First Sunday of Lent

Our Parent promises to be there with you whenever you are in distress. Just call upon them, and you shall know deliverance and glory. But do you trust them? How long will you wait to be brought "out of Egypt" before turning to some other god for assistance? And how long will you cling to faith once you get that first glimpse of your cross? Yes, these forty days are about recognizing that deliverance and glory come on God's time and terms. Not the easiest of lessons, but always a beautiful one.

Deuteronomy 26:4-10; Psalms 91:1-15; Romans 10:8-13; Luke 4:1-13

First Sunday of Lent

Luke 4:1-13

We are not strangers to this temptation, for all of these scenes are but one temptation, one we have a more difficult time resisting than our brother Jesus: to bend God's will into a fulfillment of our own desires. God's path is too hard, so we do whatever's necessary to make the journey more luxurious. God's path takes too long, so we cut deals with whomever we can to create the true utopia. God's path is too mysterious, so we walk away from her when he won't prove their love to our satisfaction. Oh, we do all this under the flag of goodness and righteousness, but the problem is that neither our luxuries nor our utopias seem to last very long, so inevitably we're left in the dark and cold struggling to find our way back. There are no shortcuts around God's will, no matter how appealing they be.