Deuteronomy 26:1-11
Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16
Luke 4:1-13
“Trusting God in the Wilderness”
On this first Sunday in the season of Lent, we are given the story of Jesus’ forty days in the wilderness being tempted by the devil. This story is probably the reason why the church chose to make the season of Lent last forty days. From Ash Wednesday to Holy Saturday (the day before Easter), excluding the Sundays, Lent is forty days in which Christians are encouraged to pray, fast, and give.
And Jesus’ forty days in the wilderness before he began his ministry was likely intended to remind Jewish Christians of the forty years that their people spent in the wilderness, after escaping from Egypt, and before finding their way into the Promised Land.
Those wilderness times, whether measured in days or in years, had a lot in common. First of all, they both included struggle and hardship. Besides not having the usual comforts of home, there wasn’t much to eat, and finding essential things like water was very difficult.
You may remember that God provided the basics when they were needed, but the Hebrew People didn’t get anything extra to store up. They had to trust God day-by-day that they were going to be alright. And we are told that in Jesus’ forty days, he ate nothing at all, and he was famished.
In addition to the physical challenges and discomforts, the wilderness was a spiritually challenging place. The wandering and the waiting were hard on the Hebrew People. And although God was guiding them and speaking to them through Moses quite a bit, their patience and trust waned at times, and they were tempted to look for other “gods” to worship and to ask for help.
Likewise, even Jesus experienced temptations during his wilderness days. He was tempted to use his own power to solve the problem of “no food,” he was tempted to worship the devil in order to gain authority over the whole world, and he was tempted to test God to see if God loved him enough to protect him from harm.
During the season of Lent, sometimes Christians make commitments to spiritual disciplines like prayer, fasting, and giving alms. And just as quickly as we stray from our New Year’s resolutions, we may be tempted to give up the disciplines that we have decided to take on during this holy season.
If that’s already happened to you between Wednesday and today, or if it happens tomorrow, don’t give up. If there’s one thing we can learn from God’s treatment of the Hebrew People in the wilderness, it’s that God was never going to give up on them. No matter how often they turned away, worshiped other gods, or doubted God’s presence or love for them, God always came through.
God forgave them, God supplied their needs and strengthened them, God never left them. God gifted them with the commandments and laws to teach them how to live well with one another, and led them through the wilderness years and into the land and the life God had promised.
And there’s another thing that the two wilderness stories have in common. It’s that God spoke to the people in those days. The Hebrews received the Ten Commandments, and much more wisdom and guidance for how to live in love with God and one another. And Jesus, who knew those laws and wisdom books like the back of his hand, found help and strength when he recalled them in the face of his temptations.
When he was feeling the pain of hunger, he remembered, “One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from God.”
When he was tempted to grab power with the devil’s help, he remembered his commitment to “Worship the Lord who is God, and serve only him.”
And when he doubted God’s presence and care for him, he nonetheless remembered God’s commandment, “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”
Sometimes very enthusiastic and pious Christians will follow Jesus’ lead by studying Scripture and memorizing verses that they can use when temptations come their way. Jesus demonstrates that whatever difficulties we face, there’s probably a verse of Scripture for that, and he knows the commandments so well that he can think of the right one just like that!
Over the years, I’ve preached several sermons that encouraged my congregations to spend time reading and reflecting on the Bible through Lent, which is always a good thing to do. But the purpose is not to arm ourselves with proof texts against the devil’s temptations, but to draw close to God, to grow in faith, and to practice trusting God through the challenging times.
In my chat with the children this morning, I shared about how I was remembering the beginning of the pandemic five years ago this week. In a way, it feels like it was just yesterday, but in another way it feels like a lifetime ago.
I remember the feelings of fear and worry about so many people getting sick. I remember the isolation and the loneliness of working from home or online. I remember the stress of trying to pivot and find new ways of doing ministry. I remember the concern and empathy for essential workers who couldn’t “shelter in place”, for children and parents and teachers trying to keep learning when school was canceled, and for health care workers and vulnerable people who had the greatest risk.
But more than all that, I remember how we go through it. Like the Israelites remembering how God sent Moses to lead them out of slavery, across the sea, through the wilderness, and into the Promised Land… I remember how God went with us through those days, months, and yes, it lasted years.
I remember the extra phone calls and Zoom chats. I remember the outside visits and front-porch gift drop-offs. I remember how so many people worked hard to care for those most vulnerable and to cheer and support those on the front lines. I remember the constant flow of updates, advice, and encouragement, and even financial support from provincial and national leaders. And I remember how we, as the church, clung to our faith, placed our trust in God, and encouraged each other not to give up, even though we had no idea how long the situation would last.
When life is good and things are going well for us, today’s text from Deuteronomy invites us to remember our past wilderness times, and to give thanks to God for our many blessings. Indeed, it suggests that we could give a portion of our abundance as a thanksgiving offering in gratitude for God’s goodness and faithfulness to us.
Yesterday, when a bunch of us gathered for Messy Church – doing crafts, singing songs, laughing and playing and sharing food together – my heart was overflowing with joy and thanksgiving for the simple reality that we can do that now. We can hold hands, and we can hug, and we can gather children, and adults, and elders together in Christian community.
But we are also invited to remember those wilderness times, as the Israelites did, when more trouble comes our way and we’re starting to wonder whether we will get through it.
The last several months have been a new kind of difficult for us and for the world, haven’t they? Although most of us have not been directly impacted yet, the things we see happening in the United States, the threats that are being made against our country of Canada, and the potential implications for international relations are all deeply unsettling and worrying.
On the inauguration day in January, at the National Cathedral in Washington, Bishop Marianne Budde personally pleaded with the President to have mercy on the vulnerable people who would be so deeply harmed by his proposed plans, and she received a lot of push-back as if preaching about such things was inappropriate.
She saw that migrants, undocumented people, poor people, and LGBTQI+ people were likely to suffer under the new administration, and she was right. But in the weeks since her sermon, we’ve all seen that it is going to be much, much worse than any of us could have imagined.
Many people have compared the current situation to Germany in the 1930s, and begun to grapple with what people of good will can do to speak, to act, and to advocate for goodness and righteousness in these days. The churches too – probably especially the churches in the U.S. – but also the churches around the world will need to discern how God is calling us to speak and act today and in the months ahead. And undoubtedly, we will be called to step up and do more, to help more, to care more for whoever will be suffering most in the time to come.
If this is our next wilderness time as a country or even as a global community, as Christians we must be determined to remember our past. We must remember how God has been with us and helped us through the wilderness before. We must remember how God spoke to us and guided us through difficult and disheartening situations and circumstances. We must stay close to God through prayer, through reading God’s Word, and gathering in Christian community. And we must place our trust in God, who will never leave us or forsake us.
In our Lenten Devotional conversation this week, someone noticed the last verse of the Gospel reading where it says: “When the devil had finished every test, he departed from Jesus until an opportune time.” That line foreshadows the fact that Jesus would face further trials, temptations, and terrible struggles in the future. And the same is true for us.
But just as God’s Spirit strengthened and guided Jesus through the hardest temptations, the most devastating circumstances, and the worst pain of his life, God will be with us to help us find our way and hold us up throughout our journey. Let’s remember that through Lent this year, and in the seasons to come.