LENT I

Luke 4:1-13

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. Jesus ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished. The devil said to him, “If you are the Chosen One, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.”

Jesus answered, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone.’” Then the devil led Jesus 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; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” Jesus answered, “It is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only God.’”

Then the devil took Jesus to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying, “If you are the Chosen One, throw yourself down from here, for it is written, ‘God will command 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.’” Jesus answered, “It is said, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” Having finished every test, the devil departed from him until an opportune time.

Reflection -- by Toi Perkins

Here I stand in the wilderness - the desert of my soul. My disappointments clutter my path like tumbleweeds.Mistakes blur my vision like wisps of dry, sandy air. Pleading lips and heart cracked open. I begin to surrender myself to the desert, sinking into the sands of despair. And yet a cool breath like sea breeze whispers: “This is not your end, but your beginning.”

Jesus was led to the wilderness and yet this barren terrain of nothingness was not the end. “He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished.” After days of fasting, emptying, giving up, letting go, Jesus experiences a deep hunger – a hunger that could not be sated by food for, as the author of Luke writes, Jesus says, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone.”

What can I give over to the desert? I search my rooms: I find guilt and shame under the bed, fear stuffed between the cushions of the couch, old grudges tucked away in a closet. Flipping through an old file cabinet I find a note that reads: “I love you. You are forgiven. Forgive.” That I will keep.

Before we meet Jesus in the desert, we meet his ancestors - a mix of Jews and non-Jews, known and unknown, ‘holy’ and ‘unholy’. Jesus is from everyone, represents everyone and is for everyone. The wilderness experience is the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. The author of Luke does not write much about Jesus’ wilderness days, but maybe Jesus sat with his disappointments and mistakes on the brink of despair. Maybe as he sat, he could feel the love of God out of the nothingness. It was this God of the desert that gave him the strength and power to begin. It was this God that showed him that the true bread of the desert is hope.

I know that I am loved, am loveable. This is my new life. I sink no more into despair and complacency. A deep hunger gnaws at my soul; a deep hope burrows itself into the sinews of my heart.

Our journey will inevitably lead us into the desert. Some of us are on the fringes, and others of us are trapped among vast dunes. It is part of our humanity and, as such, connects us. God beckons us out of our desert places into an oasis of abundant life and love. If there is something keeping you from the bread of the desert, you may find, tucked away in a rusty file cabinet, help in a note that reads: “I love you. You are forgiven. Forgive.” – keep it.

During the Week

What can you give to the desert? How much more could you give, how much more could you receive if you gave something up?

Can you allow yourself to be anointed by the desert?