You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's epistle reading is here.
The reading from Paul’s letter to the church in Rome appointed for Sunday is convoluted in language but deeply important in message, as Paul expresses a basic human conundrum: “I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.”
This plight will be familiar to anyone who’s ever found himself unable to put down the ice cream container, or stick to one cocktail, or stop herself from telling someone else’s secret… we know what “right” is in most circumstances, and sometimes we just watch ourselves walk right over to the “wrong” side of town. “For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do.”
Paul sees two forces at work in himself, two competing laws – the law of God, or spirit; and the law of the mind, or “flesh.” Describing the turmoil wrought by the effort to navigate these skirmishes, he ends up with a cry from the heart we’ve all felt at some point or other, especially when faced with the consequences of our choices: “Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?”
His answer is close at hand: “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” The way to stop the cycle of self-destructiveness when we’re in its grip is not to try harder, but to surrender more to the one force in the universe more powerful than our own desires: the God who made us, who sent his Son among us to draw us into a relationship in which our internal battles are overwhelmed by Love. As any recovering addict will tell you, will power doesn't get us very far; surrender to help allows us to go the distance.
God’s power is right here – power to resist evil, turn away from temptation, turn to life instead of death. The only thing we need do is invoke the power of God: "Jesus, be here now!” That was my prayer once when I’d fallen down a flight of stairs; it should be my prayer every time I struggle with choosing the best course.
Let’s not forget the loving invitation we’ve been looking at from our Gospel reading this week: “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”
Turning toward Jesus, calling on the power of the Holy Spirit to fill and transform our desires gets easier the more we do it. It takes a while for anything to become habitual, but with practice, this can become our first response. Just as oxen that are yoked to a cart have to travel together, spirits that are yoked to Christ no longer try to go their own ways but follow his.
© Kate Heichler, 2026. To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Here are the bible readings for next Sunday. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.
Showing posts with label temptation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label temptation. Show all posts
2-17-26 - Hunger
You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.
What were the temptations that Jesus faced in the desert? This year we hear Matthew’s version, which begins simply: “Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished.” Ya think?
After Jesus has spent over a month fasting and praying, and perhaps fending off temptations we don’t know about, the devil brings on the big guns. He begins with the most obvious area of need – physical hunger: The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
Jesus did not refuse because he wasn’t hungry, nor because his power was limited – at other times, he readily commands molecules, plants and animals. I believe he was unwilling to employ the power he possessed on a party trick or to prove his identity. That power in him – which, by faith, is also in us, when we but trust it – is connected to the will of the Father. Maybe Jesus was unwilling to try to bend the will of God to this end for an audience and purpose so unworthy of it.
Once again, the temptation begins with an attempt to undermine the target’s sense of self: “If you are the Son of God…” Jesus is too smart to fall for it. We aren’t always so confident. If we remembered who we are, and whose we are as beloved children of the Living God, we might not be so prone to taking matters into our own hands or falling into patterns destructive to ourselves and others.
Our appetites are an area in which we are most vulnerable to making choices that are not life-giving. Today let’s take stock of how our perceived need for some things can become distorted and cause us to turn away from the Life of God and toward things we think will fill us. In "some things” I include food, alcohol, sex, work, power, screen time, relationships, affirmation, productivity, accomplishment – even exercise can become excessive if our motives are unhealthy.
It’s not the “what,” or even the “how much,” so much as “why do I need this,” and “how much of my energy goes into craving this, securing it, consuming it.” If this is an area of distorted need in our lives, we can feel somewhat empty as soon as we've finished that cycle.
How do we interrupt the cycle when it hits us? We might use Jesus’ words, substituting our need in the blank: “One does not live by alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” We might ask the Holy Spirit to fill us with God’s presence so we don’t hunger for things that can’t fill us. We might ask Jesus to sit with us and give us his peace until temptation subsides..
This may not be a welcome suggestion on a day when many of us will gorge on pancakes at church, but perhaps tomorrow might we even dare to sit with our hunger or desire or need and not rush to fill that empty place? It's important to feel the feelings that come from that emptiness. Certainly our Good News tells us that God shows up in empty spaces in pretty amazing ways.
© Kate Heichler, 2026. To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Here are the bible readings for next Sunday. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.
What were the temptations that Jesus faced in the desert? This year we hear Matthew’s version, which begins simply: “Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished.” Ya think?
After Jesus has spent over a month fasting and praying, and perhaps fending off temptations we don’t know about, the devil brings on the big guns. He begins with the most obvious area of need – physical hunger: The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
Jesus did not refuse because he wasn’t hungry, nor because his power was limited – at other times, he readily commands molecules, plants and animals. I believe he was unwilling to employ the power he possessed on a party trick or to prove his identity. That power in him – which, by faith, is also in us, when we but trust it – is connected to the will of the Father. Maybe Jesus was unwilling to try to bend the will of God to this end for an audience and purpose so unworthy of it.
Once again, the temptation begins with an attempt to undermine the target’s sense of self: “If you are the Son of God…” Jesus is too smart to fall for it. We aren’t always so confident. If we remembered who we are, and whose we are as beloved children of the Living God, we might not be so prone to taking matters into our own hands or falling into patterns destructive to ourselves and others.
Our appetites are an area in which we are most vulnerable to making choices that are not life-giving. Today let’s take stock of how our perceived need for some things can become distorted and cause us to turn away from the Life of God and toward things we think will fill us. In "some things” I include food, alcohol, sex, work, power, screen time, relationships, affirmation, productivity, accomplishment – even exercise can become excessive if our motives are unhealthy.
It’s not the “what,” or even the “how much,” so much as “why do I need this,” and “how much of my energy goes into craving this, securing it, consuming it.” If this is an area of distorted need in our lives, we can feel somewhat empty as soon as we've finished that cycle.
How do we interrupt the cycle when it hits us? We might use Jesus’ words, substituting our need in the blank: “One does not live by alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” We might ask the Holy Spirit to fill us with God’s presence so we don’t hunger for things that can’t fill us. We might ask Jesus to sit with us and give us his peace until temptation subsides..
This may not be a welcome suggestion on a day when many of us will gorge on pancakes at church, but perhaps tomorrow might we even dare to sit with our hunger or desire or need and not rush to fill that empty place? It's important to feel the feelings that come from that emptiness. Certainly our Good News tells us that God shows up in empty spaces in pretty amazing ways.
© Kate Heichler, 2026. To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Here are the bible readings for next Sunday. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.
2-16-26 - Temptation
You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's Hebrew Bible reading is here.
The first Sunday in Lent is nearly upon us – time for the story of Jesus being tempted by the devil in the wilderness. This event comes on the heels of Jesus’ baptism, and is presented as a necessary step as he prepares for his mission to reconcile humanity to the God from whom we had become estranged, and to make known to the world God's power and love. Why was Jesus led by the Spirit into the desert? Did he need to know his adversary? Did he need toughening up? Did the Son of God have to prove his sinlessness? Whatever the objective, this was not a retreat; he went to be tested.
We’ll get into Jesus’ forays with the tempter as the week progresses. Today, let’s talk about temptation itself. How does it work, and why are we vulnerable to it? Our tradition has a “root story” to explain it, the story of First Man and First Woman in the Garden of Eden. In this ancient mythic story woven to explain the disconnect between Creator and creation, we see some classic temptation tricks wielded to great effect:
The first Sunday in Lent is nearly upon us – time for the story of Jesus being tempted by the devil in the wilderness. This event comes on the heels of Jesus’ baptism, and is presented as a necessary step as he prepares for his mission to reconcile humanity to the God from whom we had become estranged, and to make known to the world God's power and love. Why was Jesus led by the Spirit into the desert? Did he need to know his adversary? Did he need toughening up? Did the Son of God have to prove his sinlessness? Whatever the objective, this was not a retreat; he went to be tested.
We’ll get into Jesus’ forays with the tempter as the week progresses. Today, let’s talk about temptation itself. How does it work, and why are we vulnerable to it? Our tradition has a “root story” to explain it, the story of First Man and First Woman in the Garden of Eden. In this ancient mythic story woven to explain the disconnect between Creator and creation, we see some classic temptation tricks wielded to great effect:
- Divide and conquer. The tempter doesn’t approach both humans – he starts with the woman.
- Distort reality. The serpent asks the woman, “Did God say not to eat of any tree?,” when God had said they could eat of every tree, except one.
- Undermine your target’s sense of identity. When the serpent contradicts God’s instructions, he causes the woman to question God’s goodness and authority, and her place in that relationship.
- Make disobedience appealing – Chances are, they wouldn’t have flouted God’s instructions for a wormy, overripe piece of fruit.
- Get an accomplice. The woman is quick to invite the man to join her transgression, and he puts up no fight.
This is pretty much how temptation works, in our lives - and in advertising. If we want to stay grounded in the goodness and love we are offered as children of God and followers of Christ, we need to get hip to the wiles of the evil one and say, “No thanks,” when temptation comes along. Of course, that's over-simplified; sometimes the temptation seems to originate in our own hearts and minds. That’s a mystery for another day – and for the rest of our lives.
Today, how about we think through the last time we submitted to temptation to do or say something that was not in our best interest or harmful to another, whether it was consuming more than we needed, or passing along a tidbit of gossip, or indulging in some judgment about someone. Break down the process if you can, and see where you might tighten your defenses. And think of a time when you resisted and stayed true to yourself and to God.
The point of this exercise is not to feel bad about ourselves – we are vulnerable because we are alive and have been given the gift of free will, to choose and choose again. Reflection can help us become more aware of how temptation works on us, so we are able to develop strategies for resisting it.
At Jesus’ baptism, he heard God’s voice proclaim, “This is my son, whom I love.” Our best strategy is to remember that we are beloved of God, and that God doesn’t turn away from us no matter how often we stumble. God’s forgiveness and mercy abound. That’s the best defense of all.
© Kate Heichler, 2026. To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Here are the bible readings for next Sunday. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.
Today, how about we think through the last time we submitted to temptation to do or say something that was not in our best interest or harmful to another, whether it was consuming more than we needed, or passing along a tidbit of gossip, or indulging in some judgment about someone. Break down the process if you can, and see where you might tighten your defenses. And think of a time when you resisted and stayed true to yourself and to God.
The point of this exercise is not to feel bad about ourselves – we are vulnerable because we are alive and have been given the gift of free will, to choose and choose again. Reflection can help us become more aware of how temptation works on us, so we are able to develop strategies for resisting it.
At Jesus’ baptism, he heard God’s voice proclaim, “This is my son, whom I love.” Our best strategy is to remember that we are beloved of God, and that God doesn’t turn away from us no matter how often we stumble. God’s forgiveness and mercy abound. That’s the best defense of all.
© Kate Heichler, 2026. To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Here are the bible readings for next Sunday. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.
3-7-25 - Round 1
You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.
In Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ, the devil is depicted as a grey, slithery, humanoid creature with malevolent eyes, lurking at the edges of the scenes of Christ’s passion and death. He is there in the Garden of Gethsemane, as Jesus confronts the agony he is about to endure and even dares to wish he might be spared before once more laying down his will before his heavenly Father. He is there as Jesus is paraded down the streets of Jerusalem, and on the hillside where Judas commits suicide. Was Jesus constantly having to do battle with him?
At the end of his trial in the wilderness, Jesus seems to have bested his foe. But Luke writes these fateful words, “When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.” You can just about hear the opening bars of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. We don’t know if the devil was constantly seeking to trip up Jesus, but we do know that Jesus saw much of his work of healing, forgiveness and deliverance as setting people free from the power of Satan. So one can imagine his enemy would have been riled up.
But what about us? Do we need to worry about the devil – in whom many modern Christians profess not even to believe? I am ever challenged by the disjuncture between our doctrinal assertion that Jesus has vanquished the devil, and evil’s seemingly unfettered destructive power so widespread in the world. The devil may not be behind our temptation to eat more ice cream than is good for us, but wherever evil is done, violence perpetrated, terror wrought and destruction unleashed, we can be quite sure that some person has lost a battle with temptation. (Another reason to pray for our enemies!) If God has given human beings the free will to choose, that must mean that God will not protect us from making choices. And much of the pain we suffer and inflict comes from choosing the wrong instead of the right.
So yes, the enemy of human nature continues to snap at the heels of God’s beloved, and often to dominate those who say they believe in nothing. We should be aware of the choices beneath the choices of our actions. And we can ever pray, as I do fairly constantly these days, “Deliver us from evil.” But we need not fear. As Martin Luther wrote so memorably in his hymn, A Mighty Fortress, “His craft and power are great…” but “One little word shall fell him.”
That word is simply the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the only protection we need. When we feel tempted to despair or to try to control a situation or to impose our will upon another, or find ourselves beset by negative emotions, or up against evil in a more clear and threatening way, we need only remember whose we are and say, “Thank you, Jesus, for being my shield and protector.” As St. Peter wrote, “Rebuke the devil, and he will flee from you.”
Jesus did win the war. And the more people know and believe that, the less foothold the devil has in this world. There’s another reason to share our faith.
© Kate Heichler, 2025. To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Here are the bible readings for next Sunday. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.
In Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ, the devil is depicted as a grey, slithery, humanoid creature with malevolent eyes, lurking at the edges of the scenes of Christ’s passion and death. He is there in the Garden of Gethsemane, as Jesus confronts the agony he is about to endure and even dares to wish he might be spared before once more laying down his will before his heavenly Father. He is there as Jesus is paraded down the streets of Jerusalem, and on the hillside where Judas commits suicide. Was Jesus constantly having to do battle with him?
At the end of his trial in the wilderness, Jesus seems to have bested his foe. But Luke writes these fateful words, “When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.” You can just about hear the opening bars of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. We don’t know if the devil was constantly seeking to trip up Jesus, but we do know that Jesus saw much of his work of healing, forgiveness and deliverance as setting people free from the power of Satan. So one can imagine his enemy would have been riled up.
But what about us? Do we need to worry about the devil – in whom many modern Christians profess not even to believe? I am ever challenged by the disjuncture between our doctrinal assertion that Jesus has vanquished the devil, and evil’s seemingly unfettered destructive power so widespread in the world. The devil may not be behind our temptation to eat more ice cream than is good for us, but wherever evil is done, violence perpetrated, terror wrought and destruction unleashed, we can be quite sure that some person has lost a battle with temptation. (Another reason to pray for our enemies!) If God has given human beings the free will to choose, that must mean that God will not protect us from making choices. And much of the pain we suffer and inflict comes from choosing the wrong instead of the right.
So yes, the enemy of human nature continues to snap at the heels of God’s beloved, and often to dominate those who say they believe in nothing. We should be aware of the choices beneath the choices of our actions. And we can ever pray, as I do fairly constantly these days, “Deliver us from evil.” But we need not fear. As Martin Luther wrote so memorably in his hymn, A Mighty Fortress, “His craft and power are great…” but “One little word shall fell him.”
That word is simply the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the only protection we need. When we feel tempted to despair or to try to control a situation or to impose our will upon another, or find ourselves beset by negative emotions, or up against evil in a more clear and threatening way, we need only remember whose we are and say, “Thank you, Jesus, for being my shield and protector.” As St. Peter wrote, “Rebuke the devil, and he will flee from you.”
Jesus did win the war. And the more people know and believe that, the less foothold the devil has in this world. There’s another reason to share our faith.
© Kate Heichler, 2025. To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Here are the bible readings for next Sunday. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.
3-6-25 - Security
You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.
I have always placed the devil’s third temptation of Jesus in the category of security, God’s protection. But, other than Psalm 91, which the devil quotes at Jesus, the Bible contains no promise of physical protection for God’s people. And a quick look at the sufferings of saints throughout history, not to mention the passion of Christ himself, should quickly disabuse us of the notion that God made any such deal with us. What the devil is doing here is tempting Jesus to test his value to God as an asset. “Surely, he’s not going to let you die? Before your time, that is...?”
Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you,’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’” Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
If God has not promised to protect us, why do we continue to pray for protection? And why do we so often court damage to our bodies, minds and spirits by living in ways that we know can hurt us? While not quite in the category of risk as throwing oneself off the pinnacle of the temple, we don’t always treat ourselves as the precious assets we are. “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”
Where in your life do you push the boundaries of good sense and healthy self-maintenance?
What do you consume too much of, or too little?
I have always placed the devil’s third temptation of Jesus in the category of security, God’s protection. But, other than Psalm 91, which the devil quotes at Jesus, the Bible contains no promise of physical protection for God’s people. And a quick look at the sufferings of saints throughout history, not to mention the passion of Christ himself, should quickly disabuse us of the notion that God made any such deal with us. What the devil is doing here is tempting Jesus to test his value to God as an asset. “Surely, he’s not going to let you die? Before your time, that is...?”
Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you,’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’” Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
If God has not promised to protect us, why do we continue to pray for protection? And why do we so often court damage to our bodies, minds and spirits by living in ways that we know can hurt us? While not quite in the category of risk as throwing oneself off the pinnacle of the temple, we don’t always treat ourselves as the precious assets we are. “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”
Where in your life do you push the boundaries of good sense and healthy self-maintenance?
What do you consume too much of, or too little?
What is your relationship with exercise, and rest, and play?
Lent is a great time to examine where in our lives we put the Lord God to the test, expecting God to save us from ourselves, as well as from other people. I don’t mean to make light of the dangers in the world – they are real; I feel acutely at risk these days, despite the protections my privileges afford me. I will continue to pray for physical protection for me and those I love, and for total strangers like the thousands facing deportation, the millions suffering as US AID and domestic grants have been frozen, the refugees barred from safe harbor here, the wildlife and increasingly scarce wild places facing ruin.
And I intend to watch for the ways I contribute to my own destruction, and invite the Spirit of God to help me live into the promises God has made: if not protection, then presence always, power, and peace that defies understanding. Those we can count on.
© Kate Heichler, 2025. To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Here are the bible readings for next Sunday. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.
Lent is a great time to examine where in our lives we put the Lord God to the test, expecting God to save us from ourselves, as well as from other people. I don’t mean to make light of the dangers in the world – they are real; I feel acutely at risk these days, despite the protections my privileges afford me. I will continue to pray for physical protection for me and those I love, and for total strangers like the thousands facing deportation, the millions suffering as US AID and domestic grants have been frozen, the refugees barred from safe harbor here, the wildlife and increasingly scarce wild places facing ruin.
And I intend to watch for the ways I contribute to my own destruction, and invite the Spirit of God to help me live into the promises God has made: if not protection, then presence always, power, and peace that defies understanding. Those we can count on.
© Kate Heichler, 2025. To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Here are the bible readings for next Sunday. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.
3-5-25 - Worship
You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.
They say in advertising it’s important to know your audience, especially their vulnerabilities. You’d think the Tempter would have done better market research on Jesus before he tried to sway him by offering him adulation and authority. Jesus showed very little interest in such things: Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And the devil said to him, “To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.”
This is like trying to sell somebody a priceless work of art they had donated in the first place. Did the devil did not know that Jesus had had all authority in heaven and earth, that he had voluntarily given it up in order to enter into human nature and submit himself to our condition? He wasn’t interested in that kind of glory, especially not at the price of worshipping the enemy of human nature. Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.’”
Does this suggest that when we stray from the presence of God, when we go against God’s will and choose our own gratification, that we are worshiping the devil? No – but it does mean we have turned our worship away from the Living God. Whatever it is that tempts us away from the Lord – whether a behavior, or a commodity, or letting a feeling run riot in us – in that moment that becomes the object of our worship. We don’t think of it as worship, but that’s what it is. We have placed that thing or person or condition at the center of our life and oriented ourselves around it. If it’s a big temptation, it becomes all we can see.
Thanks be to God, it’s not difficult to turn back. We need only become aware that we’ve turned our attention to an unworthy object, and redirect our gaze back toward the God who loves us. The Greek word for repentance is metanoia, which suggests turning, turning away from what is less than life-giving and turning back to the Source of our life. Worship means worth-ship – ascribing worth to someone or something. When we turn back to God, we once again ascribe all worth to God.
If you go to church today for the Liturgy for Ash Wednesday, you will be invited into a lengthy and thorough confession of sin and repentance. No one can avoid being snagged by at least one part of that litany. So let’s go through it aware of how we have turned toward some of these things we confess, and see how they've become central.
And let’s enact this repentance with joyful hearts, for God delights in seeing us turn back toward him, which we do, over, and over, and over again, until at last we are Home and there is no more turning to be done, for we are in God. A blessed Ash Wednesday to you.
© Kate Heichler, 2025. To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Here are the bible readings for next Sunday. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.
They say in advertising it’s important to know your audience, especially their vulnerabilities. You’d think the Tempter would have done better market research on Jesus before he tried to sway him by offering him adulation and authority. Jesus showed very little interest in such things: Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And the devil said to him, “To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.”
This is like trying to sell somebody a priceless work of art they had donated in the first place. Did the devil did not know that Jesus had had all authority in heaven and earth, that he had voluntarily given it up in order to enter into human nature and submit himself to our condition? He wasn’t interested in that kind of glory, especially not at the price of worshipping the enemy of human nature. Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.’”
Does this suggest that when we stray from the presence of God, when we go against God’s will and choose our own gratification, that we are worshiping the devil? No – but it does mean we have turned our worship away from the Living God. Whatever it is that tempts us away from the Lord – whether a behavior, or a commodity, or letting a feeling run riot in us – in that moment that becomes the object of our worship. We don’t think of it as worship, but that’s what it is. We have placed that thing or person or condition at the center of our life and oriented ourselves around it. If it’s a big temptation, it becomes all we can see.
Thanks be to God, it’s not difficult to turn back. We need only become aware that we’ve turned our attention to an unworthy object, and redirect our gaze back toward the God who loves us. The Greek word for repentance is metanoia, which suggests turning, turning away from what is less than life-giving and turning back to the Source of our life. Worship means worth-ship – ascribing worth to someone or something. When we turn back to God, we once again ascribe all worth to God.
If you go to church today for the Liturgy for Ash Wednesday, you will be invited into a lengthy and thorough confession of sin and repentance. No one can avoid being snagged by at least one part of that litany. So let’s go through it aware of how we have turned toward some of these things we confess, and see how they've become central.
And let’s enact this repentance with joyful hearts, for God delights in seeing us turn back toward him, which we do, over, and over, and over again, until at last we are Home and there is no more turning to be done, for we are in God. A blessed Ash Wednesday to you.
© Kate Heichler, 2025. To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Here are the bible readings for next Sunday. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.
3-4-25 - Hunger
You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.
It is ironic to talk about hunger on a day when many of us will stuff ourselves with pancakes and all the fixings at our Shrove Tuesday suppers. I confess I'm not big on fasting or deprivation of any kind. I never knew anyone who fasted regularly until I got to know more Muslims. I am amazed at how many of my Muslim friends fast during Ramadan, even those who aren’t particularly observant or active the rest of the year. For thirty days, from sun-up to sundown, they refrain from eating, drinking, even water, having sex, gossiping. They are more attentive to prayer and hospitality and charity and the needs of people around them. It’s extraordinary how normative it is for many Muslims.
The fast Jesus took on during his forty days in the wilderness was even more stringent. We’re told he his fast was total, 24/7, as he prayed and did spiritual battle with the devil: He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.” Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone.’”
Why did Jesus refrain from eating? People who fast regularly find it focuses them spiritually. Yes, the hunger can be distracting, but after a while it fades and one becomes more aware of what’s happening around us and inside us. Those who fast for spiritual reasons find they become more attuned to what God is saying or doing as their focus on feeding their appetites recedes.
After forty days, though, Jesus is ravenous, and this is when the devil tries to tempt him to misuse his spiritual power to create food for himself. He approaches when he thinks Jesus is vulnerable, and starts by tempting Jesus to doubt his identity as Son of God. “If you are…” Guess what? The Tempter hasn’t changed his tactics. He still approaches us in those areas where we feel depleted or deprived, where we’re vulnerable to scarcity-thinking, where we can be more easily convinced that we deserve to be full. After all, isn't God the source of abundance and blessing? Why should we want for anything?
Yes, God is – and that is exactly what we need to remember in those times when we’re tempted to take what has not been given us, or more than is good for us, or manipulate others to give us what we want. It is God who gives in abundance, and we need not look elsewhere.
We don’t have to stay hungry, but we thrive best when we look to God for blessing. Sometimes being hungry is the best way to remind ourselves that God is God and we are not.
© Kate Heichler, 2025. To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Here are the bible readings for next Sunday. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.
It is ironic to talk about hunger on a day when many of us will stuff ourselves with pancakes and all the fixings at our Shrove Tuesday suppers. I confess I'm not big on fasting or deprivation of any kind. I never knew anyone who fasted regularly until I got to know more Muslims. I am amazed at how many of my Muslim friends fast during Ramadan, even those who aren’t particularly observant or active the rest of the year. For thirty days, from sun-up to sundown, they refrain from eating, drinking, even water, having sex, gossiping. They are more attentive to prayer and hospitality and charity and the needs of people around them. It’s extraordinary how normative it is for many Muslims.
The fast Jesus took on during his forty days in the wilderness was even more stringent. We’re told he his fast was total, 24/7, as he prayed and did spiritual battle with the devil: He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.” Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone.’”
Why did Jesus refrain from eating? People who fast regularly find it focuses them spiritually. Yes, the hunger can be distracting, but after a while it fades and one becomes more aware of what’s happening around us and inside us. Those who fast for spiritual reasons find they become more attuned to what God is saying or doing as their focus on feeding their appetites recedes.
After forty days, though, Jesus is ravenous, and this is when the devil tries to tempt him to misuse his spiritual power to create food for himself. He approaches when he thinks Jesus is vulnerable, and starts by tempting Jesus to doubt his identity as Son of God. “If you are…” Guess what? The Tempter hasn’t changed his tactics. He still approaches us in those areas where we feel depleted or deprived, where we’re vulnerable to scarcity-thinking, where we can be more easily convinced that we deserve to be full. After all, isn't God the source of abundance and blessing? Why should we want for anything?
Yes, God is – and that is exactly what we need to remember in those times when we’re tempted to take what has not been given us, or more than is good for us, or manipulate others to give us what we want. It is God who gives in abundance, and we need not look elsewhere.
We don’t have to stay hungry, but we thrive best when we look to God for blessing. Sometimes being hungry is the best way to remind ourselves that God is God and we are not.
© Kate Heichler, 2025. To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Here are the bible readings for next Sunday. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.
3-3-25 - From River To Desert
You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.
On the first Sunday in Lent, we skip back to where we were the first Sunday in Epiphany, back to that Jordan River where Jesus is baptized, anointed by the Holy Spirit and affirmed by the voice of God proclaiming, “This is my Son, my beloved, in whom I am well pleased.” Jesus is filled with the Holy Spirit in that moment, but he doesn’t get to dwell for long in the water or the delight of his heavenly father. No, the Spirit who fills him immediately hurries him on to the next step in his mission: a period of trial. Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil.
It so often seems that really fruitful, beautiful times in our lives are followed by seasons of trial and testing. Is this a pattern of God’s design? Are there things we can only learn in the wilderness times? Certainly the dry times aren’t as joy-filled as those seasons when we feel ourselves to be in the flow of the Living Water flowing from the throne of God. But maybe they’re as important.
Later this week we will enter the season of Lent, a season when we often voluntarily choose desert over river, seeking to strip away some of the clutter and chatter that fill our lives and can keep us from learning to depend wholly on God. Sometimes we give things up in order to listen better or focus more; sometimes we take things on. I am inviting my congregations to take on the spiritual practice of Sabbath-keeping – enjoying one unproductive day of rest and peace out of the seven we get each week. You might consider joining us, or ask, “Holy Spirit, where are you leading me this Lent? What comfort zones or avoidance activities are you leading me away from? What practices and patterns are you leading me into?”
Of course, the Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness for a specific purpose, to be tested and tried and tempted and strengthened for the mission ahead. I can’t be sure where the Spirit would have us go, but I do believe s/he wants us ready for action. So let’s be open to how the Spirit will prepare us for our part in God’s great mission of wholeness and reconciliation.
The river is lovely, and we'll get to come back. Now maybe it's wilderness time.
© Kate Heichler, 2025. To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Here are the bible readings for next Sunday. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.
On the first Sunday in Lent, we skip back to where we were the first Sunday in Epiphany, back to that Jordan River where Jesus is baptized, anointed by the Holy Spirit and affirmed by the voice of God proclaiming, “This is my Son, my beloved, in whom I am well pleased.” Jesus is filled with the Holy Spirit in that moment, but he doesn’t get to dwell for long in the water or the delight of his heavenly father. No, the Spirit who fills him immediately hurries him on to the next step in his mission: a period of trial. Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil.
It so often seems that really fruitful, beautiful times in our lives are followed by seasons of trial and testing. Is this a pattern of God’s design? Are there things we can only learn in the wilderness times? Certainly the dry times aren’t as joy-filled as those seasons when we feel ourselves to be in the flow of the Living Water flowing from the throne of God. But maybe they’re as important.
Later this week we will enter the season of Lent, a season when we often voluntarily choose desert over river, seeking to strip away some of the clutter and chatter that fill our lives and can keep us from learning to depend wholly on God. Sometimes we give things up in order to listen better or focus more; sometimes we take things on. I am inviting my congregations to take on the spiritual practice of Sabbath-keeping – enjoying one unproductive day of rest and peace out of the seven we get each week. You might consider joining us, or ask, “Holy Spirit, where are you leading me this Lent? What comfort zones or avoidance activities are you leading me away from? What practices and patterns are you leading me into?”
Of course, the Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness for a specific purpose, to be tested and tried and tempted and strengthened for the mission ahead. I can’t be sure where the Spirit would have us go, but I do believe s/he wants us ready for action. So let’s be open to how the Spirit will prepare us for our part in God’s great mission of wholeness and reconciliation.
The river is lovely, and we'll get to come back. Now maybe it's wilderness time.
© Kate Heichler, 2025. To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Here are the bible readings for next Sunday. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.
2-13-24 - Of Pancakes and Fasting
You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.
“Tempted” is a loaded word, and can have associations beyond what Biblical translators may have meant. When we read that Jesus was “in the wilderness for forty days, tempted by Satan,” we may imagine him out there with the Sports Illustrated swimsuit Issue, or faced with the loaded buffet tables I encounter at my churches’ annual meetings. Since Mark, unlike Luke and Matthew, includes no details about the nature of these temptations, our imaginations have free rein.
The other Gospels explain that Jesus faced temptations more cosmic than venial; not so much garden variety sin as being tempted to misuse – or relinquish – his divine nature. Perhaps a more useful word for what happened to Jesus in that wilderness is that he was tested. His faith in the unseen power he had received was tested. His trust in the guidance of the Holy Spirit was tested. His commitment to the mission for which he had come into human life was tested.
Thinking of Jesus' humanity, imagine how bewildering all the experiences related in the gospels must have been for him. Many of us have a sense of mission. But how does a human embrace the mission we believe Jesus had, to break the hold of sin and death on humankind, to release the cosmos from the grip of evil – and not be daily wracked by questions and doubts?
Perhaps this is why the Spirit drove Jesus into the wilderness, to test his confidence in his identity until he could withstand such doubts, whether they came from within or from others. Jesus could not have exercised the ministry the gospels describe were he not able to return time and again to his solid center as beloved, his sure knowledge of his Father’s love and power flowing through him. Indeed, faith in Jesus could not have spread so far and endured for so long had he not maintained that center to the grave and beyond.
What if we look at Lent as a forty-day period of testing rather than temptation? Do we really need to know we can resist chocolate or wine, or that we can sustain a spiritual discipline for six weeks? Wouldn’t we be better off, more joyful followers, more effective apostles if we knew our faith and sense of mission to be bearers of Christ could withstand the arrows of scheduling, convenience, complacency, embarrassment, priorities and their like?
We don’t have to go to the wilderness looking for testing. Life hands it to us (and I’m not even talking about tonight’s Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper, all pancakes and no shriving.) Every time we are tempted to allow an item on our to-do list to co-opt time we had planned to spend in quiet prayer; every time a friend or family member tries to talk us out of investing in our spiritual life; every time we are tempted to look at an area of pain or disease and agree with the world that God has no power there… such are the tests that come our way.
How has your faith or your commitment to God in Christ been tested lately? How might you respond differently? We may need to become more aware of the tests themselves, and then how to resist.
We can always call on the power of Jesus to help us and re-center us. After all, Hebrews 4:15 tells us that he was “tempted in every way as we are, yet he did not sin.” That means he did not give in to other demands or to what the devil told him was “reality.” With his Spirit in us, we can withstand those darts too.
© Kate Heichler, 2024. To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Here are the bible readings for Sunday. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.
“Tempted” is a loaded word, and can have associations beyond what Biblical translators may have meant. When we read that Jesus was “in the wilderness for forty days, tempted by Satan,” we may imagine him out there with the Sports Illustrated swimsuit Issue, or faced with the loaded buffet tables I encounter at my churches’ annual meetings. Since Mark, unlike Luke and Matthew, includes no details about the nature of these temptations, our imaginations have free rein.
The other Gospels explain that Jesus faced temptations more cosmic than venial; not so much garden variety sin as being tempted to misuse – or relinquish – his divine nature. Perhaps a more useful word for what happened to Jesus in that wilderness is that he was tested. His faith in the unseen power he had received was tested. His trust in the guidance of the Holy Spirit was tested. His commitment to the mission for which he had come into human life was tested.
Thinking of Jesus' humanity, imagine how bewildering all the experiences related in the gospels must have been for him. Many of us have a sense of mission. But how does a human embrace the mission we believe Jesus had, to break the hold of sin and death on humankind, to release the cosmos from the grip of evil – and not be daily wracked by questions and doubts?
Perhaps this is why the Spirit drove Jesus into the wilderness, to test his confidence in his identity until he could withstand such doubts, whether they came from within or from others. Jesus could not have exercised the ministry the gospels describe were he not able to return time and again to his solid center as beloved, his sure knowledge of his Father’s love and power flowing through him. Indeed, faith in Jesus could not have spread so far and endured for so long had he not maintained that center to the grave and beyond.
What if we look at Lent as a forty-day period of testing rather than temptation? Do we really need to know we can resist chocolate or wine, or that we can sustain a spiritual discipline for six weeks? Wouldn’t we be better off, more joyful followers, more effective apostles if we knew our faith and sense of mission to be bearers of Christ could withstand the arrows of scheduling, convenience, complacency, embarrassment, priorities and their like?
We don’t have to go to the wilderness looking for testing. Life hands it to us (and I’m not even talking about tonight’s Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper, all pancakes and no shriving.) Every time we are tempted to allow an item on our to-do list to co-opt time we had planned to spend in quiet prayer; every time a friend or family member tries to talk us out of investing in our spiritual life; every time we are tempted to look at an area of pain or disease and agree with the world that God has no power there… such are the tests that come our way.
How has your faith or your commitment to God in Christ been tested lately? How might you respond differently? We may need to become more aware of the tests themselves, and then how to resist.
We can always call on the power of Jesus to help us and re-center us. After all, Hebrews 4:15 tells us that he was “tempted in every way as we are, yet he did not sin.” That means he did not give in to other demands or to what the devil told him was “reality.” With his Spirit in us, we can withstand those darts too.
© Kate Heichler, 2024. To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Here are the bible readings for Sunday. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.
2-12-24 - Desert Time
You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.
Thirty years living at home, presumably apprenticed to his father’s carpentry trade, settled into the rhythms of small town life – work, meals, rest, punctuated by weddings and funerals and festivals… we know nothing about the longest part of Jesus’ earthly life. It was probably uneventful, the imaginative exertions of some novelists notwithstanding. Did he have friends? Girlfriends? Why didn’t he marry?
And then, suddenly, at the age of 30 he is activated, like a member of some sleeper cell who gets the cue to commence his mission. Did he ever know an “ordinary” day after that? Certainly the beginning of his ministry is marked by the highest possible affirmation followed by forty days of trial: In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness.
Immediately. No resting in the spiritual high of the anointing, the voice from heaven, the assurance of belovedness before embarking on a process of emptying himself. This Holy Spirit had no sooner anointed him than it drove him away from everything that sustains a human being, to be tested in a setting of deprivation and danger.
It can be like that for us. A time of felt spiritual connection may last days, weeks, even months – and then it seems like the line went dead, or we’re going through motions and rituals that used to bring us closer to God but now leave us empty. The literature of Christian saints and mystics tells that story over and over – “What happened, God? You were right here, and now it seems you’ve gone away.” Among the most eloquent was St. Theresa of Avila, writing about the loss of what she called the “consolations” God gave her. In our own day, we have the testimony of another Teresa, of Calcutta, who wrote that she experienced the absence of God much more than moments of connection.
When we are enjoying a time of spiritual engagement, we can bask in it and allow God to fill us, the way animals squirrel away food for times of hunger. In our connected times, we don’t need to think about the wilderness. But when we find ourselves in more desolate spaces, let’s remember this is also part of the deal. It’s not an aberration, only another way in which we can open ourselves to receive more of God’s life. (Desert Song explores these different states, affirming that in every season, God is still God.)
We are about to embark upon a six-week season in which we invite desert time into our lives. Some years that matches where we are spiritually and other years it doesn’t. That’s why I’m more keen on taking on spiritual practices than giving up comforts during Lent. How are you feeling about your relationship with God going into Lent? Are you already in a "dry" place, or feeling the flow of Spirit? What spiritual practices might you take on to grow toward God?
Whatever you choose to do this Lent, which begins Wednesday, remember that Jesus in the wilderness was still “my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” Wherever you find yourself in your spirit, know that your belovedness has not gone away; perhaps God has just allowed some other space to open up in you, to increase your capacity for love.
© Kate Heichler, 2024. To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Here are the bible readings for Sunday. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.
Thirty years living at home, presumably apprenticed to his father’s carpentry trade, settled into the rhythms of small town life – work, meals, rest, punctuated by weddings and funerals and festivals… we know nothing about the longest part of Jesus’ earthly life. It was probably uneventful, the imaginative exertions of some novelists notwithstanding. Did he have friends? Girlfriends? Why didn’t he marry?
And then, suddenly, at the age of 30 he is activated, like a member of some sleeper cell who gets the cue to commence his mission. Did he ever know an “ordinary” day after that? Certainly the beginning of his ministry is marked by the highest possible affirmation followed by forty days of trial: In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness.
Immediately. No resting in the spiritual high of the anointing, the voice from heaven, the assurance of belovedness before embarking on a process of emptying himself. This Holy Spirit had no sooner anointed him than it drove him away from everything that sustains a human being, to be tested in a setting of deprivation and danger.
It can be like that for us. A time of felt spiritual connection may last days, weeks, even months – and then it seems like the line went dead, or we’re going through motions and rituals that used to bring us closer to God but now leave us empty. The literature of Christian saints and mystics tells that story over and over – “What happened, God? You were right here, and now it seems you’ve gone away.” Among the most eloquent was St. Theresa of Avila, writing about the loss of what she called the “consolations” God gave her. In our own day, we have the testimony of another Teresa, of Calcutta, who wrote that she experienced the absence of God much more than moments of connection.
When we are enjoying a time of spiritual engagement, we can bask in it and allow God to fill us, the way animals squirrel away food for times of hunger. In our connected times, we don’t need to think about the wilderness. But when we find ourselves in more desolate spaces, let’s remember this is also part of the deal. It’s not an aberration, only another way in which we can open ourselves to receive more of God’s life. (Desert Song explores these different states, affirming that in every season, God is still God.)
We are about to embark upon a six-week season in which we invite desert time into our lives. Some years that matches where we are spiritually and other years it doesn’t. That’s why I’m more keen on taking on spiritual practices than giving up comforts during Lent. How are you feeling about your relationship with God going into Lent? Are you already in a "dry" place, or feeling the flow of Spirit? What spiritual practices might you take on to grow toward God?
Whatever you choose to do this Lent, which begins Wednesday, remember that Jesus in the wilderness was still “my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” Wherever you find yourself in your spirit, know that your belovedness has not gone away; perhaps God has just allowed some other space to open up in you, to increase your capacity for love.
© Kate Heichler, 2024. To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Here are the bible readings for Sunday. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.
7-7-23 - Cure For Inner Conflict
You can listen to this reflection here.
Let’s switch over to Romans for the end of the week. The reading appointed for Sunday is convoluted in language but deeply important in message, as Paul expresses a basic human conundrum: “I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.”
This plight will be familiar to anyone who’s ever found himself unable to put down the ice cream container, or stick to one cocktail, or stop herself from telling someone else’s secret… we know what “right” is in most circumstances, and sometimes we just watch ourselves walk right over to the “wrong” side of town. “For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do.”
Paul sees two forces at work in himself, two competing laws – the law of God, or spirit; and the law of the mind, or “flesh.” Describing the turmoil wrought by the effort to navigate these skirmishes, he ends up with a cry from the heart we’ve all felt at some point or other, especially when faced with the consequences of our choices: “Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?”
His answer is close at hand: “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” The way to stop the cycle of self-destructiveness when we’re in its grip is not by trying harder, but by surrendering more to the one force in the universe more powerful than our own desires: the God who made us, who sent his Son among us to draw us into a relationship in which our internal battles are overwhelmed by Love. As any recovering addict will tell you, will power doesn't get us very far; surrender to help allows us to go the distance.
God’s power is right here – power to resist evil, turn away from temptation, turn to life instead of death. The only thing we need do is invoke the power of God: "Jesus, be here now!” That was my prayer once when I’d fallen down a flight of stairs; it should be my prayer every time I struggle with choosing the best course.
Let’s not forget the loving invitation we’ve been looking at from our Gospel reading this week: “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”
Turning toward Jesus, calling on the power of the Holy Spirit to fill and transform our desires gets easier the more we do it. It takes a while for anything to become habitual, but with practice, this can become our first response. Just as oxen that are yoked to a cart have to travel together, spirits that are yoked to Christ no longer try to go their own ways but follow his.
Let’s switch over to Romans for the end of the week. The reading appointed for Sunday is convoluted in language but deeply important in message, as Paul expresses a basic human conundrum: “I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.”
This plight will be familiar to anyone who’s ever found himself unable to put down the ice cream container, or stick to one cocktail, or stop herself from telling someone else’s secret… we know what “right” is in most circumstances, and sometimes we just watch ourselves walk right over to the “wrong” side of town. “For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do.”
Paul sees two forces at work in himself, two competing laws – the law of God, or spirit; and the law of the mind, or “flesh.” Describing the turmoil wrought by the effort to navigate these skirmishes, he ends up with a cry from the heart we’ve all felt at some point or other, especially when faced with the consequences of our choices: “Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?”
His answer is close at hand: “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” The way to stop the cycle of self-destructiveness when we’re in its grip is not by trying harder, but by surrendering more to the one force in the universe more powerful than our own desires: the God who made us, who sent his Son among us to draw us into a relationship in which our internal battles are overwhelmed by Love. As any recovering addict will tell you, will power doesn't get us very far; surrender to help allows us to go the distance.
God’s power is right here – power to resist evil, turn away from temptation, turn to life instead of death. The only thing we need do is invoke the power of God: "Jesus, be here now!” That was my prayer once when I’d fallen down a flight of stairs; it should be my prayer every time I struggle with choosing the best course.
Let’s not forget the loving invitation we’ve been looking at from our Gospel reading this week: “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”
Turning toward Jesus, calling on the power of the Holy Spirit to fill and transform our desires gets easier the more we do it. It takes a while for anything to become habitual, but with practice, this can become our first response. Just as oxen that are yoked to a cart have to travel together, spirits that are yoked to Christ no longer try to go their own ways but follow his.
2-23-23 - Power
You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.
Who has more real power – the emperor or the counselor? The president or the chief of staff? The CEO or the COO? In the third temptation, the devil is willing to put Jesus in charge of all the kingdoms of the world – as long as he acknowledges him as the real power behind the scenes:
Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor; and he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! for it is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.’"
This always struck me as a really dumb temptation – didn’t the devil know that Jesus had no interest in temporal power? Of course, this Jesus, in whom more divine power resided than the world had ever seen in a human being, was even less interested than most in world domination. He cared more about demonstrating the power to be gained in giving away your prerogatives.
There are at least three ways to wield power – there’s “power over,” when we have dominion over others, and we use it to control them. There’s “power under,” the indirect, passive aggressive power seized by those who use their sacrifices and victimhood to try to control others. And then there’s the kind of power Jesus wielded, what I would call “power with.” This comes from a true sense of who we are, joined with an awareness of the power of God alive in us, so that we use power in a way that empowers others.
As we read the Gospels, we see Jesus constantly empowering people who had been robbed of power, whether by the Romans, by the religious authorities, by illness or prejudice or poverty. This was ultimately what made him such a threat to those who thought they had power over him. It’s what makes him such a threat to the Evil One – because Jesus is still alive, still in the business of empowering us. And empowered, we can resist evil.
When you look at your life, what kind of power is most often at play in your relationships, in your work, in your health? Are there things and people you’d like to dominate?
Are there things and people whom you feel have power over you? Neither is a good position to be in.
Are there ways you employ “power with” in a way that allows you to be true to yourself, true to God, and empowers others to be the same?
This is part of what it means to participate in God’s mission to bring wholeness to the world – when everyone exercises “power with,” the power of God overwhelms the power of evil. That old devil really never had a chance.
Who has more real power – the emperor or the counselor? The president or the chief of staff? The CEO or the COO? In the third temptation, the devil is willing to put Jesus in charge of all the kingdoms of the world – as long as he acknowledges him as the real power behind the scenes:
Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor; and he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! for it is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.’"
This always struck me as a really dumb temptation – didn’t the devil know that Jesus had no interest in temporal power? Of course, this Jesus, in whom more divine power resided than the world had ever seen in a human being, was even less interested than most in world domination. He cared more about demonstrating the power to be gained in giving away your prerogatives.
There are at least three ways to wield power – there’s “power over,” when we have dominion over others, and we use it to control them. There’s “power under,” the indirect, passive aggressive power seized by those who use their sacrifices and victimhood to try to control others. And then there’s the kind of power Jesus wielded, what I would call “power with.” This comes from a true sense of who we are, joined with an awareness of the power of God alive in us, so that we use power in a way that empowers others.
As we read the Gospels, we see Jesus constantly empowering people who had been robbed of power, whether by the Romans, by the religious authorities, by illness or prejudice or poverty. This was ultimately what made him such a threat to those who thought they had power over him. It’s what makes him such a threat to the Evil One – because Jesus is still alive, still in the business of empowering us. And empowered, we can resist evil.
When you look at your life, what kind of power is most often at play in your relationships, in your work, in your health? Are there things and people you’d like to dominate?
Are there things and people whom you feel have power over you? Neither is a good position to be in.
Are there ways you employ “power with” in a way that allows you to be true to yourself, true to God, and empowers others to be the same?
This is part of what it means to participate in God’s mission to bring wholeness to the world – when everyone exercises “power with,” the power of God overwhelms the power of evil. That old devil really never had a chance.
2-22-23 - Security
You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.
On the face of it, this devil’s bargain is for the birds:
Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying 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.’” Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
Who on earth would toss himself off a high tower to see if God will protect him? Yet don’t we often take lesser risks with big consequences? “Sure, cancer and smoking are highly related, but it won’t get me…” “Sure, the doctor said if I keep on getting fries with everything I’m headed for quadruple bypass, but what I eat today is okay…” Or, “Sure, pesticides kill pollinators and marine wildlife, threatening the worldwide food supply, but it won't hurt if I treat my lawn…”
Feeling safe and protected is important to most of us. Yet the further away dangerous consequences are, the more risks we seem to take. Is this one of the ways we fall prey to the temptations of the Enemy? Maybe… after all, the Christian understanding is that the devil desires to draw us away from the love of God. Often God is the first one we blame when bad things happen, because we forget human complicity, and because we may believe we have an unspoken contract with God guaranteeing our safety. Dig yours out of the file and check it – God never signed it. God promises us presence and power and peace in all circumstances, not protection.
I understand how facile this can sound if we think of people in Ukraine or Turkiye or Syria - or immigrants right here - and I don’t wish to undervalue the very real desire for life and safety. I share it. I’m just trying to remember there’s a bigger story. When security becomes our objective, we often try to get it for ourselves, turning away from God’s provision. And why not, if God hasn’t promised to protect us?
Well, because we gain a deeper gift in the relationship when we decide to trust God with all that we cannot control. This temptation the devil poses to Jesus is really about trying to control our circumstances. What do you most need to control? Can you in prayer today entrust – to the extent you’re able – the people and things you value most to God’s care, knowing you can’t keep them safe from everything, and trusting in God’s love? See how far you can extend your trust today, and then see if you can stretch a little further in yielding control tomorrow.
As we claim the fullness of our identities as beloved of God and chosen in Christ and guided by the Holy Spirit, we can move past a focus on security and live from an eternal perspective. From that vantage point, though what happens in this life matters a great deal, and when others are hurt, we hurt, we also see that this life is not the end of all things. Rather, for Christ followers, it is the beginning, the training zone, the love lesson.
That perspective doesn’t change our circumstances; it transforms the way we live them. Not a bad reminder on a day when many of us will hear the words, "Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return."
On the face of it, this devil’s bargain is for the birds:
Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying 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.’” Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
Who on earth would toss himself off a high tower to see if God will protect him? Yet don’t we often take lesser risks with big consequences? “Sure, cancer and smoking are highly related, but it won’t get me…” “Sure, the doctor said if I keep on getting fries with everything I’m headed for quadruple bypass, but what I eat today is okay…” Or, “Sure, pesticides kill pollinators and marine wildlife, threatening the worldwide food supply, but it won't hurt if I treat my lawn…”
Feeling safe and protected is important to most of us. Yet the further away dangerous consequences are, the more risks we seem to take. Is this one of the ways we fall prey to the temptations of the Enemy? Maybe… after all, the Christian understanding is that the devil desires to draw us away from the love of God. Often God is the first one we blame when bad things happen, because we forget human complicity, and because we may believe we have an unspoken contract with God guaranteeing our safety. Dig yours out of the file and check it – God never signed it. God promises us presence and power and peace in all circumstances, not protection.
I understand how facile this can sound if we think of people in Ukraine or Turkiye or Syria - or immigrants right here - and I don’t wish to undervalue the very real desire for life and safety. I share it. I’m just trying to remember there’s a bigger story. When security becomes our objective, we often try to get it for ourselves, turning away from God’s provision. And why not, if God hasn’t promised to protect us?
Well, because we gain a deeper gift in the relationship when we decide to trust God with all that we cannot control. This temptation the devil poses to Jesus is really about trying to control our circumstances. What do you most need to control? Can you in prayer today entrust – to the extent you’re able – the people and things you value most to God’s care, knowing you can’t keep them safe from everything, and trusting in God’s love? See how far you can extend your trust today, and then see if you can stretch a little further in yielding control tomorrow.
As we claim the fullness of our identities as beloved of God and chosen in Christ and guided by the Holy Spirit, we can move past a focus on security and live from an eternal perspective. From that vantage point, though what happens in this life matters a great deal, and when others are hurt, we hurt, we also see that this life is not the end of all things. Rather, for Christ followers, it is the beginning, the training zone, the love lesson.
That perspective doesn’t change our circumstances; it transforms the way we live them. Not a bad reminder on a day when many of us will hear the words, "Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return."
2-21-23 - Hunger
can listen to this reflection here.
What were the temptations that Jesus faced in the desert? This year we hear Matthew’s version, which begins simply: “Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished.” Ya think?
After Jesus has spent over a month fasting and praying, and perhaps fending off temptations we don’t know about, the devil brings on the big guns. He begins with the most obvious area of need – physical hunger:
What were the temptations that Jesus faced in the desert? This year we hear Matthew’s version, which begins simply: “Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished.” Ya think?
After Jesus has spent over a month fasting and praying, and perhaps fending off temptations we don’t know about, the devil brings on the big guns. He begins with the most obvious area of need – physical hunger:
The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
Jesus did not refuse because he wasn’t hungry, nor because his power was limited – at other times, he readily commands molecules, plants and animals. I think he was unwilling to employ the power he possessed on a party trick, or to prove his identity. That power in him – which, by faith, is also in us, when we but trust it – is connected to the will of the Father. Maybe Jesus was unwilling to try to bend the will of God to this end for an audience and a purpose so unworthy of it.
Once again, the temptation begins with an attempt to undermine the target’s sense of self: “If you are the Son of God…” Jesus is too smart to fall for it. We aren’t always so confident. If we remembered who we are, and whose we are as beloved sons and daughters of the Living God, we might not be so prone to taking matters into our own hands or falling into patterns destructive to ourselves and others.
Our appetites are an area in which we are most vulnerable to making choices that are not life-giving. Today let’s take stock of how our perceived need for some things can become distorted and cause us to turn away from the Life of God and toward things we think will fill us. In "some things” I include food, alcohol, sex, work, power, screen time, relationships, affirmation, productivity, accomplishment – even exercise can become excessive if our motives are unhealthy.
It’s not the “what,” or even the “how much,” so much as “why do I need this,” and “how much of my energy goes into craving this, securing it, consuming it.” If this is an area of distorted need in our lives, we can feel somewhat empty as soon as we've finished that cycle.
How do we interrupt the cycle when it hits us? We might use Jesus’ words, substituting our need in the blank: “One does not live by alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”
Jesus did not refuse because he wasn’t hungry, nor because his power was limited – at other times, he readily commands molecules, plants and animals. I think he was unwilling to employ the power he possessed on a party trick, or to prove his identity. That power in him – which, by faith, is also in us, when we but trust it – is connected to the will of the Father. Maybe Jesus was unwilling to try to bend the will of God to this end for an audience and a purpose so unworthy of it.
Once again, the temptation begins with an attempt to undermine the target’s sense of self: “If you are the Son of God…” Jesus is too smart to fall for it. We aren’t always so confident. If we remembered who we are, and whose we are as beloved sons and daughters of the Living God, we might not be so prone to taking matters into our own hands or falling into patterns destructive to ourselves and others.
Our appetites are an area in which we are most vulnerable to making choices that are not life-giving. Today let’s take stock of how our perceived need for some things can become distorted and cause us to turn away from the Life of God and toward things we think will fill us. In "some things” I include food, alcohol, sex, work, power, screen time, relationships, affirmation, productivity, accomplishment – even exercise can become excessive if our motives are unhealthy.
It’s not the “what,” or even the “how much,” so much as “why do I need this,” and “how much of my energy goes into craving this, securing it, consuming it.” If this is an area of distorted need in our lives, we can feel somewhat empty as soon as we've finished that cycle.
How do we interrupt the cycle when it hits us? We might use Jesus’ words, substituting our need in the blank: “One does not live by alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”
We might ask the Holy Spirit to fill us with God’s presence so we don’t hunger for things that can’t fill us. We might ask Jesus to sit with us and give us his peace.
We might even dare to sit with our hunger or desire or need and not rush to fill that empty place. It's important to feel the feelings that come from that emptiness. Certainly our Good News tells us that God shows up in empty spaces in pretty amazing ways ...
We might even dare to sit with our hunger or desire or need and not rush to fill that empty place. It's important to feel the feelings that come from that emptiness. Certainly our Good News tells us that God shows up in empty spaces in pretty amazing ways ...
2-20-23 - Temptation
You can listen to this reflection here.
The first Sunday in Lent is upon us - time for the story of Jesus being tempted by the devil in the wilderness. This event comes on the heels of Jesus’ baptism, and is presented as a necessary step as he prepares for his mission to make known to the world the power and love of God, to reconcile humanity to the God from whom we had become estranged. Did he need to know his adversary? Did he need toughening up? Did the Son of God have to prove his sinlessness? He wasn't on retreat; he went to be tested.
This event comes on the heels of Jesus’ baptism, and is presented as a necessary step as he prepares for his mission to make known to the world the power and love of God, to reconcile humanity to the God from whom we had become estranged. Did he need to know his adversary? Did he need toughening up? Did the Son of God have to prove his sinlessness? He wasn't on retreat; he went to be tested.
We’ll get into Jesus’ forays with the tempter as the week progresses. Today, let’s talk about temptation itself. How does it work, and why are we vulnerable to it? Our tradition has a “root story” to explain it, the story of First Man and First Woman in the Garden of Eden. In this ancient mythic story woven to explain the disconnect between creator and creation, we see some classic temptation tricks wielded to great effect:
The first Sunday in Lent is upon us - time for the story of Jesus being tempted by the devil in the wilderness. This event comes on the heels of Jesus’ baptism, and is presented as a necessary step as he prepares for his mission to make known to the world the power and love of God, to reconcile humanity to the God from whom we had become estranged. Did he need to know his adversary? Did he need toughening up? Did the Son of God have to prove his sinlessness? He wasn't on retreat; he went to be tested.
This event comes on the heels of Jesus’ baptism, and is presented as a necessary step as he prepares for his mission to make known to the world the power and love of God, to reconcile humanity to the God from whom we had become estranged. Did he need to know his adversary? Did he need toughening up? Did the Son of God have to prove his sinlessness? He wasn't on retreat; he went to be tested.
We’ll get into Jesus’ forays with the tempter as the week progresses. Today, let’s talk about temptation itself. How does it work, and why are we vulnerable to it? Our tradition has a “root story” to explain it, the story of First Man and First Woman in the Garden of Eden. In this ancient mythic story woven to explain the disconnect between creator and creation, we see some classic temptation tricks wielded to great effect:
- Divide and conquer. The tempter doesn’t approach both humans – he starts with the woman.
- Distort reality. The serpent asks the woman, “Did God say not to eat of any tree?,” when God had said they could eat of every tree, except one.
- Undermine your target’s sense of identity. When the serpent contradicts God’s instructions, he causes the woman to question God’s goodness and authority, and her place in that relationship.
- Make disobedience appealing – Chances are, they wouldn’t have flouted God’s instructions for a wormy, overripe piece of fruit.
- Get an accomplice. The woman is quick to invite the man to join her transgression, and he puts up no fight.
This is pretty much how temptation works, in our lives - and in advertising. If we want to stay grounded in the goodness and love we are offered as children of God and followers of Christ, we need to get hip to the wiles of the evil one and say, “No thanks,” when temptation comes along. Of course, that's a little over-simplified; sometimes the temptation seems to originate in our own hearts and minds. That’s a mystery for another day – and for the rest of our lives.
Today, how about we think through the last time we submitted to temptation, to do or say something that was not in our best interest or harmful to another, whether it was consuming more than we needed, or passing along a tidbit of gossip, or indulging in some judgment about someone. Break down the process if you can, and see where you might tighten your defenses. And think of a time when you resisted and stayed true to yourself and to God.
The point of this exercise is not to feel bad about ourselves – we are vulnerable because we are alive and have been given the gift of free will, to choose and choose again. Reflection can help us become more aware of how temptation works on us, so we are able to develop strategies for resisting it.
At Jesus’ baptism, he heard God’s voice proclaim, “This is my son, whom I love.” Our best strategy is to remember that we are beloved of God, and that God doesn’t turn away from us no matter how often we stumble. God’s forgiveness and mercy abound. That’s the best defense of all.
Today, how about we think through the last time we submitted to temptation, to do or say something that was not in our best interest or harmful to another, whether it was consuming more than we needed, or passing along a tidbit of gossip, or indulging in some judgment about someone. Break down the process if you can, and see where you might tighten your defenses. And think of a time when you resisted and stayed true to yourself and to God.
The point of this exercise is not to feel bad about ourselves – we are vulnerable because we are alive and have been given the gift of free will, to choose and choose again. Reflection can help us become more aware of how temptation works on us, so we are able to develop strategies for resisting it.
At Jesus’ baptism, he heard God’s voice proclaim, “This is my son, whom I love.” Our best strategy is to remember that we are beloved of God, and that God doesn’t turn away from us no matter how often we stumble. God’s forgiveness and mercy abound. That’s the best defense of all.
3-4-22 - Round One
You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.
In Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ, the devil is depicted as a grey, slithery, humanoid creature with malevolent eyes, lurking at the edges of the scenes of Christ’s passion and death. He is there in the Garden of Gethsemane, as Jesus confronts the agony he is about to endure and even dares to wish he might be spared before once more laying down his will before his heavenly Father. He is there as Jesus is paraded down the streets of Jerusalem, and on the hillside where Judas commits suicide. Was Jesus constantly having to do battle with him?
At the end of his trial in the wilderness, Jesus seems to have bested his foe. But Luke writes these fateful words, “When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.” You can just about hear the opening bars of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony.
We don’t know if the devil was constantly seeking to trip up Jesus – we do know that Jesus saw much of his work of healing, forgiveness and deliverance as setting people free from the power of Satan. So one can imagine his enemy would have been riled up.
But what about us? Do we need to worry about the devil – in whom many modern Christians profess not even to believe? I am ever challenged by the disjuncture between our doctrinal assertion that Jesus has vanquished the devil, and evil’s seemingly unfettered destructive power so widespread in the world. The devil may not be behind our temptation to eat more ice cream than is good for us, but wherever evil is done, violence perpetrated, terror wrought and destruction unleashed, we can be quite sure that some person has lost a battle with temptation. (Another reason to pray for our enemies!) If God has given human beings the free will to choose, that must mean that God will not protect us from making choices. And much of the pain we suffer and inflict comes from choosing the wrong instead of the right.
So yes, the enemy of human nature continues to snap at the heels of God’s beloved, and often to dominate those who say they believe in nothing. We should be aware of the choices beneath the choices of our actions. But we need not fear. As Martin Luther wrote so memorably in his hymn, A Mighty Fortress, “His craft and power are great…” but “One little word shall fell him.”
That word is simply the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the only protection we need. When we feel tempted to despair or to try to control a situation or to impose our will upon another, or find ourselves beset by negative emotions, or up against evil in a more clear and threatening way, we need only remember whose we are and say, “Thank you, Jesus, for being my shield and protector.” As St. Peter wrote, “Rebuke the devil, and he will flee from you.”
Jesus did win the war. And the more people know and believe that, the less foothold the devil has in this world. There’s another reason to share our faith.
In Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ, the devil is depicted as a grey, slithery, humanoid creature with malevolent eyes, lurking at the edges of the scenes of Christ’s passion and death. He is there in the Garden of Gethsemane, as Jesus confronts the agony he is about to endure and even dares to wish he might be spared before once more laying down his will before his heavenly Father. He is there as Jesus is paraded down the streets of Jerusalem, and on the hillside where Judas commits suicide. Was Jesus constantly having to do battle with him?
At the end of his trial in the wilderness, Jesus seems to have bested his foe. But Luke writes these fateful words, “When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.” You can just about hear the opening bars of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony.
We don’t know if the devil was constantly seeking to trip up Jesus – we do know that Jesus saw much of his work of healing, forgiveness and deliverance as setting people free from the power of Satan. So one can imagine his enemy would have been riled up.
But what about us? Do we need to worry about the devil – in whom many modern Christians profess not even to believe? I am ever challenged by the disjuncture between our doctrinal assertion that Jesus has vanquished the devil, and evil’s seemingly unfettered destructive power so widespread in the world. The devil may not be behind our temptation to eat more ice cream than is good for us, but wherever evil is done, violence perpetrated, terror wrought and destruction unleashed, we can be quite sure that some person has lost a battle with temptation. (Another reason to pray for our enemies!) If God has given human beings the free will to choose, that must mean that God will not protect us from making choices. And much of the pain we suffer and inflict comes from choosing the wrong instead of the right.
So yes, the enemy of human nature continues to snap at the heels of God’s beloved, and often to dominate those who say they believe in nothing. We should be aware of the choices beneath the choices of our actions. But we need not fear. As Martin Luther wrote so memorably in his hymn, A Mighty Fortress, “His craft and power are great…” but “One little word shall fell him.”
That word is simply the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the only protection we need. When we feel tempted to despair or to try to control a situation or to impose our will upon another, or find ourselves beset by negative emotions, or up against evil in a more clear and threatening way, we need only remember whose we are and say, “Thank you, Jesus, for being my shield and protector.” As St. Peter wrote, “Rebuke the devil, and he will flee from you.”
Jesus did win the war. And the more people know and believe that, the less foothold the devil has in this world. There’s another reason to share our faith.
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3-1-22 - Hunger
You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.
I’m not big on fasting. I don’t like deprivation, even when it is self-induced. I never knew anyone who fasted regularly until I got to know more Muslims. I am astonished at how many of my Muslim friends fast during Ramadan, even those who aren’t particularly observant or active the rest of the year. For thirty days, from sun-up to sundown, they refrain from eating, drinking, even water, having sex, gossiping. They are more attentive to prayer and hospitality and charity and the needs of people around them. It’s extraordinary how normative it is for many Muslims.
The fast Jesus took on during his forty days in the wilderness was even more stringent. We’re told he his fast was total, 24/7, as he prayed and did spiritual battle with the devil: He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.” Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone.’”
Why did Jesus refrain from eating? People who fast regularly find it focuses them spiritually. Yes, the hunger can be distracting, but after a while it fades and one becomes more aware of what’s happening around and inside. Those who fast for spiritual reasons find they become more attuned to what God is saying or doing as their focus on feeding their appetites recedes to the background.
After forty days, though, Jesus is ravenous, and this is when the devil tries to tempt him to misuse his spiritual power to create food for himself. He approaches when he thinks Jesus is vulnerable, and starts by tempting Jesus to doubt his identity as Son of God. “If you are…”
It should not surprise us that the Tempter hasn’t changed his tactics. He still approaches us in those areas where we feel depleted or deprived, where we’re vulnerable to scarcity-thinking, where we can be more easily convinced that we deserve to be full. After all, isn't God the source of abundance and blessing?
Yes - and that is exactly what we need to remember in those times when we’re tempted to take what has not been given us, or more than is good for us, or manipulate others to give us what we want. It is God who gives in abundance, and we need not look elsewhere.
We don’t have to stay hungry, but we thrive best when we look to God for blessing. Sometimes being hungry is the best way to remind ourselves that God is God and we are not.
I’m not big on fasting. I don’t like deprivation, even when it is self-induced. I never knew anyone who fasted regularly until I got to know more Muslims. I am astonished at how many of my Muslim friends fast during Ramadan, even those who aren’t particularly observant or active the rest of the year. For thirty days, from sun-up to sundown, they refrain from eating, drinking, even water, having sex, gossiping. They are more attentive to prayer and hospitality and charity and the needs of people around them. It’s extraordinary how normative it is for many Muslims.
The fast Jesus took on during his forty days in the wilderness was even more stringent. We’re told he his fast was total, 24/7, as he prayed and did spiritual battle with the devil: He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.” Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone.’”
Why did Jesus refrain from eating? People who fast regularly find it focuses them spiritually. Yes, the hunger can be distracting, but after a while it fades and one becomes more aware of what’s happening around and inside. Those who fast for spiritual reasons find they become more attuned to what God is saying or doing as their focus on feeding their appetites recedes to the background.
After forty days, though, Jesus is ravenous, and this is when the devil tries to tempt him to misuse his spiritual power to create food for himself. He approaches when he thinks Jesus is vulnerable, and starts by tempting Jesus to doubt his identity as Son of God. “If you are…”
It should not surprise us that the Tempter hasn’t changed his tactics. He still approaches us in those areas where we feel depleted or deprived, where we’re vulnerable to scarcity-thinking, where we can be more easily convinced that we deserve to be full. After all, isn't God the source of abundance and blessing?
Yes - and that is exactly what we need to remember in those times when we’re tempted to take what has not been given us, or more than is good for us, or manipulate others to give us what we want. It is God who gives in abundance, and we need not look elsewhere.
We don’t have to stay hungry, but we thrive best when we look to God for blessing. Sometimes being hungry is the best way to remind ourselves that God is God and we are not.
2-28-22 - From River To Desert
You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.
On the first Sunday in Lent, we skip back to where we were the first Sunday in Epiphany, back to that Jordan River where Jesus is baptized, anointed by the Holy Spirit and affirmed by the voice of God proclaiming, “This is my Son, my beloved, in whom I am well pleased.” Jesus is filled with the Holy Spirit in that moment, but he doesn’t get to dwell in the water or the delight of his heavenly father for long. No, the Spirit who fills him immediately hurries him on to the next step in his mission: a period of trial.
Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil.
It so often seems that really fruitful, beautiful times in our lives are followed by dry periods, times of trial and testing. Is this a pattern of God’s design? Are there things we can only learn in the wilderness times? Certainly the dry times aren’t as joy-filled as those seasons when we feel ourselves to be in the flow of the Living Water cascading from the throne of God. But maybe they’re as important.
Later this week we will enter the season of Lent, a season when we often voluntarily choose desert over river, seeking to strip away some of the clutter and chatter that fill our lives and can keep us from learning to depend wholly on God. Sometimes we give things up in order to listen better or focus more; sometimes we take things on. Ask God, “Holy Spirit, where are you leading me this Lent? What comfort zones or avoidance activities are you leading me away from? What practices and patterns are you leading me into?”
I’m urging my congregants to add a weekly small group to their Lenten practice – growing in intimacy with others who are walking Christ’s Way of Love can be both comforting and challenging, and will lead us deeper into God’s heart.
On the first Sunday in Lent, we skip back to where we were the first Sunday in Epiphany, back to that Jordan River where Jesus is baptized, anointed by the Holy Spirit and affirmed by the voice of God proclaiming, “This is my Son, my beloved, in whom I am well pleased.” Jesus is filled with the Holy Spirit in that moment, but he doesn’t get to dwell in the water or the delight of his heavenly father for long. No, the Spirit who fills him immediately hurries him on to the next step in his mission: a period of trial.
Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil.
It so often seems that really fruitful, beautiful times in our lives are followed by dry periods, times of trial and testing. Is this a pattern of God’s design? Are there things we can only learn in the wilderness times? Certainly the dry times aren’t as joy-filled as those seasons when we feel ourselves to be in the flow of the Living Water cascading from the throne of God. But maybe they’re as important.
Later this week we will enter the season of Lent, a season when we often voluntarily choose desert over river, seeking to strip away some of the clutter and chatter that fill our lives and can keep us from learning to depend wholly on God. Sometimes we give things up in order to listen better or focus more; sometimes we take things on. Ask God, “Holy Spirit, where are you leading me this Lent? What comfort zones or avoidance activities are you leading me away from? What practices and patterns are you leading me into?”
I’m urging my congregants to add a weekly small group to their Lenten practice – growing in intimacy with others who are walking Christ’s Way of Love can be both comforting and challenging, and will lead us deeper into God’s heart.
(If you would like to be a part of such a group (some will meet online), click here.)
Of course, the Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness for a specific purpose, to be tested and tried and tempted and strengthened for the mission ahead. I can’t be sure where the Spirit would have us go, but I do believe s/he wants us ready for action. So let’s be open to how the Spirit will prepare us for our part in God’s great mission of wholeness and reconciliation.
The river is lovely, and we'll get to come back. Now maybe it's wilderness time.
Of course, the Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness for a specific purpose, to be tested and tried and tempted and strengthened for the mission ahead. I can’t be sure where the Spirit would have us go, but I do believe s/he wants us ready for action. So let’s be open to how the Spirit will prepare us for our part in God’s great mission of wholeness and reconciliation.
The river is lovely, and we'll get to come back. Now maybe it's wilderness time.
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