lenten blog | March 8, 2025

Really? Yeah, But Differently

Throughout the year, the Southern New England Conference of the United Church of Christ reproduces the Daily Lectionary for use by churches.  These are the suggested readings for March 8th:  Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16; Ecclesiastes 3:1-8; and John 12:27-36.  I would encourage you to read these short selections as part of your Lenten practice.

Tomorrow’s Gospel selection shares Luke’s account of Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness.  I find the variations of this account fascinating and so intriguing that I am left stunned by them every Lent.  I read them as Jesus’ psychological/spiritual struggles that are put into mythical language.  I do not believe that there was an actual wilderness dialogue between Jesus and Satan where the devil tempts Jesus and also interrogates Him to see if Jesus is the actual Messiah:  “‘If you are …’”  I think Jesus’ personal struggles with the growing realization of His identity and His call are far more profound than conversations with a fallen angel.  I think the internal struggle preserves Jesus’ authentic human nature in a way that supernatural conversations cannot. 

Luke is rather tactile in his words.  For example, he writes just prior to the temptation that “the Holy Spirit descended upon [Jesus] in bodily form like a dove.” (3:22)  Do we really need to accept that a warm-blooded, feathery friend landed on Jesus to believe that the Holy Spirit was present, he asked rhetorically.  Likewise, do we really need to accept that Satan “led [Jesus] up” (4:5) and showed him every worldly kingdom.  At least Matthew gives us a mountain.  Is Luke implying something akin to floating in the sky?  Do we really need to accept that Satan drags Jesus down from the sky and places the two of them balancing “on the pinnacle of the temple” (4:9)?  Such things distract me from the greater meaning they are trying to convey of Jesus’ inner struggles, which had to be mightily challenging, and which bring His example closer to our own.

In this context, it is interesting to imagine that Satan can quote biblical verse.  You won’t find this anywhere else than the temptation story that Matthew and Luke share and adapt.  The passage the devil quotes is from today’s Psalm (cf. Luke 4:10, 11).  This is a Psalm of the assurance of God’s protection that promises the faithful “no evil shall befall you, no scourge come near your tent.” 

In other words, Satan is depicted as testing Jesus’ faith by quoting God’s words back at Him that the good will not suffer evil.  Oh if faith were only so straightforward.  The obvious truth, however, to anyone who bothers to look, is that life is random.  The good can suffer and the bad can succeed.  This is such a blatant and timeless and repeated threat to the faith of those who believe that this is the way God should work that it comes out of Satan’s mouth. 

Jesus hears these words, possibly struggling with them spiritually as He ponders the goodness of God in the face of so much evil and accident, and Jesus comes to realize that faith is not akin to hiring a supernatural bodyguard.  Jesus knows these words of promised protection, that God is present always and even in the worst of times, but that does not equal God’s favourtism.  Nor will it protect Jesus from His enemies and what they will do to Him. 

As we prepare for the First Sunday of Lent worship, this Gospel offers the faithful the chance to ask and struggle with the idea that God’s love and care are defined in maybe unexpected ways, but they are not denied.  If you would like to join us at church for another take on this Gospel passage, we gather at 9:30am and all are welcome.  If you would prefer to join online, send an email to [email protected] for the Zoom login.

If you would like to join us for our online Bible study, please send an email to [email protected] for the Zoom logins.
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If you’d like, here is the link to the Southern New England Conference’s daily reading schedule:  www.sneucc.org/lectionary.