Loving God, you lead us into the wilderness where we do not want to be, but then you provide for us and strengthen us for the journey. Help us to live by your power and your strength, sustained by your life-giving Spirit; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The season of Lent follows a pattern which appears quite frequently in the Scriptures. In the Scriptures, 40 days, or 40 years, or a complete period of time is spent in the wilderness, or, in Noah's case, in the rain. For Noah and his family, they endure 40 days and 40 nights of rain and even longer than that on the ark, emerging at the end of this time to a new covenant, a new beginning, and a new creation. For Moses and the people of Israel, they endured 40 years of testing in the wilderness, emerging at the end of this time to enjoy the fruitfulness of the promised land. Elijah spent 40 days in the wilderness, journeying to Mt. Horeb, where he finds himself renewed and strengthened by the presence of God. And Jesus, of course, also spends 40 days in the wilderness being tempted by Satan, and emerges stronger and full of the Holy Spirit.

Thus emerges the pattern of Lent, which consists of 40 days of "wilderness time" followed by the 50 day celebration of Easter. In fact, Easter is so important that the Sundays in Lent are actually not part of the 40 days. This is because every Sunday, as the day of resurrection, represents a "little Easter." This is also why we worship during the week during Lent, because those days are actually part of Lent and focus on the journey of Jesus to the cross.

Now, I am well aware that, to many people, Lent seems unnecessary or excessively dreary or even morbid. After all, we do know the end of the story, right? Yet, consider what happens in the Scriptures as a result of the 40-day or even 40-year wilderness times. In each case it is a time of severe testing of people's faith. Yet, in each case the people emerge with a stronger faith and a very clear sense of what God can do. In the same way, when we journey with Jesus through Lent, we gain a far greater appreciation of what he went through for our sake, as well as a far greater sense of the joy that accompanies resurrection.

Today, though, as the first Sunday in Lent, we are reminded of Jesus' 40 days in the wilderness when he was tempted by Satan. We are also given cause to reflect on times of testing and temptation in our own lives. As we do so, we need to be aware that testing and temptation are not quite the same thing.

I mention both of them, because the word that is used for temptation in today's gospel can mean testing as well. Yet, the goals are totally different. If you are being tempted - and biblically, Satan is the only one who tempts - Satan's goal is to make you fail. The goal of temptation is always to turn us away from God. However, if you are being tested - which can come from God or even from other people - the goal is to see what your character is like - to see what you know or what you can do. In fact, God's purpose in times of testing is always to help us to grow. Perhaps a little story will help to illustrate the point:

A seeker after truth came to a saint for guidance.
"Tell me, wise one, how did you become holy?"
"Two words."
"And what are they, please?"
"Right choices."
The seeker was fascinated. "How does one learn to choose rightly?"
"One word."
"One word! May I have it, please?" the seeker asked.
"Growth."
The seeker was thrilled. "How does one grow?"
"Two words.""What are they, pray tell?"
"Wrong choices."

God's purpose in testing is to help us to grow, and if it takes wrong choices for that to happen, then so be it. Yet, just as when God tested Abraham's faith, we discover that we have the faith and the ability to stand up to the testing. We learn to trust God in difficult times and both our faith and our Christian character are strengthened [Stoffregen - http://www.crossmarks.com/brian/mark1x9.htm ].

As for temptation, the old saying that goes, "the devil made me do it," is actually a copout. The devil can't make us do anything, and didn't make Adam and Eve do anything either. Instead, he enticed them, getting them to make a choice that took them away from God. We, too, have a choice - just as Jesus did. Yet, we need the power of the Holy Spirit in order to make the right choices, just as Jesus also helps us in times of trial (Heb. 4:14-16). The other thing is that we need more than simply knowing the difference between right and wrong. We also need the motivation that makes us want to do the right thing.

So what was Jesus' motivation when he submitted to all manner of temptation in the wilderness? What made Jesus stand firm in his devotion to God and resist the enticements of the devil? We find the answer in his love for you and for me. Jesus knew why he had been sent to this earth. Jesus knew that he would have to be perfectly obedient to the will of God in order to win our salvation. Jesus knew that to give himself for the life of the world was far more important than any selfish desires which he might have. And so, empowered by the Holy Spirit and secure in his identity as God's Son, he resisted the devil, and the devil left him (cf. Mt. 4:11; Jas. 4:7).

In the same way we could ask ourselves where our motivation lies in order to make right choices. A number of possible motivations have been put forth over the years, but only one of these is actually Scriptural. One possible motivation would be to do enough good things to get into heaven. Some might like to earn their way in, and so might choose to do good for that reason. However, the Scriptures make it clear that we could never, ever do enough or be good enough in order to save ourselves (Eph. 2:8). In fact, if we could do that, Jesus' whole life, death and resurrection would be totally unnecessary.

Another possible motivation which has been used over the years is that of fear. We might make right choices out of fear of punishment. Now, although fear may be a powerful motivator for some things, 1 John insists that "God is love," and "there is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear." John goes on to say that "fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love" (1 Jn. 4:16, 18).

No - Scripturally speaking, love is to be our primary motivator. Once again we read in 1 John, "we love because he first loved us" (4:19). This is, in fact, what God wants for our hearts, and it's all through the Scriptures: Love for God, love for others, love for ourselves and love for Jesus Christ. Love, of course, is also a very powerful motivator. I mean, look at what Jesus was willing to do out of love for us and for all humanity! Look at the things that people are willing to do and to sacrifice for those whom they love the most. God asks for that same kind of love from us. God asks us to love, knowing how he has first loved us.

And so, during this season of Lent, we check out our hearts, and open them up to God's love, and allow the love that Jesus has for us to really sink in and renew us. We don't like being in the wilderness any more than Jesus did - or Noah - or the people of Israel - or Elijah. Yet, the wilderness is always a place for renewal, where new strength is found, and the presence and power of God are found, and where we discover afterwards that we have been allowed to grow.

May it be the love in our hearts that grows more than anything else during this Lenten season, as we, too, journey on by the power of God's Spirit. Amen.

Lent 1(B) Mark 1:9-15
March 5, 2006
St. Luke's Zion Lutheran Church
Pastor Lynne Hutchison Moore
? 2006 Lynne Hutchison Moore All Rights Reserved