Monday Manna
Temptations and a Sweeping Victory...
Good morning, friends, and deep love to you as we enter into this first week of Lent…
Let’s talk about temptation…
There’s a very dramatic story in the Bible we read every year the first week of Lent. It’s the account from Matthew 4 where Jesus, before beginning his public ministry, goes into the wilderness/desert for forty days to fast and pray. During this stretching and strenuous time, the devil, or the “tempter,” appears, challenging Jesus with three very specific temptations.
With each temptation, the devil is challenging Jesus to prove he is the Son of God….
If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread…
If you are the Son of God, jump off (the highest point of the Temple) for the angels will protect you…
And then lastly, after bringing Jesus to the peak of a very high mountain and showing him all glittering kingdoms of the world, the devil says,
I will give it all to you if you will kneel down and worship me.
We may remember that to each and every one of these temptations, Jesus uses not his own words, but the ancient words of Scripture…
The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God…
The Scriptures say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God’…
The Scriptures say, ‘You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him…
In each and every temptation, Jesus remembers who he loves and who he is. Each and every response is founded in a love of God and a claiming of identity.
Last week, I listened to a beautiful devotion from Lectio365* on this story which I have returned to throughout the week. It compelled me to pull out my dad’s old copy of Dutch priest Henri Nouwen’s book, In the Name of Jesus, based on this story of Jesus’ time of testing.
In his book, Nouwen contemporizes these temptations Jesus faces in a way I find to be both profound and resonant:
The temptation to be relevant (bread is exactly what Jesus needed when he was famished)
The temptation to be spectacular (angels swooping in to deliver him would be just the thing to dazzle a crowd)
The temptation to wield power (imagine how it would feel to rule all the kingdoms of the world and their glory…)
When we frame these temptations in this way — to be relevant, spectacular (or maybe more helpful to say “popular”), and powerful, I can immediately locate my own self and heart here. These are all things we are culturally taught not only to want, but serve as signposts of a “successful” and meaningful life.
The devotion I listened to pointed me to Nouwen’s three very tangible and practical ways to counter these temptations.
In response to relevance, he offers contemplative prayer (what could seem more irrelevant to a world on fire than someone sitting by themselves praying and “just” enjoying the loving presence of God?)
Eeek, this one is hard — as an antidote to being popular/spectacular, Nouwen calls us to a confession of sin (being completely honest about any shame we’re carrying in the presence of someone else has such power to return our ego to rightful size).
And then lastly, for the siren song of power, Nouwen invites us to personal study (devotional and theological reading can help realign our priorities with those of God rather than the culture around us and give us a different lens for seeing our lives and the world).
I wonder if any of these temptations — relevance, popularity, and power — as well as any of these antidotes — contemplative prayer, confession of sin, and personal study — especially tap on your heart’s door this week?
Along those lines, I want to invite you to follow in Jesus’ footsteps. Jesus called on the promises and truths of ancient words many before him had read and prayed, and we can do the same. We are never facing anything alone. And facing these temptations is not about girding up our own power, but calling on the deeper power of God that lives within us. This last week, I have been coming back to the CEB translation of Romans 8:37…
“But in all these things, we win a sweeping victory through the one who loved us.”
This verse has also helped reframe how I view fasting, a common practice many engage with during Lent. Fasting is not just about going without something so we can focus more on God and our need for God, it is also a form of defiance. Saying no to that thing — often one we are convinced we should have, rightly so — is an act of defiance against the incessant temptations of the “principalities and powers” (Romans 8). We are claiming that God’s power within us is more powerful, and channeling that.
God is doing a good and beautiful work in you, friends, and I pray this Lenten journey will be a time when you experience and embrace that at an even deeper, richer level. If nothing else, just come back to the loving presence of Jesus who is with you and for you, every step of the way.
*See the Lectio365 app here, and the devotional I reference is the one for Feb. 16
*Henri Nowen, “In the Name of Jesus: Reflections on Christian Leadership,” Crossroad Publishing Company, 1989.
A Prayer
For our Lenten journey, here is my prayer “For Lent,” from my book, Ash and Starlight: Prayers for the Chaos and Grace of Daily Life, Second Edition.
For Lent
Redeeming One,
You came, Jesus, to show me the
best way to live and walk this path.
You let yourself feel the depth
of need surrounding you.
You kept a purity of focus.
You always, always chose love.
All with bravery and trust.
I need you, Jesus, to walk
beside me now,
helping me reflect,
confess, prepare…
This Lenten path puts before me
the questions and realizations
I so often stuff away.
With each step, I’m recognizing
barriers built through my
rote habits and unrealized prejudices,
my baseline grudges and routine neglects…
I must acknowledge compromises
that drew me further away
from my own soul and your calling.
But, I’m coming back home.
Hone my desires to that
pure focus you held.
Help me fast from self-absorption,
finding my sustenance in the
rich profundity of suffering-love.
Draw my heart and feet forward
on this path that’s both total mystery
and innate to who I am in you.
A minor melody marks our cadence,
yet you tune my ears for more than that.
Resurrection is always the final number.
Help me walk, Savior Lord,
with hope amid heaviness,
ears to the ground.
I will welcome my mortality
and the potential in ashes and dust.
Amen.
Psalm 51:17 * Isaiah 53:4–6 * Luke 9:23–24
“If any want to become my followers, let them deny them-
selves and take up their cross daily and follow me.”
—Luke 9:23
Something that nourished me recently…
*Most days, I have David Tolk piano music on in the background, and this Lent playlist has a lot of him in it. I’ve really been enjoying it. Good for the HSP (Highly Sensitive Person)…
*Just this last week, the amaryllis a sweet friend passed on to me bloomed. It’s beauty and hope are a tangible sign I am returning to right now…the promise there is always, always, always resurrection.
*Receiving ashes from my partner in life and all things…thanks, Mark, for capturing the moment.
Ash and Starlight, plus other good things…
* MY ETSY SHOP ~ I have cards, prints, clothes, blankets, and pillows all for sale in my Etsy shop which you can view here . I send portions of sales in my Etsy shop to World Central Kitchen which provides hunger relief.
*SECOND EDITION OF ASH AND STARLIGHT ~ Find the updated edition of my book here at Chalice or at the Bookshop link.
*MONDAY MANNA ARCHIVES ~ Monday Manna each week is free! Paid supporters of Monday Manna can view previous Monday Manna reflections here, or for the really old stuff, go to my website.
*WHAT DOES MANNA MEAN? ~ Check out an earlier post to learn how this little bit of “daily bread” got its name…
Remember, friends…“But in all these things, we win a sweeping victory through the one who loved us.” Jesus is with you this week…
Love and Light,
Arianne
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Reading your Prayer for Lent at the end of your message was even more meaningful having read it the last several nights from your book. Your words are so inspiring. Your choice of words continues to lift me up and broaden my prayer life. Thank you, Arianne!
Thank you Arianne. A very helpful meditation this first week of Lent.
Jim Weyrens