded of God’s wrath toward the unfaithful?
If we remember God’s wrath, we must also remember God’s love. Listen to the last part of
Psalm 91 again:
“Because he is bound to me in love, therefore will I deliver him; * I will protect him,
because he knows my Name. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him; * I am with
him in trouble; I will rescue him and bring him to honor. With long life will I satisfy him, *
and show him my salvation.”
because he knows my Name. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him; * I am with
him in trouble; I will rescue him and bring him to honor. With long life will I satisfy him, *
and show him my salvation.”
This is God speaking. This is God saying “Because he is bound to me in love…” Long before
Jesus came to remind of us of that love, it was recognized as coming from God for us. We
can’t do anything to make God stop loving us, or abandon us as hopeless, which can be hard
to accept when we live with judgement and criticism. The hardest part of God’s love is not
necessarily understanding that it is unconditional, but instead that we are worthy of it. We are
worthy of God’s eternal love despite the presence of the adversary within us. And when we
surround ourselves with this love, we can fearlessly look inside ourselves and expose our sins,
our faults, and our mistakes to a God we know will forgive us and love us even more. The
question “Am I good enough” turns into the question “How can I be better?” The question
“How do I fall short?” turns into the question “Where can I grow and change?” The question
“Why am I so bad?” turns into the question “Where is the presence of Christ within me?”
Jesus came to remind of us of that love, it was recognized as coming from God for us. We
can’t do anything to make God stop loving us, or abandon us as hopeless, which can be hard
to accept when we live with judgement and criticism. The hardest part of God’s love is not
necessarily understanding that it is unconditional, but instead that we are worthy of it. We are
worthy of God’s eternal love despite the presence of the adversary within us. And when we
surround ourselves with this love, we can fearlessly look inside ourselves and expose our sins,
our faults, and our mistakes to a God we know will forgive us and love us even more. The
question “Am I good enough” turns into the question “How can I be better?” The question
“How do I fall short?” turns into the question “Where can I grow and change?” The question
“Why am I so bad?” turns into the question “Where is the presence of Christ within me?”
You see the shift: from self-examination in the voice of the adversary to self-examination in
the voice of Christ within us; from self-loathing to acceptance of love; from a complaint to a call
to action. There is hope for us in being able to resist evil, because Jesus did it as a human by
saying no to temptation and sin. If he could do it without using his divine power, there is hope
for us to do the same. There is hope for us when we repent and return to the Lord, because
God is our refuge and stronghold, in whom we put our trust. There is hope for us to become
better people, because we have been loved by God, we are loved by God, and we will always
be loved by God.
The discipline we use to truly sacrifice something during Lent is the same discipline that we
can use to say no to temptation and sin. However, just saying no can be just as easy as giving
up chocolate or caffeine, unless it is also accompanied by something else: changing how we
see ourselves. If we see ourselves as worthy of God’s love, then we can start to love our
neighbors, because they are worthy of our love. If we see ourselves as being forgiven in love,
then we can start forgiving our neighbors. If we see ourselves as being forgiven by God, then
we can start forgiving our neighbors. The significant sacrifice we can make in Lent is to
sacrifice the control that our darker, adversarial side of us to the love of God. That sacrifice
frees the presence of Christ within us to give us strength and courage to say no to temptation
and sin. And when we don’t say no, we are not afraid to admit our sins because forgiven in the
love of God, the same love we express to everyone else. So, go ahead and eat your chocolate.
Dunk it in your cup of coffee. And afterward, reach for the true sacrifice, the one that really
matters.
the voice of Christ within us; from self-loathing to acceptance of love; from a complaint to a call
to action. There is hope for us in being able to resist evil, because Jesus did it as a human by
saying no to temptation and sin. If he could do it without using his divine power, there is hope
for us to do the same. There is hope for us when we repent and return to the Lord, because
God is our refuge and stronghold, in whom we put our trust. There is hope for us to become
better people, because we have been loved by God, we are loved by God, and we will always
be loved by God.
The discipline we use to truly sacrifice something during Lent is the same discipline that we
can use to say no to temptation and sin. However, just saying no can be just as easy as giving
up chocolate or caffeine, unless it is also accompanied by something else: changing how we
see ourselves. If we see ourselves as worthy of God’s love, then we can start to love our
neighbors, because they are worthy of our love. If we see ourselves as being forgiven in love,
then we can start forgiving our neighbors. If we see ourselves as being forgiven by God, then
we can start forgiving our neighbors. The significant sacrifice we can make in Lent is to
sacrifice the control that our darker, adversarial side of us to the love of God. That sacrifice
frees the presence of Christ within us to give us strength and courage to say no to temptation
and sin. And when we don’t say no, we are not afraid to admit our sins because forgiven in the
love of God, the same love we express to everyone else. So, go ahead and eat your chocolate.
Dunk it in your cup of coffee. And afterward, reach for the true sacrifice, the one that really
matters.
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