First Sunday in Lent (Year A)
February 26, 2023
St. Paul Lutheran, Terryville, CT & Our Savior Lutheran, Thomaston, CT
Link to Facebook recording of worship at Our Savior, Thomaston: https://fb.watch/iYHbLqAzfC/
15The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it. 16And the Lord God commanded the man, “You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; 17but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die.”
3:1Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God say, ‘You shall not eat from any tree in the garden’?” 2The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; 3but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you shall die.’ ” 4But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not die; 5for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate. 7Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves. – Genesis 2:15-17, 3:1-7
1Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. 3The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” 4But he answered, “It is written,
‘One does not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ”
5Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written,
‘He will command his angels concerning you,’
and ‘On their hands they will bear you up,
so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’ ”
7Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ”
8Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor; 9and he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” 10Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! for it is written,
‘Worship the Lord your God,
and serve only him.’ ”
11Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him. – Matthew 4:1-11
There is a very dangerous phrase that is probably part of our vocabulary, something we say without thinking and probably with some regularity. That phrase is “If only…”
“If only I had a 5% raise, or another $1000, or another $1 million…”
“If only I had an extra hour in the day.”
“If only I had made a different decision that fateful day.”
And here’s one I hear in my work all the time: “If only we had 10 new members and another $20,000 in annual offerings.”
If only…It seems so innocuous, right? It’s just a wish, a dream, a hope. Something perhaps to strive for. But it catches us longing for something different that we often have little control over. It comes, I think as a symptom of living in a society shaped by consumerism. It is instilled in us from the youngest of ages to want just a little more. And as soon as we get it to want a little more than that, then a little more and a little more and… One day we realize we can never be satisfied with what we have.
Maybe we play the lottery dreaming of what we could do with lots more money in our bank accounts. Maybe we dream of fame and success, being recognized as the best and brightest in whatever our chosen field of work or hobby. We live in a society that is so shaped by productivity that one of the first questions we ask of children is what they want to be when they grow up, as if we need to imagine more from them than simply being children in the moment.
Our prevailing North American culture has done an insidious job of instilling a dissatisfaction with the present, with what is – always driving us to want more, be more, do more.
And isn’t that what the serpent suggests to Adam and Eve – don’t you want to be more? What you have isn’t good enough. What you have isn’t enough. Just give it a try. They have everything they could ask for, a life of abundant ease and still that voice tempts: If only we had one more thing…
And isn’t that what the the devil says to Jesus, too? Unlike the well-fed Adam and Eve, he’s been fasting in the wilderness. And the devil comes to tempt him. The suggestions seem almost innocuous, at least at first. What could be wrong with conjuring up a little bread to eat? Certainly Jesus himself will later multiply the loaves to feed those who are hungry. And what’s the harm in a little test of the angels’ power. And, honestly, what if Jesus were in charge of all the earthly kingdoms? Wouldn’t that bring us peace on earth?
But subtly, each time the tempter suggests dissatisfaction with what is. Wouldn’t you like things to be a little different, Jesus? If only we had a little bread. If only we could prove God’s power. If only we had a little more power. If only…
It’s quite literally the oldest trick in the book – If only you had a little bit more.
But what if we attuned to what we already have here and now? I know I have to stop myself sometimes thinking about buying something I don’t really need that won’t really make me happier. I have to stop myself from “if only…” thinking about my work, my child’s school experience, my home, and so many other things. It’s so easy to slip into that thinking and miss the incredible gifts I already have.
And it’s so very true of the life of our congregations in this time. I don’t like to make generalizations, but I think it might be true that every congregation I visit shares some form of subtle or overt “if only…” thinking. Almost every congregation would love to have more people, a bigger budget, more energy, more younger families, more outreach, more, more, more.
Now, yes, Jesus gives us a great commission to share the good news to the ends of the earth. And that calls us to important work of reaching out to others. But nothing in that call mentions membership numbers or budgets, building up particular congregations or denominations.
How would our congregations be different if we lived into who we are now. You all at St. Paul and Our Savior are on the frontlines of an emerging church. I know it’s not easy at times. There are times the schedule and logistics are complicated. But you’re living into that great commission with what you have now. Figuring out what it means to be community together and discovering the gifts that come from partnership. They’re different gifts, I think, than the ones that come from the fewer and fewer larger congregations with bigger budgets and more people. Not better or worse, just different. I think there’s creativity and flexibility that emerge when you partner like this – things that serve the gospel well. There are gifts like the capacity to share not just a pastor but staff. There are gifts in the way each congregation’s strengths help build up and shape the other for even richer ministry?
Because if the questions are only about more people, more money, more power, or trying to reclaim what we know from the past. Even when it seems innocuous or even for a good cause, we might pause and ask where that voice is really coming from. But if the questions are about deeper relationship, more equitable justice, increased care for neighbor, the extension of grace, that might be more the voice we want to tune into this Lent. Because that’s what Jesus is about. Jesus is about lifting up the lowly, scattering the proud, upending systems of power and oppression, even, especially about entering death in order to find life. If we are to talk about the way of the cross in Lent it’s about, in part, dying to that voice that is always suggesting what else we could do, what else we could be, what else we could get if only…
Instead we might ask ourselves, “Where is God in this? And what might God be doing here and now?” Because despite the voices that draw our attention elsewhere, I believe God is in it, whatever it is we’re experiencing, wherever we find ourselves. And that is the work of Lent, to tune in and notice like a scientist, a detective, an artist, a poet – take your pick – to the big and little ways God is raising up new life among what is often a narrative of loss and death. Because the voice of the tempter is often loud and persistent. It is often enticing and seductive. But the voice of God is steadfast. And even when the call is to the way of the cross, and often not what we think we want in the moment, God pursues us every step of our journey until sooner or later we do face death and meet God’s life there.
-Pastor Steven Wilco
Stewarding the Word 