Loving God, you call us to return to you, renewing our hearts and our lives by the power of your Spirit.  Continue to teach us through your Son, Jesus, helping us to grow in trust and in love, through the same Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

    In the wilderness, the normal distractions of life do not apply.  Very little matters other than finding food and water and shelter.  And, if you are fasting, only water and shelter are issues.  In the wilderness, you have the freedom to work on your relationship with God.  However, you also have the freedom to deny God and try to do it all yourself.  You have the freedom to complain to God for everything that is lacking.  And apparently the devil likes to hang out in the wilderness, too.

    Actually, Jesus was not the first to spend 40 days in the wilderness.  Moses spent 40 days and 40 nights on Mount Sinai in the midst of the wilderness (Ex. 24:18).  Moses was in the presence of God, and this time on the mountain prepared him to receive the tablets of stone on which the Ten Commandments were engraved.  Elijah, too, spent 40 days in the wilderness, journeying to Mount Horeb, where he encountered God in the “still, small voice” (1 Ki. 19:8).  This encounter strengthened Elijah for the ministry that was to come.  In Jesus’ case, too, his time spent in the wilderness prepares him and strengthens him for his ministry that will follow.

    In the church year, the season of Lent is patterned after the 40 days in the wilderness.  Our worship surroundings are more barren than usual.  For some people, their diets are more barren than usual, as they fast from fat and from things that just make you want to go to sleep when you eat them.  Some people will turn off the TV and the radio and all the noise in order to be able to pray and to listen for God’s voice and God’s guidance.  Some people will clear away clutter and things that are not needed in order to simplify their lives and to be able to give to others.  Some people will spend less on themselves and less on eating out and will give to the poor instead.  All of this is part of seeking a right relationship with God.  All of this is part of seeking God in the midst of the wilderness.

    However, at the same time, we are aware that temptation is lurking.  In fact, the temptation of Jesus always comes up on the first Sunday in Lent.  Yet, one has to wonder if we fully grasp the ways in which we are tempted.  Oddly enough, it is the first reading today from Deuteronomy that helps us to see the kind of temptation that seems pretty close to what many people experience today.

    Actually, at first I was wondering what the first reading has to do with Lent or with the temptation of Jesus.  After all, this reading points to the time after the Israelites have been in the wilderness.  There is all kinds of fruitfulness and milk and honey and harvest going on in the promised land, and these instructions from Deuteronomy tell the people to bring their first fruits to the altar as an offering to the Lord.

    However, this reading also points to the time when the people will be tempted.  They will be in the good land and enjoying the fruit of the ground, and the people will be tempted to forget.  They will be tempted to forget what God did for them in the wilderness and in bringing them into the promised land.  They will be tempted to think that they did it all themselves.  They will be tempted to say, “My power and the might of my own hand have gotten me this wealth” (Deut. 8:17).

    Really, couldn’t the same things be said in 21st century Canada?  How many are tempted to think that God has nothing to do with giving us our selves, our time and our possessions?  How many believe that it’s all up to us?  How many would never, ever give God the first fruits because there might not be enough for ourselves?  How many quite simply mistrust God?

    Mistrust might seem a bit of a leap at first, but consider this: to bring God the first fruits of our labour, or to bring any offering is an act of trust.  It is an action that says, “God has provided me with all that I have, and I can give this because God will continue to provide.”  However, the devil much prefers insecurity and mistrust, going back all the way to the garden of Eden.

    “Did God tell you not to eat of this tree?  Really?  You’re not going to die!  You’ll just know more than you know now, and you will be like God.  What else is there that God didn’t tell you?” (Cf. Gen. 3) Insecurity.  Mistrust.  Wanting to be in charge instead of God.  The devil’s tactics really haven’t changed much.  However, in Jesus’ case, he wasn’t buying it.

    “Are you really the Son of God?  Prove it!  Do you really think God’s plan for your life is such a good idea?  Maybe it would be better if you took matters into your own hands!”  It’s simply the same approach in a different setting, trying to get the insecurity and the mistrust going.  However, Jesus is secure in his identity and has a relationship of absolute trust with God – even knowing what lies ahead for him.

    However, what about us and our relationship with God?  After all, we are not Jesus, and the devil continues to sow insecurity and mistrust at every opportunity.  Is it even possible for us to live, trusting God? – Absolutely! – and here’s why...

    First off, we have been given a baptismal identity just as Jesus was.  Remember our refrain from a few weeks ago? - “I am a precious child of God, called and sent to make a difference in the world.”  God has claimed us as God’s own.

    At the same time, we have help.  The same Holy Spirit that filled Jesus during his time in the wilderness is also poured out on us, and we have the help of Jesus, who has been tempted just as we are.  As Hebrews reminds us, Jesus understands what we are facing and prays for us, even as we are also able to come before God’s throne of grace (Heb. 4:15-16).

    However, this is not a call to feel guilty for not trusting God enough.  Trust, like many other things, comes with practice, and each time we step out in faith and discover that God’s power really is at work, that trust grows stronger.  For most of us, there are probably some things where we are able to trust God and then other things where we find trust really difficult.  And so, give thanks for those areas where you are able to trust God.  Give thanks, and then ask what trust might look like in a different area.  And then, practice!  Pray and practice, and continue to look to the Holy Spirit for help.

    Really, this season is all about renewing our relationship with God, and so, clear out anything that’s going to get in the way.  Clear out anything that leads you away from God.  Clear out anything that feeds insecurity and mistrust.  Clear out anything that drowns out God’s Word, and give the Holy Spirit some room to work.  For God has claimed us as God’s own and continues to renew us in God’s love.  Amen.

Lent 1(C)                                Luke 4:1-13
February 17, 2013                            Deuteronomy 26:1-11
St. Luke’s Zion Lutheran Church
Pastor Lynne Hutchison

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