On the First Sunday in Lent, our Gospel from Matthew 4: 1-11 was Jesus’ Temptation in the Desert Wilderness. In my sermon, I quoted theologian David Lose, who wrote, “Each temptation invites Jesus to turn away from trust in God in a different way. In the first, the devil invites Jesus to prove his sonship through a display of power; that is, by establishing his validity and worth through his own abilities. In the second, the temptation is to test God’s fidelity. In the third — more an out-and-out bribe than temptation — Jesus is promised all the power and glory the earth can offer if he will give his allegiance and devotion to the Tempter. In each case, Jesus rejects the temptation and lodges his identity, future, and fortunes on God’s character and trustworthiness.”
As I have been reading several different books of meditations for my Lenten discipline, in addition to my usual Morning and Evening Prayers, I have remembered – again – that I am not the Messiah. Jesus was and is and ever shall be. I seem to forget this from time to time. And, whenever I forget it, my mental and spiritual health, and often my physical health, suffers. The temptation to believe I can do everything alone is as alluring as it is false.
Thankfully, I am not the Messiah. My actions are not perfect. My presence is not indispensable. I cannot accomplish anything without the help of God and many other people. There are no lone rangers in the Kingdom of God. We are interdependent. None of us is the Messiah. Thanks to Jesus Christ, who IS the Messiah, we are ALL called to be agents of God’s love, mercy, justice and compassion in this broken world.
Whatever your Lenten discipline may be, may it bring you closer to God and closer to your fellow human beings, that together in Christian community, we may glorify Christ in thought, word and deed.