Lent V

The Rev. Martha Frances+
Lent V - 25 March 2007 - Year C

Text: John 12: 1-8, Other Readings: Isaiah 43: 16-21; Psalm 126; Philippians 3: 4b-14


Today's Philippians' passage is dear to me as it ends with one of the first scriptures I memorized. Once again I'm dating myself to tell you that my 8th grade speech teacher had us memorize Bible verses as well as Shakespeare, so in addition to Portia's Mercy Speech, I learned "forgetting what lies behind & straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus." Little did I understand at that time the context of Paul's words written from a Roman prison, or what Paul's pressing on was: the heavenly calling for him was martyrdom just as it had been for his Lord.

Today I recognize that Paul had started his credentials with his pedigree as a good Jew—circumcised on the 8 th day, of the people of Israel & the house of Benjamin, born a Hebrew, a Pharisee & zealous persecutor of the church—all that the past he had left behind when Christ found him on that Damascus road & turned him into the first great missionary to the Gentiles. Paul had been quite a success as a righteous man before his encounter with Christ, whereupon his previous credentials became meaningless in light of Christ's claim on him. Paul embraces the reality of his upcoming death as his way of unity with Christ whom he has proclaimed throughout the known world.

However, even St. Paul, near the end of his life, doesn't claim to know it all & to have it made. In the first place, he acknowledges that whatever his post-conversion successes have been are due to Christ's claim on him & presence in his life. He takes no credit for himself. Also, he hasn't dwelt in the past but has forged forward, confessing his unsavory past & open to what God has in store for his present life. Further, he is a man in process, still living in the "not yet", looking forward to the future, knowing that a violent death is the likely outcome for his life. He says, "Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own. . . ." He gives all the credit & glory to God in Christ Jesus.

This movement is borne out in the other scriptures for today, our last Sunday before Palm Sunday next week. God speaks directly in the Isaiah passage at a time when the Hebrews are enslaved in Babylon . God reminds the people of all they have received starting with their escape from bondage in Egypt & miraculous delivery from Pharoah's army at the Red or Reed Sea. In the depths of the Hebrews' despair, God turns them away from the horrors of the past & promises a new thing described in poetic language which must have been empowering centuries later to those Hebrews just as they are being freed from Babylon. For desert people, God's providing water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert, & drink to slake the thirst of the chosen people was the most treasured of gifts—life-sustaining for these nomads who are God's chosen people. They had a temple & a society to rebuild, but it is God who is doing the new thing through them. Looking forward to the "not yet" of a life on God's terms.

Finally, Jesus has made his way to Jerusalem, part of the time in hiding because the authorities are on-the-lookout for him. Before the triumphal entry into Jerusalem proper, Jesus pauses to have dinner with friends in Bethany , on the outskirts of Jerusalem. Fully aware of what lies ahead for him, Jesus nevertheless has chosen to move toward his final destiny during Passover time, with echoes galore of the original Passover & both the successes & seeming failure of his three years of teaching, healing, & being fully present to his disciples.

At Bethany, at table with his friends, the Last Supper & his death are foreshadowed. With Lazarus whom he has raised from the dead, Martha as host serving the meal, & Mary who has previously "chosen the better part" & broken taboos by sitting at his feet as disciple, he moves forward from his own past toward the events which lead inevitably to his death & burial. Mary washes his feet as he will soon wash those of his male disciples—lavishing costly ointment on him in such quantity that it perfumes the whole house—drying his feet with her hair, an incredibly intimate gesture for one not a blood relative.

Here, Mary's actions reveal her as the faithful disciple, contrasted to Judas' carping about a better use for the perfumed oil. Mary knows how to respond to Jesus without being told & breaks out of the societal restrictions for a woman, being rewarded with Jesus' rebuke to "Leave her alone!" when Judas criticizes. Jesus remark that they will always have the poor to care for is not a callous disregard for the poor as the quote is often used today but rather an emphasis on how soon his own death would be.

Jesus' final appearance before his triumphal entry into Jerusalem catapults him & his disciples into the events of the Passion, the new thing which God is doing, making a path through the wilderness of the law, overcoming the power of death with Jesus' death followed by resurrection. Jesus recognizes the necessity of enduring death in order that resurrection might follow, not only for him but for all those who are his followers.

Living in the in-between time of the "already" & also the "not yet" characterizes our next 2 weeks as well as Jesus' & his faithful disciples. Whatever the past has been—triumphs & tragedies alike—must be let go, abandoned, in order to be open to the new thing which God is doing for us as we embrace Jesus' death & resurrection anew this year. Our community is certainly evidence of this movement: both St. Michael's & Incarnation held some wonderful traditions as well as some serious difficulties, & we've tried to honor both for each congregation. Further, we've moved forward with a new & appropriate name--Hope, broader leadership, & the opportunity to embrace the future, confident that God is in charge & will do new things through our community.

How do we as individuals respond to the new thing which God offers in our community? Together! Each of us must accept responsibility for our part in the whole of the parish's movement forward, journeying with Christ through his death & burial but also into his new life as an Easter people. We at Hope have pledged to be an inclusive community sharing God's gift of love & acceptance with others.

What are the old things & ways of being we'll have to give up in order to embrace the new? We can't continue to relax in a comfortable family-sized circle which is hard for newcomers to break into. We must be willing to let others take some of the responsibilities & accept that they might not be done exactly the same way "we've always done them." The new way might even be better. We can't continue to do ministry with a deficit budget. In order to upgrade the facilities & make our church buildings & grounds more appealing & safer for all, reach out & provide for those whom Jesus called "my precious ones", & make a mark in our community for Christ, we must be more giving of our time, talent, & treasure.

How do we learn the art of welcoming the new thing that Christ is doing in our midst? We grow in our trust & live out of faith instead of fear. Paul talked of the righteousness of God based on faith. We learn how to have faith by acting faithfully. We rely on God & our Christian community to show us the way.

We have ample worship opportunities the next 2 weeks, & I encourage you to be present for as many of them as possible. Further, each of us is called to be faithful to our own Lenten disciplines of prayer, study, & action so that they may guide our Easter journey. Next Saturday we will be preparing palm crosses for the next day, sharing a covered dish lunch, & instructing new folks in the sacrament of baptism. All disciples are urged to participate then, in the regular Lenten activities this week, & in each of the Holy Week services next week. I would especially urge you to include the Easter Vigil in your schedule, for we will hear & participate in selections from the story of our salvation in ways both adults & children can appreciate as well as welcoming newly baptized into our faith community. Then we will truly be prepared to be resurrected with Christ on Easter morning & throughout the Easter season into the rest of our lives.

Come & walk the way of the cross into the new day of Easter when we will truly experience God's new thing within this community.

Lent IV

The Rev. Martha Frances+
18 March 2007, Year C Lent IV

Text: Luke 15: 1-3, 11b-32
Other Readings: Joshua 5:9-12; Psalm 32; 2 Corinthians 5:16-21


This morning the last will be first & the first last, because I begin my meditation on this most detailed of all the parables where I find myself in it. I have to admit to you today that I’m the upright, hard-working, & often self-righteous elder daughter. As I was growing up, I worked really hard to fulfill my father’s expectations of success & honor for his eldest child. But it seems like every instance of freedom I won, like a later curfew or more frequent use of the car, my younger sister got to do earlier than I & with no hassle at all. She even got to go to college out of state & join a sorority. Not fair! Even now, I get a little huffy in righteous indignation!

The elder brother in the parable also comes off as pompous & holier-than-thou, doesn’t he? And I suspect that many of you also relate to the elder brother. After all, he’s been out in his father’s fields slaving all day & he’s pooped. Upon returning to the hacienda, he hears a rip-roaring party going on & asks one of the ranch hands what’s up. When he’s told it’s a shindig thrown in honor of his younger brother’s return, he lets fly a whole bucket full of righteous indignation. He’s so furious he won’t even attend the party!

What does Papa do? First, let’s note that the father notices that his elder son doesn’t come to the party. He must be watching for his older son, too. The father treats the elder son just as he did the younger: he goes out to meet him & pleads with him to join them in the celebration. The father reaches out to his first-born in love just as he has done to the younger. Big brother will have none of it! Although he’s stayed at home & kept all the rules, he’s been alienated from his father by his own anger & resentment. He’s a slave to his own expectations & self-righteousness. I have to ask myself how often I’ve enslaved myself in a similar way.

Now all of us know this parable, but I’d like to suggest that it is misnamed. It’s actually better named the Parable of the Prodigal Parent! I’ve begun with the least-noticed part of the parable, but here, the father lavishes unqualified love on both his sons. Earlier in the story, Papa stands out on the porch watching for his ornery son’s return, runs with abandon down the road to meet the rascal as soon as he spots him, doesn’t even wait to hear the son’s what-a-wretch-am-I speech, but instead, gives him new Levis, a Hilfinger shirt, & some new Nikes. Papa is the true prodigal for he is lavish in his generosity: he gives gifts & throws quite a party for this son who was lost & is now found. Papa is so crazy to have his long-lost kid back that he doesn’t even extract promises of appropriate future behavior from his son.

And what does this young man do to deserve all this? Not one single thing! That’s just the point. This story could also be called the Parable of the Forgiving Father. Papa initiates the reunion by unreservedly showering his son with forgiveness before the son has a chance to confess or ask forgiveness.

Confession isn’t a pre-requisite for forgiveness; it’s something you do after you know you’ve been forgiven. Confession isn’t something you do to earn forgiveness; we confess in order to celebrate the forgiveness we have gotten for nothing. The kid certainly hasn’t done anything to deserve such love & honor; it’s all God’s grace, pure & simple. I’m reminded of one of the closing sentences from the Evening Prayer service: “Glory to God whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine. . . .” This young son could never have dreamt that his father’s love could be so abundant.

Our psalm today describes graphically the consequences of our lack of confession: “While I held my tongue, my bones withered away, because of my groaning all day long.” Then the psalmist makes confession & “did not conceal my guilt.” The effect of God’s forgiving the guilt of the sin is that even when great waters overflow, they shall not reach the forgiven one. “Mercy embraces those who trust in the Lord,” the psalmist continues, & those who have made confession are glad & rejoice, shouting for joy. The Church offers private confession with a priest as one of our sacramental rites, & Lent is an especially appropriate time to make confession. If you desire to do so, please make an appointment with me in the next 3 weeks.

If the scoundrel in the parable was embraced so lovingly & forgiven so completely by his father, surely no one is excluded from God’s grace, not even those whom we elder brothers & sisters know don’t deserve it. How often have we been celebrating someone’s achievement or good fortune, secretly

jealous or resentful that it was he or she rather than we who were being honored?

Folks in Alcoholics Anonymous learned a long time ago that we’re all encouraged when someone in the group achieves a year or multiples of sobriety. Joanie’s ability to stay sober for another whole year makes just such an achievement more possible for the rest of the group. Countless times I’ve heard people in 12-Step Recovery recognize that only in their meetings do they feel everyone wants them to succeed. We in the church promise just such support for each person who is baptized or confirmed in our community. How often do we live that commitment out?

We don’t listen very closely to what we say in the Lord’s Prayer, do we? We ask God to forgive us our trespasses just as we forgive those who trespass against us. Ouch! Every time we say the “Our Father,” we ask God to use the quality of our forgiveness as the model for how God forgives us. Fortunately for us, as we’ve just seen in this parable, God’s love & forgiveness isn’t dependent on how well we love & forgive others. However, I suspect that we can only accept as much forgiveness from God as we’re willing to give to others. We block the forgiveness from our own lives; God never withholds it! God wants us to give love & forgiveness fully & freely.

What is life like when we are in fellowship one with another in the community? St. Paul describes it to encourage the Corinthians who were about as irascible a bunch as we find in our churches today: “. . .if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!” Where do we receive this re-creation? Paul says all this is from God who provided Christ to reconcile world to Godself. What’s our part? God has given us the ministry of reconciliation. Look it up in the Catechism in the Prayer Book, p. 855: “The ministry of lay persons is to represent Christ & his Church; to bear witness to him wherever they may be; &, according to the gifts given them to CARRY ON CHRIST’S WORK OF RECONCILIATION IN THE WORLD. . . .” What an awesome responsibility we’re given! Paul says God entrusts the message of reconciliation to us, making us ambassadors for Christ. Ambassadors don’t go out on their own private crusades but are representatives for another & go at the pleasure of that other. If we go as Christ’s ambassadors, we are responsible to do our own personal work of reconciliation so we can be worthy examples of Christ’s reconciling love & desire for relationship with others.

Each year during Lent we emphasize the importance of personal & community house-cleaning so we can be the best ambassadors we can possibly be in the world. God gives the invitation, kills the fatted calf, sets the banquet table, & throws the party. We at Hope will celebrate with those being baptized at the Easter Vigil & then on Easter morning celebrate God’s great gift of love through Christ’s resurrection. Our ability to enter fully into that resurrection joy is enhanced if we’ve done the preparation of a disciplined & holy Lent. It’s not too late!

God offers the reconciliation. God provides the means for us to accept it through Jesus Christ. We don’t have to deserve it. All we have to do is accept it. All we have to do is come to the banquet table. God invites us to come in & celebrate the lost which has been found, which includes each of us. God calls us to enter the feast. Come & feast! Come & be Christ’s new creation!

Lent II

Sermon for Hope Episcopal Church, Houston, TX
By The Rev. Martha Frances+
Year C Lent II
4 March 2007
Text: Luke 13: 31-35, Other Readings: Genesis 15: 1-12, 17-18; Psalm 27; Philippians 3:17-4:1


God came to Abram in a vision, we’re told in our first reading today, & it’s clearly early in the story since God hasn’t changed his name to Abraham yet. What does God say to Abram? “Do not be afraid.” Why is it that God or God’s angels have to say first, when they appear to humans, “Don’t be afraid.” Being approached by God or an angel is a pretty awesome affair. Some might say “awe-ful”—full of awe! God tells Abram, “I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” Does Abram respond in gratitude & appreciation? No. Abram complains about what God HASN’T done. Abram reminds God that he still doesn’t have an heir. What does God do? God takes Abram outside, focuses his attention on the heavens, & tells him to count the stars. Now right here we know that Abram was a country boy because he couldn’t even SEE stars if he lived most places in Houston. God tells Abram that he will have as many descendants as the stars. At this point, the amazing thing is that Abram believes God. Abram, who has no children at all, believes God, & God says that Abram’s belief shows his righteousness. Abram doesn’t have to DO anything to be considered righteous; just believe.

Then God gives the 2nd part of the promise to Abram. God gives Abram the land for his settlement. Abram responds this time by challenging God. It’s as if he says, “Yeah? Show me!” To me, it’s comforting to know that even someone whom God has just declared righteous because of his belief can still show doubt. At times, I’m afraid that I tell God, “Show me!” God does just that for Abram, in the form of a peculiar ritual with animals, birds, a smoking pot & a flaming torch—& it didn’t even end in a bar-b-q! I’m glad contracts & covenants are settled differently today. But God is much more generous than we can ever imagine. The land which God grants to Abram & his descendants encompasses all the territory of King David’s greatest conquests. God’s promise isn’t to the individual Abram but to the father of nations. God’s promise is to the covenant people. God provides all Abram needs to establish that covenant people—descendants & the land for them to develop. But Abram is called to respond—he has to embark on the journey to which God calls him.

As those who have read the pew bulletin cover already know, we’re focusing on Dietrich Bonhoeffer as spiritual guide on our Lenten journey this week. As Hitler gathered forces in Germany, Bonhoeffer was one of the few who saw the dangers of National Socialism & spoke out against it. His family had not been church-goers, disapproving of a Christian community opposed to change & with no concern for issues of social justice. Not until his visit to Rome in 1924 did he experience the reality of a true worshipping community & then, during his post-graduate year abroad studying at Union Theological Seminary in NYC, he worshipped often at the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem where he encountered the African-American Spirituals & the enthusiasm & reliance upon God with which those who sang them lived their lives. Because Bonhoeffer knew he could not just accept that reliance upon God & not respond with his life, he returned to Germany & eventually to imprisonment & death.

In his little book, The Cost of Discipleship, Bonhoeffer described Christians who accepted “cheap grace,” as he termed it: “Let the Christian rest content with his worldliness & with this renunciation of any higher standard than the world. He is living for the sake of the world rather than for the sake of grace. . . . Instead of following Christ, let the Christian enjoy the consolation of his grace. . . .’cheap grace’: the grace which amounts to the justification of sin without the justification of the repentant sinner who departs from sin & from whom sins depart. . . . Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves; . . . the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, communion without confession, absolution without personal confession. . . Cheap grace is grace without discipleship. . . without the cross. . .without Jesus Christ, living & incarnate.”

“Costly grace,” he continues, “is the treasure hidden in the field,. . . the pearl of great price. . . the gospel which must be sought again & again, the gift that must be asked for, the door at which we [sic. A man] must knock. Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow, & it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it costs us [sic a man] his life, & it is grace because it gives us [sic. a man] the only true life. It is costly because it condemns sin, & grace because it justifies the sinner. . . . Costly grace is the Incarnation of God.”

Bonhoeffer lived in a time & place where his death was the natural consequence of his boldly speaking out against hatred & intolerance. Our speaking our mind is probably not life-threatening, yet we accept cheap grace if we bury our heads in the sand & do not take seriously our baptismal promises, focusing today on the ones to “seek & serve Christ in all persons, loving our neighbor as ourselves” & to “strive for justice & peace among all people, respecting the dignity of every human being.” (BCP 304-5) Our world is in crisis, & regardless of how difficult we feel it is to make ends meet, on a world scale, we are all privileged. Our beloved Church is undergoing a crisis, & we are being asked to continue the discussion concerning our identity as American Episcopalians & within the Anglican Communion. How do we seek & learn & continue the discussion? Another baptismal covenant to which we respond “I will, with God’s help,” states, “Will you continue in the apostles’ teaching & fellowship, in the breaking of bread, & in the prayers?” (BCP 304) This is a basic description of a Christian community.

It probably won’t surprise you that my admonition is that we explore what it is to be a Christian in our society today in community. We here at Hope have brought together an exciting community of diversity & have spent nearly 2 years learning to live together. This Lent, we are presenting some opportunities to grow deeper in our faith through worship, prayer, spiritual disciplines, & food & fellowship together & to grow out into the community by taking & studying & embracing our Millennium Development Goals, actively joining the ONE campaign, & becoming familiar with ways we can help to heal the disparities in the world.

Thus far, response to our Lenten offerings has been limited, to put it mildly. I went home last Wednesday evening feeling like a complete failure as your pastor & shepherd after only 18 of us heard the excellent speaker from Lord of the Streets following worship & soup supper. How can we grow in community if the majority of the community doesn’t show, even during Lent. Briefly, it was about my ego & a little embarrassment after asking a friend to speak to such a small group.

However, I don’t want a large crowd to appear in order for the priest to feel better. I pray for there to be so much desire for us to be a force for good in this community that we would pack the parish house on Wednesdays, crowd into the nave for Stations on Fridays & for Eucharist on Sundays because that’s one way we become a more effective community & reach out to others. I understand there were a dozen or so at the Black Middle School support group yesterday. Hallelujah! (Oops, I’m not supposed to say that during Lent, am I?) Where else might our Lenten observances prepare us to be the inclusive community spreading God’s transforming love to all people as our Hope Mission Statement states? Yes, there is lots of other evidence that we are transforming lives—our own & hopefully others—in our little corner of the world.

As Jesus lamented over Jerusalem, he, too, must have felt disappointed that his 3 years of teaching & preaching & healing had had only mediocre success with even his own disciples. Their hearts resisted change, seeing the Messiah in a new way, & believing that Jesus had to set his face toward Jerusalem & withstand the passion which we focus on at this time of the liturgical year.

Author Frederick Buechner wrote in Listening to Your Life, “If the world is sane, then Jesus is mad as a hatter & the Last Supper is the Mad Tea Party. The world says, Mind your own business, & Jesus says, There is no such thing as your own business. The world says, Follow the wisest course & be a success, & Jesus says, Follow me & be crucified. The world says, Drive carefully—the life you save may be your own—& Jesus says, Whoever would save his life will lose it & whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. The world says, Law & order, & Jesus says, Love. The world says, Get & Jesus says, Give. In terms of the world’s sanity, Jesus is crazy as a coot, & anybody who thinks he can follow him without being a little crazy too is laboring less under a cross than under a delusion.”

Who are we, people of Hope, this Lent 2007? Who is Jesus Christ calling us to be? Sisters & brothers, how are we to be that inclusive community spreading God’s transforming love to all people? We have made an amazing beginning in the last two years. We are growing up. We are blessed. We are graced. Much will be required of us. Who will we be?

Lent I

By The Rev. Martha Frances+
Year C Lent I, 25 February 2007

Text: Luke 4: 1-13. Other Readings: Deuteronomy 26: 1-11; Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16; Romans 10:8b-13


We’re so used to this account of Jesus’ temptations in the wilderness that we may not recognize just how extraordinary it really is. What does it imply for our observance of a Holy Lent this year. We encounter Jesus immediately after his baptism when dove & voice from heaven have just affirmed Jesus as God’s only son, & he is full of the Holy Spirit. Poised on the brink of his public ministry, Jesus needs to make retreat before he begins to preach & teach & heal. I can certainly relate because I have a hard time finding even a week for retreat, & I’ll guarantee the only way Jesus is going to get 40 days away is to go before he gets to his first assignment.

There’s a deliberateness about the Spirit’s leading him into the desert; he doesn’t just wander out there. This retreat isn’t just a quiet time spent with God, however; he is out there all by himself & has to face himself, certainly a time when I find the devil coming out in my thoughts. Each temptation shows what sort of Messiah this Son of God is.

First is the temptation for a famished Jesus to give in to comfort & pleasure by turning stones into bread. Since God had done exactly that for Moses in the wilderness, it’s not such a far-fetched idea that the devil presents, is it? We all know we don’t do our best thinking when we haven’t had anything to eat, & Jesus has fasted for 40 days & nights. After all, think of all the good Jesus can do if he can make food appear to feed others as well as himself. JoAnn or Harold can tell us how handy it would be to be able to refill shelves at MANNA food pantry when they get low. So this first temptation is relevant, isn’t it? It would certainly be good for Jesus to be able to take care of the physical needs of those around him.

But Jesus isn’t sucked into the devil’s temptation for him to be a miracle-worker. Jesus quotes the Hebrew scripture to remind the devil that it takes more than bread to really live, as Eugene Peterson puts it. This is certainly a reminder that most addictions start out very innocently, by our enjoying a substance or behavior which we eventually come to depend upon & make into a god. Bread—or food—is a good thing; it’s the overdependence upon it that is dangerous. Certainly, caring for another person is admirable. However, doing for other people what they can do for themselves ties both parties to an unhealthy relationship but also keeps either party from growing into the person whom God intended her or him to be. Overspending, gambling, workaholism, compulsive behaviors, inappropriate sexual relationships—all these are ways in which we are tempted by the pleasure principle. Which is most tempting to you?

The 2nd temptation is one especially relevant in today’s world: the temptation to power. The devil offers something he says has been given over to him: worldly authority. St. Paul calls this the principalities & powers—political or social or even religious power. The devil doesn’t want only allegiance from Jesus but actually asks Jesus to worship him.

Not many here today have much power as the world knows it, but I’ll bet each of us feels the allure of possessions at times, for those things which we don’t have & which they would cost our souls a lot to obtain? How many of us have often thought, “I would really be generous with my money if I just had my house paid for or a new car.” The worship of the devil of possessions can be our most common temptation. Let’s not assume, just because none of us worked for Enron or had stock in it, that we aren’t tempted by power & possessions. Jesus’ temptations were not unlike those which happen to us every day.

Finally, the devil takes Jesus to the very top of the Jerusalem temple & offers him a golden opportunity: the chance to win people over by glory & spectacle. The devil tempts Jesus to throw himself off the highest tower & force God into rescuing him, thus showcasing God’s power for all who see it. This is the temptation not only to get credit for doing something very good but to win followers in the midst of it all. Luke sets this temptation last because for Luke, everything begins & ends at the Jerusalem temple. “After all,” Jesus might say, “I only did it to prove how much God loves me, & you, too. It’s all for a good cause.”

The devil uses the oldest trick in the book in this temptation: he quotes scripture. Rather, he MIS-quotes Psalm 91, even one of the verses we recited this morning: “he shall give his angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways.” Mis-quoting of scripture, either when one doesn’t understand it him or herself or deliberately distorting it, is incredibly popular behavior. How many of us have never done something very good for all the wrong reasons?

Jesus responds with another quote from scripture, “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.” What more can be said after this? How often do we try to bargain with God? Have you ever said, “O God, just get me out of this scrape & I’ll promise to go to church every Sunday, or tithe, or stay faithful to my spouse?”

A close cousin to this type of thinking is the person who says, when faced with tragedy, “Why me?” I think this temptation scene answers that. If Jesus struggled with temptations, who is exempt? After all, Jesus has just given himself to be baptized by John in the Jordan—he’s shown his full commitment to God—yet he’s still tempted. Why do we think it won’t happen to us? Clearly, temptations are simply part of life, an opportunity to indicate what loyalty is most important to us. In just this way, Jesus totally identifies with the rest of humanity. Jesus knows the depth of our temptations. He’s gone through them himself—& has prevailed. He has already won the victory for us.

During this week, we’re looking for inspiration to Dr. Martin Luther King in growing spiritually during Lent. How many times he must have thought, “I just need to go home & take care of my family & my church family. Others will have to march.” He tells in his writings that this was a constant temptation, yet he knew there was no one else who could hold together the tenets of non-violence along with an adequate face of protest. He told Anglo clergy leaders in his “Letter from the Birmingham Jail” that he was most disappointed in those moderate church people because of their silence. How many times have we kept silent & hoped others would stick their necks out for what we knew was right yet was uncomfortable? King could not stand by silently & call others to speak out, also.

Can we withstand temptation? Certainly not on our own. Surely we should know by now that Jesus expects us to call upon him to strengthen us to withstand temptation. Why do we wait until we’ve tried it on our own & failed to turn to him & have really gotten ourselves into a pickle? What are we waiting for? St. Paul tells us clearly what the criterion is: “if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord & believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

Who is included in this salvation? All of us. Paul tells us also that there’s no distinction between Jew & Greek. MLK reminded us that meant our neighbors whom we would most like to rule out. Our current church debates in the national Episcopal Church & in the worldwide Anglican communion are, at one level at least, about whom we draw inside our circle & whom we exclude. Jesus came for us all, every one of us, & desires the gifts each of us share.

So, once we declare our hearts for Jesus Christ as Lord, our testing & temptations are over; right? Heavens, no! Look at the way the gospel for today ends: “When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until the opportune time.” Even Jesus wasn’t through with the devil after the 3 temptations. We have the rest of the story, so we know that withstanding temptations is a lifelong business & that “the opportune time” is usually when we least expect it & are most vulnerable to it.

Therefore, we’re back 360 degrees to the reason why we need to experience the 40 days of Lent faithfully every year. As we turn to our own inner lives & try to lay ourselves open to the healing love of Christ during these next several weeks, we walk in solidarity with Christ—as well as with Martin Luther King—& to follow certain disciplines which help us to better withstand the temptations of the world, the flesh, & the devil. This week we’re focusing on discerning God’s purpose for our lives, or at least for this segment of them. We know that we’ll be tempted, Lord knows—literally—just as Jesus was, yet we gather together to withstand the love of possessions, of power & of hope of glory. How do we overcome the temptation to stand quietly in the midst of injustice & say nothing?

I hope that you have chosen some disciplines of prayer, study & action to sustain you through this Lenten season. If not, it’s not too late. If you don’t exactly know what to choose, hang around here on Wed nights & Sun mornings & perhaps even for Stations of the Cross on Friday evenings. May you meditate this week on your own brand of temptations & Christ’s offer to stand in solidarity with us through them.