Catechumens sign their parish Book of Election on this Sunday.
Sunday Readings: Genesis 2.7-9; 3.1-7 Romans 5.12-19 Matthew 4.1-11
The Spirit led Jesus into the desert to be tempted by the devil. Jesus fasted 40 days and 40 nights…The devil tempted Jesus a third time, taking him up a high mountain and showing him the kingdoms of the world, “All these will I bestow on you if you bow down and worship me.” Jesus answers, “Away with you, Satan. Scripture says, ‘You shall worship the Holy One your God; only God shall you adore.’” At that the devil left Jesus, and angels came and ministered to him (Matthew 4.1-10).
At stake in Jesus’ temptation is not only who he is but who we are, his followers. Jesus shuns divine stunts and opts for giving life through love and forgiveness. Lent calls us to discern how we are using our gifts toward building up our families and the human family.
To tempt means not only to entice, lure, urge, persuade but also to test, to put to proof, to try. Like desert time Lent is time for listening to the Spirit within us and responding to the Spirit in our interactions. Our plans and choices create a path to the purpose and ultimate mystery of our lives, a path to God. We live our days breathing, our hearts pulsing, in the buoyancy of God’s creative love.
The days are longer, daffodils blossom in southern states. Lent is time to clean up the yard, decide what seeds to plant, what bulbs to enjoy in summer sun. It’s time to flip through the seed catalog of our own lives and make time for solitude and lunch with friends, make time for gratitude, take a risk with a little used-gift, get friends together, do our part for justice in our nation and world.
Each year the temptation story from one of the synoptic gospels begins the Lenten season, calling us to test our knowledge of good and evil, to correct our course, to turn away from what numbs us or erodes our relationships. The story challenges us to live by the word of God, to worship God alone rather than success or holding on to more than we need.
What puts you to the test in your life? What person do you want to prove yourself to be?