Scriptures for the First Sunday in Lent are deliciously full of imagery and holy narrative! Any of them will be informative and challenging to a congregation: as indeed they were written to bolster the faith-communities of Hebrews on the doorstep of the Promised Land; the worshiping family at the Jerusalem Temple; the underground Church scattered through Nero’s Rome; and the second-generation Disciples tempted to accept the Good Enough.
The writer of Deuteronomy warns the new inhabitants of Canaan about neglecting their allegiance to Yahweh now that they’ve arrived. “When you have come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you ….take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground…” These were to be presented to the priests, along with a ritual of remembrance and thanksgiving. (Deuteronomy 26:1-11) When we present our tithes and offerings, is it not an acknow-ledgement of God’s deliverance, protection and completeness??
Being a member of the Christian Church in Rome was an act of civil disobedience. Believers had to choose between a comfortable (?) life as a law-abiding Roman citizen OR holding fast to their core understandings, that is, allegiance to Christ FIRST! Paul goes beyond confession to demonstrable discipleship: “if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord AND believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)
Which brings us to the traditional lesson for the First of Lent, Jesus’ Temptation in the Desert (this year found in Luke 4:1-13). To begin, please understand that the stiffest temptation is not between Good & Evil, usually a no-brainer. Rather, the tough ones are between Wonderful and Perfect! Should Jesus have turned stones into bread and fed the whole world from henceforth? That’s a GOOD idea — but not the completeness of Christ. Or should Jesus have taken advantage of ruling the world, directing all nations in holy living? Now that’s also a Good Idea — but not the completeness of Christ. And if he were to exercise death-defying stunts, so that he’d be famous and influential? That could be a Good Idea — but not…. You get it, Jesus wouldn’t be authentic if he did all these things, no matter how relevant, powerful or spectacular.
Individually and as a body, we’re tempted to put all our energies into doing Good Things. Not bad–but will we lose our integrity as Disciple or Faithful Congregation? Sometimes the tail wags the dog, and that’s when we lose our identity. The Season of Lent gains its intensity from the self-awareness of our faith journey, and our recognition in the desert spots that God has given a still-higher calling. Can good things lure Jesus from a focus on God’s Will? Will Good Ministries lure our congregation into a warmth of complacency?
God Bless Us, Every One H B King
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