The Lenten season begins on Ash Wednesday, which is March 9th this year. This is a time to acknowledge our humanity, “we are dust and to dust we shall return.” The season runs for 40 days, not counting Sundays until Easter Sunday. Each Sunday during the season of Lent can be seen as a “little Easter.” In many Christian communities, people who desire to join the Christian community prepare for Baptism. They spend time learning what it means to be a Christian before they join the community of Christ-followers. In some churches, the baptism is celebrated after dark during an Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday, and in others, the baptism is celebrated on Easter Sunday.
For the general Christian community, Lent is a time we take to reflect on our own spiritual formation through prayer, fasting, repentance, self-discipline, simplicity, and mission. An Upper Room resource called Companions in Christ defines Christian Spiritual Formation as “the process of being shaped according to the image of Christ by the gracious working of the Holy Spirit for the sake of the world.” (12) Many people refer to spiritual formation as “discipleship.”
As we journey through Lent over these next few weeks, we examine and interpret the Scriptures in the context of “call.” We are using the word to mean, in the words of the Harper Collins Bible Dictionary, “a general summons … [with] every Christian viewed as its recipient.” What are we being called by God to be and/or to do? How are we being shaped as we respond to the call. How are we to respond?
This week our Gospel passage challenges us to “trust in God’s provision.”
The spiritual life can be characterized as a “journey.” Our journey consists of movements toward God and movements away from God. We can learn a lot about the journey from walking, or pondering a labyrinth. Although the Labyrinth has been around in some form for ages upon ages, Christians embraced it early on and began walking it to the beat of their own symbolism. From the 12th to 13th century, labyrinths spread into cathedrals and churches throughout Europe. The labyrinth in Chartres Cathedral is the oldest intact labyrinth from the period. Although the Cathedral at Chartres is more famous for the beautiful stain glass windows, labyrinth enthusiasts travel long distances to walk it on Fridays when the chairs are removed for the day.
When we walk the labyrinth, we naturally engage in a three-fold meditative process … we don’t make meditation happen, it just does. This same process can be experienced in any time of walking “meditation.” So, if you are able, get up and walk with our passage for the day!
The first movement on the labyrinth is inward. In a labyrinth, unlike a maze, you cannot get lost for there is only one path in and the same path out. We simply put one foot in front of the other and walk! As we follow the path in, we RELEASE. Ask yourself, “What it is that hinders me from hearing God?” Spend some time in silence, surrendering yourself so that you can hear what God says to you. If there is an issue that comes up during this time, acknowledge it, confess it, and let it go. If it nags you, spend time in prayer, asking God to help you let go.
When we get to the center of the Labyrinth, we pause to listen and RECEIVE all that God has for us. When you are ready, stop and pause on your walk. Find a place to sit and open your Bible and your heart. If you have made your way to a labyrinth, stop and sit in the center.
Read Matthew 4:1-11 After Jesus was baptized, he was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterward he was famished. 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.’" Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’" Jesus said to him, "Again it is written, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’" Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor; and he said to him, "All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me." Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan! for it is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.’" Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.
Each year and every Lent, we read about the temptation of Jesus on the first Sunday. This experience grounds the entire Lenten journey as we look evil in the face and say “no.” The temptation of Jesus in the wilderness takes place just after Jesus has been baptized, just after God has said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased." No rest for the weary!
The word translated temptation is peirazo {pi-rad'-zo}. The Harper Collins Bible Dictionary tells us that in biblical writings, the word temptation can be understood in a couple of different ways. In this passage, it refers to a challenging situation through which one overcome evil (sin) and is made stronger in faith. (1108-1109)
Read through the passage again. After Jesus is baptized, he is “called.” How would you describe the way that God called Jesus to the wilderness? The biblical wilderness is a place of struggle. We tend to think that struggle is not a part of the spiritual life, but that isn’t really true. Often we must struggle in order to grow and to be ready for the next step. Jesus began fasting as soon as he got to the desert … 40 days and 40 nights. For the Jewish people, 40 is a symbolic number. Remember Noah and the Flood waiting for dry land. Remember the Israelites wandering in the desert as they fled the Egyptians looking for the Promised Land. Waiting. Wandering. Now the real test begins!
The “tempter” came and said … three temptations the tempter laid out in front of Jesus, hitting him at a physically vulnerable time. The tempter wanted Jesus to question God’s nature and lose his trust in God’s provision. How would you characterize each of these temptations and the way Jesus responds? How is Jesus able to respond to God’s call?
1st Temptation:
Response:
2nd Temptation:
Response:
3rd Temptation:
Response:
As you consider these three areas of temptation, which one do you struggle with? As you consider the way Jesus responds to that temptation, how is God calling you to respond to your own struggles?
Consider how you are being called to trust. Where have you noticed God working in your life? Where is God providing for you? Are there things you are tempted to do for yourself … that God wants to do with you or for you?
As you interact with others, how is God “showing up?” Is there a theme emerging for you?
After sitting with Jesus in the wilderness for awhile it is time to get up and start walking back “from whence we came.” As you walk back to your starting point, notice how you have changed. Take this time to RESPOND in prayer. Allow the Spirit to strengthen you for the journey ahead.
Perhaps the call to trust in God’s provision resonates with you but perhaps it doesn’t. I invite you to spend some time thinking about where you sense the deepest call on your life this week. As you seek to “respond to God’s call” are there any actions that you will commit to as a result of your study this week?
Psalm 32 CEV (A special psalm by David)
1Our God, you bless everyone whose sins you forgive and wipe away.
2You bless them by saying, "You told me your sins,
without trying to hide them, and now I forgive you."
3Before I confessed my sins, my bones felt limp,
and I groaned all day long.
4Night and day your hand weighed heavily on me,
and my strength was gone as in the summer heat.
5So I confessed my sins and told them all to you.
I said, "I'll tell the LORD each one of my sins."
Then you forgave me and took away my guilt.
6We worship you, Lord, and we should always pray
whenever we find out that we have sinned.
Then we won't be swept away by a raging flood.
7You are my hiding place!
You protect me from trouble,
and you put songs in my heart because you have saved me.
8You said to me, "I will point out the road that you should follow.
I will be your teacher and watch over you.
9Don't be stupid like horses and mules
that must be led with ropes to make them obey."
10All kinds of troubles will strike the wicked,
but your kindness shields those who trust you, LORD.
11And so your good people should celebrate and shout. Amen!
If music is a pathway to God for you, listen to this song called Trust, by Kristene Mueller, as you watch the video from Youtube ... Enjoy!
Remember ... If you would like to receive the full 5-day printer-friendly PDF version with all 4 lectionary readings integrated, see the Email Blast sidebar for email link. Email me and I'll put you on my weekly distribution list. Thanks!
Remember ... If you would like to receive the full 5-day printer-friendly PDF version with all 4 lectionary readings integrated, see the Email Blast sidebar for email link. Email me and I'll put you on my weekly distribution list. Thanks!
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