Stephen Baldwin
OT: Deuteronomy 26.1-11
NT: Luke 4.1-13
If you were
to go on a wilderness excursion for 40 days and 40 nights, what would you
take? What items would you put in your
backpack? Tent. Layers of clothing. Toothbrush.
Toilet paper. Water bottle. Cooking utensils. Bug spray.
Sunscreen. Knife. Food?
Luke says
Jesus didn’t take any food. That
could’ve just meant he was observing a Jewish fast, which means he could eat
after the sun goes down. But I think food
would be the first thing I’d pack…and lots of it. So if Jesus didn’t take any food—or at least
mot much, what else did he not take? Layers,
toothbrush, toilet paper, water bottle, utensils, sunscreen? Doesn’t sound like it. I don’t think he carried a pack at all,
because he only took one thing with him.
Luke says he was full of the Holy Spirit. The same Spirit that convinced him to go in
the wilderness in the first place.
Lent began
this week on Ash Wednesday. Most
Christians don’t have a clue what Lent is, much less know how to act during
it. It has become popular to give
something like chocolate or social media up for Lent. I’ve always thought that concept was a little
silly, because how much lighter is your load going to be if you give up just
one thing for 40 days?
Lent is
supposed to hurt. It’s supposed to be a
time of sacrifice. Jesus lived in the
desert for 40 days without a pack. He
didn’t just give up one thing; he set down his whole life.
Does he want us to quit our jobs and go live
in the woods? I don’t think so. But Lent is supposed to hurt a little. He wants us to learn that we’ve come to rely
too much on things that don’t matter and rely too little on the Holy Spirit
that does matter.
So this
Lent you may want to give something up.
Fine. But make it something that
matters. Something that hurts a little. Or instead you may want to do something
positive for the world. Great. Make it something that matters.
Whatever
you choose to do or not do this Lent, remember that you don’t need all those
things on which you’ve come to rely so heavily.
They just weigh you down. All we
really need, we have…and it comes as a gift of God. Amen.
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