“At that time Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. He fasted for forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was hungry.” Jesus is led away from family, friends, even physical sustenance and he is hungry. Yet Jesus has been led by the Spirit to this deprivation, to this demon and its temptations. Jesus engages with the demon having no other support and only the One essence of communion that led him to the engagement – the Spirit. It may be Jesus’ first demonic engagement but it will not be his last. The journey from Jesus’ first demonic engagement to his last is called Lent.
The priestly class’ Lent mistakenly enhances the devil and our being tempted toward only personal sin and our need to personally resist. As the Gospel describes it, Lent is a Spirit led personal and social journey through the worst of devils and their temptations. The first temptation: “If you are the Child of God, command these stones become loaves of bread.” Do we live by our appetites alone, tempted toward sugar or screens or anger and willing to use any social resource to satisfy our personal appetites? Our Lenten journey wisely tells us we are led by the Spirit to engage with any demons that act against one and all. The second temptation: “If you are the Child of God, throw yourself down… angels will rescue you.” Do we use the priestly class’ God and his angels to support our privilege, protection, and salvation while believing he denies, attacks, and damns others? Our Lenten journey wisely tells us our whole human family is led by the Spirit without favoritism. The third temptation: “All the kingdoms of the world… All these I shall give to you, if you will prostrate yourself and worship me.” Do we live in reference to the kingdoms of the world and thus prostrate ourselves ourselves before the devil and reject the Spirit? Our Lenten journey, therefore, also tells us we are led by the Spirit to engage with the devil that are the kingdoms of this world. The worldly kingdoms are so appetitive, so presumed, and we are so incessantly tempted to bow down before them as holy. To consider the kingdoms of the world as devilish, meaning adversarial to our humanity, is likely a difficult truth for citizens of the U.S. Empire. The U.S. kingdom demonically deprives people of needful resources, demonically provides the privileged with favor, and demonically coerces us to worship its kingdom and those who kill for it – all the while we call ourselves Christian.
Being led by the Spirit through the worst of the Lenten journey means confronting the demon U.S. kingdom. Worshipers of the U.S. kingdom may tell us to ‘love it or leave it.’ They may tell us we don’t belong here and to ‘go back to where you came from’. Some may tell us ‘it’s the sacrifices of men in the military that defend our freedom to speak such tripe.’ If so, we can remind them of the full Lenten journey. It ends with men in the military who prostrate themselves before the devil’s “kingdoms of the world” and kill for them. It ends with soldiers killing Jesus on the cross, on behalf of a kingdom. Are we ready to be led by the Spirit to face the devil that is this U.S. kingdom?
Prayer: Spirit, lead us through this Lenten journey.
Question: What gives me courage to engage with the Lenten journey, beginning to end?
March 01, 2020 Gospel Matthew 4:1-11 First Sunday of Lent