Many people have asked me “What exactly is this Lent thing
and why do some faith expressions take it so seriously?”
That’s a very good question. I hope I can answer it so that
it will make more sense to you. First of, Lent is not a
thing, not a movement, not a practice, not a process, and
not limited to only certain faiths. Lent is the story of
Jesus and us, the story of the beginning of his ministry
until his death on the cross and his glorious resurrection,
and we are invited to go that journey with him. So really
then, Lent is an invitation to get to know our Lord and
Savior intimately. To walk with him the journey of our
salvation as he had to do it for our sake, for our
sinfulness, and most particular to restore for us, the gift
of eternal life that was nullified by the sin of Adam and
Eve.
When we have dared to walk with our sweet Jesus as was his
journey and have lived even a bit of it, then our own faith
will grow in leaps and bounds. This is a time that we come
to deny ourselves, to repent, to get beyond all that holds
us down, and to fully understand that, indeed, as Jesus says
himself, “This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of
God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel,” and
immerse ourselves into his mission, for our sake, not his.
So, I invite you to come with me by accepting the
invitation. Starting this week and all the weeks to
come until long after Easter, the scripture readings that I
will share, will allow us all to follow that invitation.
If you are a non-believer and would like to know Jesus more,
this is the time for you to start, to come to know.
Lovingly, you are invited to journey with us. Let us
start with the
readings for this week.
The LORD
God formed man out of the clay of the ground
and blew into his nostrils the breath of life,
and so man became a living being.
Then the
LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east,
and placed there the man whom he had formed.
Out of the ground the LORD God made various trees grow
that were delightful to look at and good for food,
with the tree of life in the middle of the garden
and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Now the
serpent was the most cunning of all the animals
that the LORD God had made.
The serpent asked the woman,
“Did God really tell you not to eat
from any of the trees in the garden?”
The woman answered the serpent:
“We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden;
it is only about the fruit of the tree
in the middle of the garden that God said,
‘You shall not eat it or even touch it, lest you die.’”
But the serpent said to the woman:
“You certainly will not die!
No, God knows well that the moment you eat of it
your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods
who know what is good and what is evil.”
The woman saw that the tree was good for food,
pleasing to the eyes, and desirable for gaining wisdom.
So she took some of its fruit and ate it;
and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her,
and he ate it.
Then the eyes of both of them were opened,
and they realized that they were naked;
so they sewed fig leaves together
and made loincloths for themselves.
R. (cf. 3a) Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness;
in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense.
Thoroughly wash me from my guilt
and of my sin cleanse me. R, Be merciful, O Lord, for we have
sinned. For I acknowledge my offense,
and my sin is before me always:
“Against you only have I sinned,
and done what is evil in your sight.” R, Be merciful, O Lord, for we have
sinned. A clean heart create for me, O God,
and a steadfast spirit renew within me.
Cast me not out from your presence,
and your Holy Spirit take not from me. R, Be merciful, O Lord, for we have
sinned. Give me back the joy of your salvation,
and a willing spirit sustain in me.
O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth shall proclaim your praise. R, Be merciful, O Lord, for we have
sinned.
Brothers
and sisters:
Through one man sin entered the world,
and through sin, death,
and thus death came to all men, inasmuch as all sinned.
For if,
by the transgression of the one,
death came to reign through that one,
how much more will those who receive the abundance of grace
and of the gift of justification
come to reign in life through the one Jesus Christ.
In conclusion, just as through one transgression
condemnation came upon all,
so, through one righteous act,
acquittal and life came to all.
For just as through the disobedience of the one man
the many were made sinners,
so, through the obedience of the one,
the many will be made righteous.
At that time Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert
to be tempted by the devil.
He fasted for forty days and forty nights,
and afterwards he was hungry.
The tempter approached and said to him,
“If you are the Son of God,
command that these stones become loaves of bread.”
He said in reply,
“It is written: One does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.”
Then the devil took him to the holy city,
and made him stand on the parapet of the temple,
and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself
down.
For it is written: He will command his angels concerning you and with their hands they will support you, lest you dash your foot against a stone.”
Jesus answered him,
“Again it is written, You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.”
Then the devil took him up to a very high mountain,
and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in their
magnificence,
and he said to him, "All these I shall give to you,
if you will prostrate yourself and worship me.”
At this, Jesus said to him,
“Get away, Satan!
It is written: The Lord, your God, shall you worship and him alone shall you serve.”
Then the devil left him and, behold,
angels came and ministered to him.
Homily/Sermon
Jesus
must have sat down often to consider the state of the
nation. He must have worried often about the leadership he
saw around him. He must have talked often about the temple
and its services. He must have done all that very often,
since he was like us in all things but sin.
Doing
this, we compare the world in which we live with the vision
of a world to come. Speaking about injustice, we know about
justice. Complaining about dishonesty, we imply honesty.
Concerned about the war in Afghanistan , terrorists and
violence throughout the world, we perhaps dream about
peace. Protesting discrimination and violence, we suggest a
more livable world. We do all of this, do we not? We are
charged with a vision; we are all full of hope. But,
sometimes, we don’t move. We see as if blind. We hear as
if deaf. We move as if paralyzed.
So did
Jesus, up to the moment he entered that desert for those
forty long, very long, days. Full of Spirit, he was
challenging his spirit. Full of vision, he was facing his
blindness. His ears ringing with the message, he was
fighting his deafness. Asked to move, he had to overcome
his lameness. He was tempted, nagged,
pestered, shocked, and shaken, fighting with all that held
him back, struggling with everything that kept him small and
restricted, paralyzed, and fruitless, fighting the devil
himself, that tempter, Satan, yet not succumbing to that
evil pest, but overcoming all his evil endeavors.
He was
going to ask us to do the same. He was going to invite us
to follow him. He was going to show us what we would be
able to do. But, before turning to us, before inviting
others, he first fought and overcame the indolence and
immobility he wants us to overcome.
The world
has changed over the past few years, our country has
drastically changed over the past few years, and the vast
majority of folks are not so pleased with those changes my
friends. Who would have ever thought that the issues facing
our country these days would be about defunding Planned
Parenthood, who advocates with pride, the taking of another
human life, through abortion, which is murder! Which is a
slap in the face to God our Creator, the only Author of
Human Life, and to do that vicious act on demand, and be
boasting about it. Why wouldn't God not be angry?
Who would
have ever thought that one of the most controversial issues
of the day would be about homosexuality? We should know very
well what happened in the old testament when that was an
issue. Who would have ever thought that a government would
become so morally decayed that it would turn the table
upside down as to what was right and wrong; that what use
to be wrong is now seen as being right, and what use to be right in now
wrong? At least, that is the reality that I see; that is
the reality that fills the headline news each day and the
newspapers, along with the irresponsible spending by our
government when we don't even have the money to spend. Yes,
we can label these as political issues, and they may very
well be, and I may very well be editorializing, but
nonetheless they are issues that go against our Christian
morals and values.
We can no
longer just complain about others, forgetting about
ourselves. We can no longer think that the world will
change and our vision will be fulfilled without ourselves
being changed and moved.
That is
what Jesus learned in the desert, and that is why he came
out of it – himself changed – to shout to us: “The time is
ripe, the days are fulfilled. I overcame what holds you
down. I could do it, you can do it. Forgive, repent,
change, and believe this good news! And it might do well
for us to add, "to start living out that good news, if we
haven't already, because of the possible uncertainty that we
will be able to continue to profess it, less it is said to
be offensive to some others. Out of the desert Jesus came,
not knowing what he might face, but he came prepared to
change this world for the better, to offer a new kind of
journey, a new possibility, a new hope. We who are
Christians should hold on tightly to that hope my friends.
There are those would like to deny it to us.
Wishing
you all a most wonderful week ahead. Let us continue to
pray for our country, and especially those who were and
continue to be devastated by the terrible earthquake and
tsunami a few days ago in Japan!
In His arms holding me so close,
Comforting me when I need it the most.
With so much love for all the world to see,
He forever will take care of me.
Sacrifices He has had His share,
Showing us just how much He cares.
Wanting only what is best for us,
Through His grace we begin to trust.
In the things that we thought were lost,
Everything’s possible because His Son paid the cost.
Faith and hope, even on rainy days,
Never knowing, what blessings He will send our way.
Joy and laughter we have so much to share,
All because we have a Father who cares.
In His arms is where I want to be,
When life throws so many things at me.
Where I know that I will be ok,
Receiving comfort from my Father today.
March 11th, 2011
(C) Written By Eva Dimel
Inspired By God
