The
Readings for the First Sunday in Lent are chosen to help us prepare ourselves
spiritually for the celebration of Easter through a time of deep self
examination, repentance and confession. The goal is not to make us feel guilty
but to help us draw nearer to God by overcoming the things – particularly the temptations
to sin; that distract us and pollute our personal spirits and so we cannot survive
in the presence of God who is holy.
- The Deuteronomy Reading (26.1-11)
reminds us of our Old Testament Covenant and Baptism obligation to give
thanks and acknowledge God as the one who gives us life.
- Psalm 91 reminds us that God also gives us protection and refuge in a dangerous world.
1. In Romans 10.8-13 we
learn how God’s forgiveness of sin works
First
of all we are told that the “Word” is near us, in our hearts. We do not have to
go to a special place such as Israel or India. God wants an emotional
relationship in our hearts – our soul and spirit. But God is so holy, pure and
undivided He cannot be where there is spiritual pollution. Spiritual pollution
would burn up in the fire of God’s holy love. This is why we all need to
clearly understand and believe in the legal and spiritual process of “justification:
- Depends on “declaring with your mouth that Jesus is Lord. And believing in
your heart that God raised Him from the dead” (v.9)
- Core of Christianity - a summary that
means we believe in and depend on all the teachings of the New Testament
- Including that Jesus died for the sins
of the whole world and that God raised Him to a new form of spiritual life
as a sign of hope for us
- Resurrection at Easter was God’s yes to the
promise that God would consider Jesus death as full payment for the
sin-guilt of anyone who believed - as shown in repenting and asking Jesus
for forgiveness
- Justification by Faith = unjust made to
be just – in right-relationship
- This is the Good News – process of removing spiritual
pollution so our personal Spirit can survive in the fire of God’s holy
love.
2. Jesus Temptations (Luke
4.1-13) made Him spiritually stronger
The
Gospel story of Jesus being tempted by the Devil teaches us how to see through
the deceptions of the Evil One and resist the temptations of our physical,
emotional and spiritual needs:
·
First there is an irresistible
taunt that questions Jesus identity and mission – “if you are the son of God…”
·
Second there is a need that is hard to resist – Jesus is
starving to death / Jesus wants to change the world / Jesus wants to show the
power and glory of God to the world
·
Third is the price – by giving in to these very
attractive temptations Jesus would be diverted from His identity as Son of God
and Saviour – Satan would win, we would have no hope of Salvation from the consequences of our sins and
spiritual life
3. Self-examination
question: “in what small ways am I tempted by materialism, avarice and
gluttony?”
Lent
is a time to focus more deeply on examining our lives and preparing more diligently
for the Confession and Absolution offered in our worship services. For most of
us it is the small and apparently minor shortcuts we take in life that tempt us
into gradually polluting our personal Spirits. We need a healthy balance
between honestly admitting our failures and not becoming hopelessly overwhelmed
and shamed by them.
- Materialism,
Avarice and Gluttony pollute our Spirit by distracting
us from love of God, others and Self – the “Me Generation”
- Loose our purpose, meaning and identity
as a Spirit that is in a love
relationship with God – and has temporary physical body
- Children can grow up from pure spirits connected to
God into adults that have been distracted, wounded and spiritually
polluted by the desires of their bodies
- Personal spiritual pollution means that
ultimately the Spirit could burn up and could not live in the presence of
God who is holy
4. What emotional needs
tempt us: Envy, Jealousy, Lust and Coveting?
We
all want more. The question is are we willing to sacrifice our relationship
with God to get that more?. The question for self-examination is – “in what
ways have I failed to keep the Commandments to love and honour God above
everything else?”
5. What spiritual needs
tempt us: Pride is the first sin
Jesus
realizes that by jumping off the Temple and being rescued, everyone would recognize Him as Messiah and he could
avoid the pain of the Cross.
·
By avoiding the Cross Jesus mission
would have been defeated
·
We would have no personal Saviour,
no way to new Spiritual Life
Jesus
grows spiritually through these
temptations by staying focused on God and His purpose and mission.
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